The Case Of The Buried Talent: Individual Christians and Congregations Guilty
Posted: Monday, January 31, 2011
by Joel Hendon
http://hebronics.org/index.html
Most true Christians are familiar with the parable told by Jesus to his disciples in chapter 25 of Matthew. If not, something is wrong somewhere. It is a parable which teaches an intense lesson yet is widely ignored. A parable is a short allegorical story which illustrates a moral attitude or truth. Jesus used them frequently to teach lessons, and from his lips these parables become, not only a moral principle but as binding upon Christians as a direct command.
For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. 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.
Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money.
After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
And he also that had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou didst not sow, and gathering where thou didst not scatter; and I was afraid, and went away and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, thou hast thine own. But his lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I did not scatter; thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the bankers, and at my coming I should have received back mine own with interest.
Take ye away therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him that hath the ten talents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not, even that which he hath shall be taken away. And cast ye out the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 25:14-30)
The meanings involved in this parable should be evident and clear to anyone who reads it. It should cause every Christian to consider how much of his mental capacity he was devoting to the work of the Lord, in ways that would glorify God and his son, Jesus. Would it be sufficient to sit for an hour weekly in church services and feed your little ones Cheerios? I think not. Would the reading of a chapter in the Bible each day be sufficient? Although better by far than many, I still think not.
But aside from our mental abilities or capacity, the handling of our Lord’s money is another in-depth and true meaning intended by this parable. And all of our money is his. Only by his grace are we able to work and earn money to sustain our families. And, there are those who are wealthy and beside having real estate and other such investments, keep large some of money in savings accounts, Certificates of Deposit and the like. And all the while, there are those in the Lord’s Kingdom who have nothing, not even adequate food and shelter.
Then there are numerous congregations of the Lord’s church whose contribution receipts are far greater than their expenditures, while the work of the Lord suffers greatly in many places. They too, accumulate much savings, and oftentimes waste the Lord’s money, for entertainment!
I know of a congregation in Africa, which has been established for a number of years, but those who make up the group are so poor, they cannot supply even a shelter to worship in. They gather underneath trees to shelter them from sweltering heat and sometimes rain. Can we not see a relationship here of the meaning of the Lord’s parable above?
And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward. (Matthew 10:42)
When the Lord’s church was first established in approximately A.D. 32, read here how they considered one another and took care of each other:
And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved (Acts 2:42-47)
And then Jesus, after having told the parable of the talents, had the following to say and which should cause everyone, including this author, to consider just what do we do, each day of our lives? For Him.
When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. (Matthew 25:31-46)
When I was only a lad, I can remember when just about everyone in our area were very poor. Few had adequate food and clothing. But even when food was scarce, I recall people sharing what they had with others. I have known my own father to give some destitute family a pig and also vegetables and fruit which we had on our farm. God expects his children to care for one another and relieve their needs whenever possible. Otherwise we may hear the last segment of that parable: “ And cast ye out the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth”.
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