Matthew 25:19-30

Matthew 25:19-30

And after much time, the Lord of those slaves comes and checks the record with them.  And after the one who received five talents drew near he brought another five talents while saying, “Master, you gave to me five talents.  Behold!  I gained another five talents.”  His lord said to him, “Well done, good and faithful slave.  Upon little you were faithful.  I will appoint you upon much.  Enter into the joy of your lord.”  And after the one who received two talents drew near he said, “Master, you gave to me two talents.  Behold!  I gained another two talents.”  His lord said to him, “Well done, good and faithful slave.  Upon little you were faithful.  I will appoint you upon much.  Enter into the joy of your lord.”  And after the one who had received one talent also drew near, he said, “I knew you – that you are a harshly demanding man, while reaping where you did not sow and while gathering where you did not scatter.  And after being afraid and after going away I kept your talent safe in the ground.  Behold, you have what is yours.”  And after his lord answered him, he said to him, “Evil and lazy slave!  You had known that I reap where I did not sow and I gather where I did not scatter?  Therefore, it was necessary for you to deposit my money with the bankers and after I return I am paid back my money with interest.  Therefore take his talent and give it to the one who has ten talents.  For to all who have, it will be given and it will be in abundance.  And of the one who does not have, even what he does have will be taken away from him.  And throw out the useless slave into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Let’s not skip over the very first comment.  After some time, the Lord comes back.  The Lord does not give away His kingdom forever.  The Lord gives away His kingdom to see us work with it and then to come back and see what we’ve done.  He hands the kingdom to us in parts, of course.  He wants us to be a part of His kingdom.  He wants us to explore what He’s created for us.  But we need to remember that it is ultimately still His kingdom.

How do you remember that this is the Lord’s kingdom in your life?  How do you live this out in your life?  How does it feel to remember that the Lord is returning?

Second Thought:

Let’s take a look again at the first two slaves.  They are able to come into the presence of their lord and demonstrate their profit.  But notice their words.  They understand that the money was ultimately their lord’s money.  But they weren’t afraid.  They went out and with some wisdom took what they were given and gave it room to grow – a hundredfold even!  And they are rewarded.  The lord tells them that if they have been faithful in a little then they will be faithful in much.  They are told that they are good and faithful slaves and they get to go into the joy of their master.  There is the true reward.  Yes, they experienced success here in this life with the task that they were given.  But the reward is the eternal joy of their master.

How do you understand and live out the reality that all that we have really belongs to the Lord?  Do you live your life with a desire to take wise risks for the sake of the Lord?  How do the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” inspire you?

Third Thought:

Finally, let’s look at the third slave.  Yesterday we spoke about how the slave didn’t really do anything wrong.  The problem isn’t that he did something wrong; the problem is that he didn’t do anything right, either.  The lord is right.  The slave could have at the very least given the money to bankers who could have returned it with interest.  While he didn’t do anything wrong, he didn’t do anything wise!  This is why the lord calls the slave evil and lazy.  The master sees the actions of the slave and realizes that they are born out of fear and grown in lack of action.  This is what he finds despicable.  This is why he loses the talent he returned.  This is why he is thrown out of the kingdom into the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.

Where in your life do you suffer from a lack of laziness?  Do you ever consider that laziness and evil go together?  How do the words, “thrown him out into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth,” inspire you?

Passage for Tomorrow: Matthew 25:31-33