Matthew 25:14-30 (KJV)
Parable of the Talents
14 For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.
15 And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.
16 Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents.
17 And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two.
18 But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money.
19 After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.
20 And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.
21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
22 He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.
23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
24 Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:
25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:
27 Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.
28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.
29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.
30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
John 19:11
All Power and Things Come from Above
11 Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”
There are many types of fears and many things we fear...We fear things and many of the things we fear, we avoid...Fear affects the decisions we make and the choices we make...Fear can make us freeze, where it can make it difficult to make decisions...Fear can cripple us and prevent us from doing what we really want to and need to do in life...And once we get in a fear cycle, negative thoughts can flood our minds, to where fear becomes a vicious cycle and our minds can be constantly in fear...Fear can take on a life of its own...And as we read our daily headlines some of the fears can come from the headlines and negative news around the world...We live, therefore, we will have some fears...
Jesus tells us the story of a man who was needing to travel afar and he left his goods and money (talents) with three of his servants...Each of the servants were given different amounts...One servant was given five talents, one servant two talents, and one servant one talent...The first two servants used the talents given to them by their master and doubled his money...The last servant feared his master, he was afraid of him and what he might do if he lost the single talent that was given him...Not wanting to take the wrath of his master should he lose his master's money, he buried the talent and hid it in the earth...
The master compliments the first two servants for making good use of time and money...But no so for the fearful servant, who knew his master was a hard man...He had excuses and told his master he could not reap, where he did not sow...He was making excuses for his fear of losing the money of his master...
God has given us many things...All things given to us come from above...And God has a claim to all things of man, whether it be our natural ability, our appearance, our wealth, all that we have is His...In the Parable He delivers His goods to the three servants...Each of three servants are given a different amount of goods in life...And just like in life, its seems some are given more than others in many respects and in differing things...And God seems to be away from us much, and what we do in life matters...The choices we make each day are important...There will come a time when we see Him...There will be a judgement day, when He returns...
Being disciplined and diligent is rewarded...Being idle, inactive and fearful are not rewarded...Not working hard and just wobbling on the job is not enough...When the LORD gives us a task, we are to do it in the best of our abilities...When we are finally judged, money and the amount we have will not even matter, how we tried and loved and what we believe will matter...Sharing in our Masters joy is glorious...We are to do our best with the gifts God has given us, no matter what we have and what we do...
Since these are God's goods in the Parable, some think that the talents may be the Gospel of Jesus...How well we spread His good news, someday maybe measured...It maybe possible a purpose of ours on earth is to spread the word about Jesus...We maybe all evangelists on earth...There are some who know the gospel and His word well, and others who do not...But no matter how well we know the gospel, we are to spread His word throughout our lives and in how we live...