Daily Scripture:
Matthew 25:14 “For it will be like a man about to leave home for awhile, who entrusted his possessions to his servants. 15 To one he gave five talents [equivalent to a hundred years’ wages]; to another, two talents; and to another, one talent — to each according to his ability. Then he left. 16 The one who had received five talents immediately went out, invested it and earned another five. 17 Similarly, the one given two earned another two. 18 But the one given one talent 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 to settle accounts with them. 20 The one who had received five talents came forward bringing the other five and said, ‘Sir, you gave me five talents; here, I have made five more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Excellent! You are a good and trustworthy servant. You have been faithful with a small amount, so I will put you in charge of a large amount. Come and join in your master’s happiness!’ 22 Also the one who had received two came forward and said, ‘Sir, you gave me two talents; here, I have made two more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Excellent! you are a good and trustworthy servant. You have been faithful with a small amount, so I will put you in charge of a large amount. Come and join in your master’s happiness!’
24 “Now the one who had received one talent came forward and said, ‘I knew you were a hard man. You harvest where you didn’t plant and gather where you didn’t sow seed. 25 I was afraid, so I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here! Take what belongs to you!’ 26 ‘You wicked, lazy servant!’ said his master, ‘So you knew, did you, that I harvest where I haven’t planted? and that I gather where I didn’t sow seed? 27 Then you should have deposited my money with the bankers, so that when I returned, I would at least have gotten back interest with my capital! 28 Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten. (Complete Jewish Bible).
Reflection Questions:
The “coins” in this story were valuable indeed. “The Greek word is talanton, often translated as ‘talent,’ which refers to a monetary unit equal to more than 16 years of earnings for a laborer.”* But Jesus focused less on the amount of money, and more on how faithful each servant was or wasn’t. He said our faithfulness to God shows in our willingness to use whatever resources of energy, time, skills, money or other assets God gives us to leave a legacy of blessing others and building God’s kingdom.
- The apostle Paul wrote about his own direction and purpose in life, “What is expected of a manager is that they prove to be faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:1-4). To the Galatians, he wrote that living selfishly destroys our freedom, and serving each other in love is the divine remedy for selfishness (cf. Galatians 5:13-14). In what ways have you seen the Spirit work through your commitments to God and others to grow a legacy of generosity in your life?
- What resources has God entrusted to you? How are you using those resources to serve God’s Kingdom and bless others? Are there any resources or life-giving abilities you have “buried in a hole in the ground,” so to speak? If so, how might you begin to use them actively for God’s purposes?
Lord Jesus, I admit that sometimes I’d like to keep the resources you entrust to me all for myself. Teach me daily more about what it means for me to be good and faithful. Amen.
* Eugene Eung-Chun Park and Joel B. Green, study note on Matthew 25:15 in The CEB Study Bible. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2013, p. 54 NT.
Randy Greene is a part of the Communications team at the Church of the Resurrection. He helps develop and maintain the church's family of websites. He is also a student at Central Baptist Theological Seminary and loves to write stories about faith for his blog.
A few years ago, my wife and I were in a situation where we felt very lonely. We had moved to a new part of the country where we didn’t know anyone and, although we had each other, there was hardly anyone else around us with whom we could share our lives and our core Christian convictions. For more than two years, we tried to find friends to “do life” with—our stretcher-bearers—but we failed.
When we moved out of that environment and back to Kansas City, we committed ourselves to finding and fostering the types of friendships we had lacked before. For example, we purchased a home that was perfect for entertaining guests, and we gave ourselves a loose challenge to have someone over for dinner every weekend to help us build those relationships with people. And through it, we have found a diverse group of friends that we love and cherish and, we believe, we are able to pour back into as well.
In the parable of today's reading, Jesus wasn’t necessarily talking about money as if that was the only type of resource (or even the best resource!) we could use for God. For my wife and I, our home has become a resource that we are investing back into the kingdom of God, even if it’s only in a small way. We all have something we can contribute—we simply have to make the intentional decision to do so.
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Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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