The Curious Case of a One Talent Man - Daily Devotional July 24th, 2009

Daily Bible Reading - 2 Samuel 10, Jeremiah 14, Matthew 25

The Curious Case of a One Talent Man (Matthew 25:14-30)

Here is a curious story about three individuals. They represent you and I as we journey through this life toward our final destination. In our journey, much like these three servants we have all been given gifts or talents that God desires us to use to build His kingdom while here on earth. Some of us have been given five, some three, and some one according to our current ability.

What I have come to realize is that it is not about the amount God has given us because the Bible teaches in Matthew 25:21 that if I am faithful with a little God will give me more. What is so essential to understand about this story is that we can take what God has given us and be effective in His kingdom no matter how many talents we have been given. It all comes down to a matter of perception.

The first two servants immediately take what has been invested to them and the Bible makes it clear that they double what was given them and are rewarded equally for their labor and good work. The last servant though is a curious case that we all must learn from. This servant takes the one talent he is given and buries it in the ground so that when the master returns He gets back exactly what He had handed out. What makes this such a curious case is not so much what the servant did but what He says as the master questions him.

The servant says in Matthew 25:24b-25, "I knew you to be a hard man...so I was afraid...and hid your talent in the ground". This man, although he was not given the same amount, was given the same responsibility and with that responsibility had the opportunity to make just as much of an impact as the other two. The curious case of this one talent man was not so much his ability and what he was given but rather his perception of the one who gave it to him. He had a wrong perception of his master that caused fear and that fear caused him to do nothing with his talent. His perception of his master caused him to loose everything and labeled him as "wicked and slothful". Perception is such a key to this story because the very first thing it says is that each one was given according to his ability. This tells me the master was indeed a good one because he did not give to each one more then they could handle and he knew that they each had the ability to be profitable with what he had given.

You and I have been entrusted with the responsibility of sharing the love of Jesus with the rest of the world. It says in 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 that God has entrusted to us the ministry of reconciliation or the sharing of the good news of Jesus Christ for the transformation of a culture. Are we like the first two servants, investing the talent or the ministry that God has given us wisely and winning people to Jesus Christ? Or like the last servant, has our view of The Master been distorted so that we are in fear and doing nothing with the talent/ministry he has given us? God has placed us around people who need to hear the love of Jesus and placed us each according to or ability to win those people to Him. This tells me that He is a good God and that you and I have the ability to serve those around us and lead them to Jesus.

Think about it today. How are you doing with your talent and with what God has entrusted to you? Are you sharing the love of Jesus Christ daily with others or are you burying your talent? When The Master returns what will he find?

Thanks for listening

Tomorrows Bible Reading - 2 Samuel 11, Jeremiah 15, Matthew 26

Dream Big
Ben