Using One’s Talents:

Today’s child ministry’s story was the story of the men who were gifted three talents.  This is a parable that comes from Matthew 25:14-30.  This story was about a master who was going on a trip.  However, before he left he gathered three of his servants.  He gave each one of these servants some “talents.”  In this sense this is referring to money. In fact, one talent is relatively 20 years of wages.  One man received five talents, one man received two, and then another received one.  The man with the 5 talents went and used the money from trading to gain five more talents.  Then the man with two talents did the same thing.  However, the man with the one talent hid and buried the one talent, so nothing could happen to it, but he made no more talent. 

The master would eventually come home and he would be pleased with the two who doubled their talents.  But he was furious with the one who just hid the one talent.  He was mad that he did nothing with the item he had been entrusted with.  He felt disrespected because the gift he had given out had not been taken care of, at all, but rather buried and forgotten about.  He questioned why he should have ever given a talent to the third man in the first place.  I should also mention the master knew what each servant could handle before he left.  This was the reason why he didn’t give the same talent to all three of them.  He knew what would overwhelm each servant. 

What do you think God would say about us and the talents he has given us.  God has given each person talents and gifts, some in the form of money, some in the form of spiritual or physical gifts, some in the form of relationships, and a lot of us a combination of all these talents.  He has given us each what we can handle and each looks different from the other person down the road.  This is why it is very important to use our talents.  In fact, I was reading a book recently called “Gaining by Losing,” by J.D. Greear.  In one particular chapter, Greear discusses the importance of using talents.  He retells the story and shows the master getting incredibly angry at the man who did not do anything with his talent or his money.  He called this man wicked.  He didn’t call him lazy.  He didn’t call him dumb, but rather he called him wicked, like he was evil.  

This may seem a bit harsh and a bit unwarranted upon first reading. I mean, I can understand the master being disappointed with the third man, but I don’t understand why he was called wicked. He didn’t do anything wrong.  He didn’t do anything at all.  In fact, I didn’t really understand why he was called wicked until J.D. Greear reminds us that he was called wicked because he didn’t use what the master had given him to grow.  He didn’t appreciate what he had been given.  He tried to hide it away and pretend it didn’t exist.  He didn’t want to be responsible for it. 

In many ways, people are like the third servant when they decide to walk away from the amazing gifts from God we have been given.  For one thing, anyone who is a Christian has been given the gift of the Gospel, and that is the most precious gift in all of history.  The Lord knew we were sinners and yet he still chose to die on the cross for our sins and remove all of our guilt and shame away.  This is such a precious gift and yet sometimes, we (I am including myself here) can walk away from this gift and forget to think about the great opportunities and the great amount of responsibility this leaves with us.  We are called, if you are a Christian, to speak the Gospel to others and to make disciples.  

J.D. Greear writes this wonderfully in his book, “Gaining by Losing,” “The question is not just whether you have done bad things; the question is whether you have done the right things with the good things God has given you.” (J.D. Greear, Gaining by Losing, page 181)”  God has given every Chrsitian, the Gospel, as well as spiritual gifts to help bring the gospel to others, and people and opportunities in order to share that message with. He has given each person these gifts based on what each person can handle, so it is important we choose to handle these gifts well.  

The challenge for both myself and others who are reading is to use your talents God has given you.  I think my personal challenge is to reach out to those who are near me and ask them where their walk with God is.  Then maybe ask to have a time where we can spend talking to God and going over the Bible together.  I really want to make sure that those who are near me and those I care about are being taken care of in their spiritual walk and give a way for all of us to spend time together with God.  My challenge for you is to think about your range of influence and the people around you and how you can best use your talents to reach those people in your influence.