Many of us have heard the parable from Matthew chapter 25 where three servants are given different amounts of money and instructed to take care of it. When their master comes back, he asks them to account for their stewardship. I could go on to tell the rest of the story, but I won't. I just want to talk about a particular verse that intrigued me, verse 15.
Verse 15 reads: "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."
Why would the master give his servants different amounts of money? He gave them "according to [their] several ability". He gave them the talents personalized to each of them. He gave them what they could manage, what they could handle.
The thing about parables is that they are meant to be applied. Insofar as I see it, the master would be God, and the servants would be us. So is it true that he has given us different amounts of "talents"? Absolutely! But isn't that unfair? Nope! How can that be? Wouldn't it be fairer to give each of the servants, each of us, the same number of "talents"? Definitely not.
See, when we are given a talent, whether that be a literal talent or something more like an attribute, we have responsibility for it. That whole "don't hide your candle under a bushel" thing means that we are supposed to use our talents, supposed to exercise and develop them. So how does this make unequal distribution fair? Simple. Some people can handle more than others. Some people are better off developing a range of talents while others are better at focusing on one thing. The package of talents that God has given us is custom made for us, designed to best suit who we are and who we are supposed to become. Really, it would be cruel to hand out equal portions and expect everyone to do equally well with them.
But God isn't cruel. He's loving and generous and knows us and knows just what we need and what will bless us. So the next time you see someone who seems to have ever talent imaginable, first off, that doesn't make them better than you. They're different but no more and no less than you. Second, remember that there's probably some talent you have that they envy.
When the master asked for a stewardship account, he gave the same praise to the servant that was given two talents as he did to the servant who was given five. It didn't matter that one was given more than the other, both were faithful and so both were rewarded. In the end, it isn't how much we've been given, it's how much we've served and how loyal we've been.
What a comfort. There's no need to compare myself and what I've been given to others and what they've been given because it isn't a competition! I'm going to be compared to me, to what I've been and who I've become. I have the comfort of knowing that as long as I as develop and use my talents responsibly, I too can have the chance to hear "well done, good and faithful servant". I have the comfort of knowing that I haven't and won't ever be given more than I can work with. I am capable. And that is an inspiring thought.
No comments:
Post a Comment