Are We Playing it Safe?

Text: Matthew 25:14-30

Focus: Using our gifts and talents

Function: To warn people to be doing Kingdom work.

Form: GOK

Intro:

When the word “Talent” shows up in the original copies of the Bible, it always refers to a unit of measure. Most often, it refers to a measurement of weight. The Roman talent weighed approximately 60 pounds.

As of 5:00 PM, last night, the price of gold per ounce was $1723. That is $22,399 per pound. Multiply that by 60, the weight of a talent, and you get $1,343,940 per talent.

The first servant at 5 talents was given $5,343,940, the second servant, with 2 talents was given $2,687,880 and of course, the lazy servant was given only $1,343,940.

All three of them were given a treasure. All three of them were given something of great value from the master.

I know that you all understand that the term “talent” here does refer to a unit of measurement.

Of course, if you had no biblical background, and you hear the word “talent,” you don't think of it as a measurement of gold, or a specific weight, but you think of it as a gift, an ability.

It is interesting to note that the according to Merriam-Webster dictionary, the change in the meaning of the word “talent” from a unit of measurement, primarily a unit used to measure gold, changed in the English language to an ability or a gift. And the change occurred solely on the basis of this parable in the New Testament.

This parable changed the meaning of a word in the English language. It is an important parable.

What talents do we give to God?

What do we hold back?

If this passage is speaking only about money, then what do we give to God and what do we hold back?

I had this deacon couple who lived right down road from the Church. They lived right off of the interstate. And they never, ever locked their house.

If my car wasn't working, I would just walk down to their house, grab the keys to one of their spare cars, leave a note saying that I was the one who borrowed it and return it when I was done.

When someone asked them how they could be so trusting, gently and generous, they simply answered “God owns it all anyway.”

These talents, everything we have, is a gift to us from God and God wants us to be good stewards of the gifts.

Now the parable is about the faithfulness of three men.

Two men are better qualified than the third. The first man was better qualified than the second.

The first man is given this 5 million dollar amount to invest and he does well and makes another 5 million with it. His reward is simple: “Enter into the joy of the Master.”

The second man does likewise and is given the same reward.

But the third man does nothing with the money except explain to the master that he has kept it safe.

The third man merely played it safe.

Do we do that?

One of my Bible professors cautioned us to not read too much into a parable. He said: “a parable is meant to teach one point and you cannot take all the situations out of a parable and use it do define a whole bunch of theology.”

For example, the master in this parable is reported as being shady, or unethical. But that doesn't mean that God does unethical business deals.

The point of this parable is that God has gifted every believer and He expects us to be using our gifts and talents when He returns.

The warning is that too many believers merely “play it safe.”

There are three possible ways that the man tried to excuse himself from using his talents. The first is, he wanted to play it safe.

This third man says to himself “the master is wicked and evil, he isn't fair, and if I mess up, he is really going to get me.”

Now the other two men don't say that about the master.

But the servant tells the master that the master is not to be trusted. That is a pretty big insult to a man who has trusted you with over a million dollars worth of gold. So, he played it safe.

That is one of the excuses that we use to justify not using our talents. How many times do we say to ourselves, “what if we mess up? I don't want to mis-represent God.”

And it is true, God is misrepresented every day. If one watches many of the televangelists, one would come to the false belief that the goal of salvation is to get rich, to obtain health, to have an easy life, that God is some sort of genie in a bottle or that God cares more for us, in the US than He does for people in Mexico, Palestine, Iran, Russia or anywhere that is not here.

We don't want to be guilty of mis-representing God. So we bury out talent.

This parable isn't about the fairness of God. This parable is about us using our gifts for the glory of God.

I used to wonder about the metaphor of the one who had much was given more, and the one who had little had even that taken away from him.

Did that mean that somehow in a Christian, or Biblical economy that the rich are indeed allowed to get richer while the poor get poorer?

That certainly isn't democratic. The social contract of our democracy is a level playing field with laws that ensure everyone has an equal and fair chance.

And we know from hundreds of passages of scripture that God is on the side of the poor and the oppressed.

One might wonder of the man with the one talent thought to himself “the master thinks less of me than ol' Fred over there, I'll mess it up. I'll play it safe and bury my talent.”

The second possible excuse people use is that the job should go to someone who is better qualified.

Have you ever said to yourself: “let someone else do it, they are much more gifted than me!” Let the preacher do it, he is trained for this kind of work. Let someone else go visit that person who is suffering, I am afraid, or embarrassed in the place of someone else's pain.

Listen, there is always going to be somebody with more talent than you, and there is always going to be somebody with less talent than you.

Our Christian life isn't measured by our successes compared to others, God wants us to be faithful with what He has given us.

Don't worry about how well, or how poorly someone else is doing. They have to answer to God for themselves. If you can encourage, even provoke them to good works, then so be it. But comparing ourselves with others never gets us anywhere.

There is a terrible warning in this passage: If we bury our talents, there isn't going to be a good enough excuse.

When God gave talents to us, He believed in us.

If the talent was indeed gold, the man with the one talent still had 1.3 million dollars worth to invest.

That isn't chump change.

It wasn't that the master didn't believe in this man.

God believes in you as well. After all, He is the one who gives the gifts.

With many gifts and talents, or with a few, God believes in you.

God has invested Himself in you.

The biggest reason, the one specifically spelled out in the parable is the tendency we have to be selfish and lazy.

The one with only one talent used this as his excuse: “I was afraid...”

And that excuse didn't and won't cut it with God.

Remember, there are three main sins in the Old Testament. 1), Idolatry. 2). Lack of concern for the poor and 3). a refusal to trust God at His word.

He used the excuse: “I was afraid.”

But what was the master's response?

You are wicked and lazy.

You know, I find that excuse: “I am afraid” as a cover up for, either the form of wickedness that says: “I can't be bothered. If I use my talents, for God, then it is less time for me. I think I am going to use my talents for me and for my pleasure.”

And that, dear brothers and sisters, is wickedness.

When God blessed Abraham and told him he would have so many descendants they couldn't be counted and that he would make him wealthy God said, I will bless you so that you can be a blessing to the rest of the world. (Genesis 12:1-2)

God gives us talents, abilities, gifts, children and even money and financial blessings so that we can bless others. Remember, it belongs to God, not us.

To use our gifts, talents, blessings, money for self interest is wickedness.

The one with one talent was afraid. But the master calls him wicked and lazy.

The second aspect of the condemnation is laziness.

Maybe the one with only one talent justified his laziness by calling the master wicked and unfair.

That goes on a lot when someone has to work for someone else, so instead of giving their employer an honest day's work, they slack off.

But here is the thing. It is God we are working for, not some imperfect human being.

And the thing is this, even the smallest gift is a treasure.

I believe that the two faithful stewards had fun, or at least a sense of reward, when they took a risk instead of playing it safe and invested God's talents.

This treasure we have isn't mere money, gold or silver. This treasure we have comes directly from God, by His Holy Spirit.

When we use our talents, we enjoy the reward of being partners with God.

You cannot outgive God. You cannot exhaust the gift inside of you.

If you stop playing it safe, I promise you that you will find a great adventure, working with God, doing His kingdom business.

You will live a life that makes a difference.