The Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30) points out something that might trouble many of us.
There are no excuses.
In this parable, the master goes away on a journey and leaves three servants an amount of money (or talents as it is written) “each according to his ability.” (Matthew 25:15) Two made good profits with what they were given while one hid his money.
The one that buried his talent is a reflection of so many in the church:
- Many do not participate because they don’t have a certain skill.
- Many don’t participate because they don’t have much to offer.
- Many don’t participate because they are afraid to mess up.
Rather than take what he had and try to make more (because everyone has to start somewhere,) the one talent guy played the victim and was a non-starter.
Just Start
The two that made good use of the master’s money doubled it according to the text. (Matthew 25:20, 22) If these were good economic times where they could make a 12% annual return, it would still have taken six years to double the money.
That’s a long time.
That means the one talent servant presumably sat around for a long time and did nothing.
The correct approach for him would have been to take what he had and grow it. Start out with safe actions. Begin with the basics. Even that will cause growth.
Then keep going
No matter where we are in our Christian walk, there is more to do and there are more needs. The requirement to grow what the Master has entrusted us with is still with us. He doesn’t expect us all to be five talent servants, but he expects our best efforts.