Using what you've got!

23 November 2008

Matthew 25:14-30

Today at Wesley Mission, we celebrate the work of our volunteers. Many aspects of our Mission could not be carried out, if it were not for the amazing contribution of volunteers.

When I was considering the biblical base for what I wanted to say to you, I fixed my mind on one of the best known parables of Jesus … it is often referred to as the Parable of the Talents though, as we shall see, this title is not without its difficulty.

We are familiar with using the word ‘talent’ as meaning a natural endowment – and forget that its use in the parable is so very different, because a talent was a sum of money (originally a weight, which later became a large sum of money). However, the link in the parable concerning abilities that God gives to us is a legitimate application … and the talents were given in relation to the servants’ abilities.

Let me say from the outset that although this parable is not without its problems, it is so true to life. Although we are equal in the eyes of God and our legal systems seek to reflect the fact that everyone has equal rights, in reality there are some great inequalities in the realm of abilities.

When it comes to abilities we are as different as different can be:-

Some have greater intellectual abilities.
Some are much more able to project and articulate their thoughts than others.
Some display more talent in the realm of sport.

In point of fact, most people are one or two talent people. The important thing in the parable is not the extent of each person’s ability, but that everyone has been given some ability to use to the full.

On a day when we think of those who offer themselves as volunteers, an appropriate theme has to be “Using what you’ve got!” – or, better still, what you have been given.

Let’s remind ourselves of the story:
A rich man was going on a journey and he decided to protect his money from thieves by entrusting it to three of his staff. He encouraged them to trade with it and give an account when he returned. One was given five units, one received two and the other just one. The servant with five started to trade immediately and the one with two likewise, but the third, out of fear that he might lose it if he traded, wrapped it up in a cloth and buried it safely in the ground.

After some time the owner came back and he asked each how they had used their money. Naturally he was very pleased with how the first two had fared, but the third, after he had made his explanation as to why he didn’t trade, was told he was lazy. The parable appears to indicate that laziness is a symptom rather than the disease itself. When we examine the story there seems to be a spirit of bitter resentment that prevented him doing something useful.

In Matthew 25, there are three parables all gathered together: the Parable of the Bridegroom, the Parable of the Sheep and Goats and the Parable of the Talents. Essentially the same idea is used in each – matters come to a head after a period of time.

We need to be alert and ready to show we have not wasted our lives in God’s eyes. We can be extremely busy on our own activities, purposes and convictions and disregard using our God-given abilities in the service of his kingdom by helping others.

Matthew does not tell us why Jesus told this story (as he did with other parables), nor does he tell us to whom Jesus addressed the parable. The important question is: ‘Who, during the time of Jesus’ ministry, were failing to use the gifts that God gave to them?’ – and there are two possible answers:

It could be religious leaders like the Pharisees.
It could have been the disciples.

In a year when we have faced the vagaries of the economic meltdown and the ups and downs of the stock market, it is good to remind ourselves that this parable is not about financial investment. It is God who has made an investment in his people … and he wants to be able to rely upon us.

The parable is found in Matthew 25 and is one of those ‘eschatological’ parables which relate to judgement. The absent master will return one day and will want to know about the way we have conducted our lives and used our God-given abilities.

One important thing to remember in this parable is that each member of staff was given something – no-one was left with nothing. Douglas Hare in his Interpretation Commentary writes, “The parable makes no attempt to examine the cause of the slave’s laziness, but one factor is evident from the dialogue: the slave has no love for his master. He is really interested only in himself, and consequently security, not service, is his goal. There is not the slightest trace of gratitude that his master entrusted him with so great a sum. Respect for his master is limited to a grudging acknowledgement of power.

“If we are correct in taking the phrase ‘to each according to his ability’ as indicating that for Matthew the parable challenges Christians to make full use of the gifts that God has entrusted to them, the portrayal of the third servant reminds us that love is our master and must be demonstrated in faithful and untiring service to other people.

“It is routine for Christians to excuse themselves by protesting that their gifts are too modest to be significant. This parable insists that the gifts are precious and are to be exploited to the full.”

It is a well-acknowledged feature of parables that they follow the age-old pattern of stress on the third person in the story that carries the essential message. We must explore this together, but also recognise that another crucial aspect is the fact that the settling of accounts is coming and must influence how I act now.

Christian stewardship is a way of life in which we regard ourselves and our life as a trust from God to be used in his service … and in response to what he has done for us in Jesus Christ.

This involves time, skills and money – and so volunteering fits neatly and accurately into such a theme. We remind ourselves that it has a strong biblical base –

‘Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms’ (1 Peter 4:10)
‘Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have.’ (2 Corinthians 8:11-12)

What then does the parable have to say to us:-

God expects us to give an account to Him of what we do with our lives

The three servants in the parable were each given talents. When the time for accounting came, they were not judged in an absolute scale but in accordance with what they had been given. This is a picture of God’s attitude towards us and he expects us to use to the optimum those abilities we have been given.

This involves a whole-life view

The central character amongst the three servants is the one who gave back his one talent. The salient question is, ‘Why did he choose to do nothing with the one talent that had been given to him?’ His reply to the master was that he was ‘afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground’ (v.25). Fearful of doing wrong, he did nothing!

Fear of the Lord can be good – it is the beginning of wisdom (Psalm 111:10), but there is a fear that can be said to be bad, caused by sin (Genesis 3:10; 1 John 4:18). What fear is this servant expressing – good or bad? He considers it good, but in fact the opposite is true. He may think his inactivity is out of a sense of awe. But it is inexcusable.

We must never look at our one talent and say, ‘Others will do it better than we and, therefore, we will do nothing.’ It is as we grasp the larger picture that we recognise the contribution our one talent is able to make.

Frederick Dale Bruner picks up the argument and suggests that perhaps what he is doing “be intended as a pleasant surprise for the Lord”.

It is in co-operation with God

Perhaps the servant wants to play it safe and we might say ‘What’s wrong with that?’ But our abilities are to be used in co-operation with God. We don’t want to find ourselves in a situation like the servant in the parable, who did not use to the full what he had been given.

Hugh Martin in his book “The Parables of the Gospels” writes, “The emphasis falls upon the man with one talent, and the use he makes of his endowment. How true to life he is. The one talented man is always tempted to mistrust himself. He suffers, as we say nowadays, from ‘an inferiority complex’ … It certainly is not his fault. Circumstances have been too much for him. People have been unjust; his master is ‘hard’ and expects impossibilities. The truth is, he feels that he is not able to achieve anything very great, and so he will not try to do anything at all. He is timid and lacking in self-confidence.”

It often comes as a rude awakening to discover our limitations and realise that we must live our lives with fewer of the rosy dreams of youth. Some people become sour when this happens and each of us must handle our gifts – or lack of them – at the appropriate moment in our lives.

God certainly wants women and men of great ability, but in the final balancing of the books we are told that many who are first will be the last – and the last first! (Mark 10:31)

Volunteering is one of those ways in which we can give ourselves with no expectation of reward other than knowing we serve God and the needs of others.

Such giving is liberating

When we offer our gifts to God they take on an altogether wonderful sense of purpose. It is as though the gift were given twice.

A M Hunter in ‘Interpreting the Parables’ writes, “In parables with three characters, like this one, the spotlight falls, by the rule of ‘end stress’, on the third character in the story – that is, on the servant who did nothing with his money. Who did this ‘barren rascal’ signify in the mind of Jesus? (The successful two, be it noted, are only there as foils to him). Who was this ‘lazy and wicked servant’ whose caution amounted to a breach of trust? The answer is that he typified the pious Pharisee who hoarded the light that God gave him and kept for himself what was meant for everyone. Such a policy of selfish exclusivism yields God no interest on his capital; it is tantamount to defrauding him and must incur his judgement. And the time for settling accounts is approaching.”

When I think of Wesley Mission I notice the wide range of activities that involve volunteering … in relation to:

Administration – office support, librarians, etc.
Fundraising – Wesley Fair and in many of our centres.
Practical skills – bus and car drivers, maintenance.
Programs – LifeLine, counselling, School for Seniors.

This is only the tip of the iceberg, but it is an indication that volunteering can be a liberating experience when it is given freely to a greater purpose!

God enables us to use the abilities we have been given

Gifts only take on meaning when they are used.

Abilities can disappear if not used

Talents are like muscles – if you don’t use them, then you lose them! One of the difficult aspects of the parable is the fact that the servant who did not use his talent is described as ‘wicked and lazy’ (v.26). This is put into perspective by Bruner, “According to the Lord, the servant’s whole theology of God’s greatness was one massive cover for laziness. The servant did nothing, not really because he believed in a God who needs nothing, but because he wanted to do nothing.”

Laziness not lowliness guided his attitude.

C H Dodd certainly agreed that there were those pious religious Jews who only wanted to preserve religion and ensure it remained uncontaminated.

Using our gifts, whether paid or unpaid, is not about our own abilities – but God’s

The recipient of one talent felt his contribution would not make any difference.

Sir Michael Costa, the celebrated orchestral conductor of the nineteenth century was holding a rehearsal. As the mighty chorus rang out, accompanied by scores of instruments, the piccolo player – a little flute – thinking perhaps that his contribution would not be missed amid so much music, stopped playing. Suddenly, the great leader stopped and cried out, “Where is the piccolo?”

The sound of that one small instrument was necessary to the harmony, and the great conductor missed it when it dropped out. The point? To the conductor there are no insignificant instruments in the orchestra. Sometimes the smallest and seemingly least important one can make the greatest contribution.

There are lots of reasons that prevent us using our gifts, mostly of our own making:

Pain, exhaustion, insecurity, criticism, laziness, etc.
It is a mistake to acknowledge our gifts as our own.
If those who have helped us in life did not use their gifts we might still be unaware of the love of God.

Our lives are able to reach out beyond ourselves

In God’s grace, he uses what we offer in ways that are beyond our imagining. The diversity of volunteering has its roots in our Mission ethic. The strong desire to serve flows from a people who realise that caring for others with compassionate commitment is very much in keeping with the Gospel … it makes a difference to the world in which we live.

Volunteering carries a message which in itself is strong: we do things not because we gain some physical or material reward, but because we want to do it. Such care carries with it a message of dignity and worth.

God encourages us to take risks with courageous discipleship

The story teller, of course, is Jesus and he demonstrates a truth of this parable in sharing his good news with us!

It is not enough to travel safely

Throughout his earthly ministry, Jesus invested his love in people – and the most unlikely of people. He scattered the seed of the gospel indiscriminately and let it fall where it may, to take root as it was able.

Russell Anderson observed that “the first two servants perceived the master far differently than the one talent servant. They saw him as a person who would appreciate bold and daring action. He liked to give a great deal of freedom to his servants and he expected them to be self-starters, to take initiative. Should they give it their best shot and yet fail, he would be fair and understanding, for some of his own ventures garnered no profit either.”

The one talent person viewed the master as hard and callous. “Should he lose the talent, the master would be unmerciful, because he is a stingy and exacting person. The image that we have of God or others guides our behaviour. Sometimes, as in the case of this servant, our perceptions are distorted, which leads to self-defeating behaviour.”

It is exciting to see people give of themselves

It is wonderful to see people capture a sense of purpose through volunteering. Today the nature of volunteering is changing. It is more likely to be –

Shorter and more intensive.
Flexible and wide-ranging.
Seen as part of a contribution to society.

The overriding reason for volunteering is the desire to do something for others. The task is worthwhile as we see it contributing to someone else’s wellbeing. Personal satisfaction can be enormous.

It is always a sign of responsible living

Jesus told this parable to warn us that we need to be accountable to God. It is awful to profess Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord and yet to deny him by the way we live –

Unused talents are like those muscles that waste.
Used talents make a real difference.

Volunteers make a difference … they are not a last gasp option and, as in our parable, it is not the quantity of talents that matters; it is how we use them. If we deploy them responsibly, we receive the Master’s ‘Well done, good and faithful servant!’

There is a well known story which comes from a book called The Star Fisher. Picture the scene: It is early morning on a Californian beach. An elderly man is walking along the edge of the water and stops occasionally, picks something up and then tosses it into the ocean. He then walks a few more steps, picks something up and once again tosses it into the ocean. A young jogger is running along the beach and has been watching the man as he stepped out his paces. Finally his curiosity gets the better of him and he goes over to the old gentleman and asks, ‘Excuse me, Sir, what are you doing?’

The man answered: ‘Well I’m saving the life of these starfish. The storm washed them ashore last night. The sun will soon be up and then they will all die. I am throwing them back in the water to save their lives.’

The jogger was astounded. He told the man that he had thirty kilometers of beach ahead and that there would be millions of starfish that had been washed ashore. ‘What possible difference do you think you are going to make?’ The old man took another step and picked up a starfish, and with all his might he hurled it into the ocean, then he turned and said, “Well, son, I guess I made a difference in that one’s life!"

Christian Life