The Parable of the Talents
Dr. Larry Thorson
November 16, 2008
Jesus once told a story about a wealthy landowner,
like someone who might have owned a large vineyard in the wine country of
Temecula. This land owner was getting ready to leave on
a long trip, let’s say to
Matthew 25:14-30
14 "Again, it will be like a man going on
a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. 15 To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two
bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on
his journey. 16 The man who had
received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained
five bags more. 17 So also, the one with
two bags of gold gained two more. 18 But the man who
had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's
money.
19 "After a long time the master of those
servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20
The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. 'Master,' he
said, 'you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.'
21 "His master replied, 'Well done, good and
faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in
charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'
22 "The man with two bags of gold also came.
'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained
two more.'
23 "His master replied, 'Well done, good and
faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in
charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'
24 "Then the man who had received one bag of
gold came. 'Master,' he said, 'I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where
you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in
the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.'
26 "His master replied, 'You wicked, lazy
servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I
have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should
have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would
have received it back with interest.
28 " 'Take the bag of gold from him and give it
to the one who has ten bags. 29 For those who
have will be given more, and they will have an abundance. As for those who do
not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 30
And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will
be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
Today’s New International Version Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society
Clearly the landowner didn’t see his staff as
having equal abilities. When it comes to
our abilities, we are as different as different can be. God simply did not make
us all the same. There are some people who can handle five talents but there
are some who can handle only one. There are some persons who have great
intellectual capabilities, and some who do not. There are some who have the ability
to project and articulate their thoughts, and there are some who cannot. There
are some who have physical prowess and attractive looks, and there are some who
do not.
The important thing to remember is that each
servant in Jesus’ story was given something. No one was left idle. You may not
be a five-talent person, but you have some talent. I think that there are a
whole lot more one and two talent people in this world than there are five
talent people.
The landowner caught his flight out of LAX. When
he returned he called together his three staff and asked them to give an
account. It seems that the five talent man had invested his talent and was able
to return an additional five talents, a 100% return. So, too the two talent man
doubles his money. “Well, done good and
faithful servant."
But what about the one talent man? He stepped
forward and said: Sir, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not
sow. So he returned that which he had originally been given him. The landowner
was so mad he took the talent back and gave it to the servant who now had ten.
It is interesting to note that in the 25th chapter
of Matthew's Gospel where this story is told there are three parables told in a
row: The Parable of the Bridesmaid, The Parable of the Sheep and Goats, and the
Parable of the Talents. Essentially the same phrase is used in each: “after a long time.”
In the bridesmaid story the bridegroom comes after
a long time. In the story of the sheep and goats the judgment comes after a
long time. In the talents story the
landowner returns after a long time. Perhaps this is Matthews's way of saying
to us: Our master may be delayed in his return, but, in the meanwhile, what are
you doing with the talent that has been entrusted to you. Let us be clear on
one issue. God expects a return. We had better not simply bury that which has
been given us and return it when he comes.
Well, it is obvious that the villain of the story
is the one talent man. But why did he choose to do nothing with the one talent
that had been given to him? We are not really given the answer. We are left to
speculate. And that is precisely what I would like to do this morning.
Speculate about his inaction.
First, he perhaps did nothing with his one talent
because he feared failure. How did he word it: " I was afraid" and I
hid my talent. Fearful of doing the wrong thing, he chose to do nothing at all.
He was not going to risk someone else's money by buying into some speculative
venture.
The tendency is to want to play it safe and not go
out on a limb. He wanted to play it safe and what is wrong with that? Simply
this, you cannot love if you are not willing to risk. What is the risk of love?
That it will not be reciprocated. That people will not return our love. But as
the people of God, we are called upon to be the people of daring. Think about
it, if Jesus had played it safe, we would not be sitting here this morning. I want to be faithful to this text. So, I
would say to you: Go, and take risks. Takes risks and don't fear failure.
Perhaps a second reason why this one talent man
did nothing with his talent is that he played the game "if only." If
only I had been given the talent of these other two men, then I could have
accomplished something.
We like to play that game too. We think “I would love
to teach a Sunday school class, if only I had her ability.” “If only I had his voice I would sing in the
choir.” “I would support the church if
only I had a little more money.” It is a
dangerous game because it too easily gets us off the hook.
I love the story of the thirty-eight-year-old
scrubwoman who would go to the movies and sigh, "If only I had her
looks." She would listen to a singer and moan, "If only I had her
voice." Then one day someone gave her a copy of the book, "The Magic
of Believing." She stopped comparing herself with actresses and singers.
She stopped crying about what she didn't have and started concentrating on what
she did have. She took inventory of herself and remembered that in high school
she had a reputation for being the funniest girl around. She began to turn her
liabilities into assets. When she was at the top of her career in the 1960’s
Phyllis Diller made over $1 million a year. She wasn't good-looking and she had a scratchy
voice, but she could make people laugh.
Well, maybe God is saying something like that to
us. Maybe when we complain that we wish that we had more, if only we were like
someone other than ourselves, if only He says to us: Use the gifts I have given
you. Stop crying about what you do not have and start concentrating on what you
do have.
To me, however, neither of these reasons really
gets to the heart of the issue. I really think that the one talent man did
nothing with his talent because he thought to himself: Well, my one little
talent won't make any difference anyway. There are a lot of people who feel
that way today. I dare say if you took a poll of why people don't vote, that
would be the answer given most: Well, my one little vote won't make any
difference.
Sir Michael Costa, the celebrated conductor of the
19th century, was holding a rehearsal. As the mighty chorus rang out,
accompanied by scores of instruments, the piccolo player--a little pint-sized
flute--thinking perhaps that his contribution would not be missed amid so much
music, stopped playing. Suddenly, the great leader stopped and cried out,
"Where is the piccolo?"
The sound of that one small instrument was
necessary to the harmony, and the Master Conductor missed it when it dropped
out. To the Conductor there are no insignificant instruments in an orchestra.
Sometimes the smallest and seemingly least important one can make the greatest
contribution and even if it doesn't seem to make that big a difference to the
audience at large, THE CONDUCTOR KNOWS IT right away!
In the Church the players and the instruments are
diverse-different sizes, different shapes, different notes, different roles to
play. But like the piccolo player in Sir Michael's orchestra, we often in our
own sovereignty decide that our contribution is not significant. Our contribution
couldn't possibly make a difference. And so we quit playing. Stop doing that
which we've been given to do. We drop out. But the Conductor immediately
notices. From our perspective, our contribution may be small, but from God’s
perspective, it’s crucial.
I just have to believe I'm talking to some piccolo
players this morning, who have dropped out of the orchestra, for whatever
reasons: pain, exhaustion, insecurity, criticism, laziness, misbehavior. You’re
convinced that your contribution doesn't mean a hill of beans in the bigger
scheme of things. We have buried our talent in the ground. For all piccolos who won't play, or at least
aren't playing, Jesus has something to say. Use the gifts that God has given you.
I don't know when I spend hours on a sermon if
it’s going to make any difference at all in the life of anybody. But I do know
that it is better to try than not to try. I don't know that if a teacher makes
an effort to reach out to a troubled student that it is going to make any
difference in the long run, but I do know that it is better to try than not to
try. When a person teaches a church school class or goes to the trouble of
singing in the choir and having to show up for rehearsal, they have no
guarantee whatsoever that their efforts will help make God more real to an
individual. But I do know that it is better to try than not to try.
We are so used to looking at gigantic issues like
the economy and say: "What's the use? Anything that I could do would be so
little that it would have the effect of an eyedropper compared to the ocean.
Therefore, since I cannot resolve the whole issue, I will do nothing at
all."
May I remind you that when the Good Samaritan
stopped to help a beaten victim on the
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