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Use It or Lose It by Rev. Carol M. Simpson, Associate Pastor 14 November 1999--Ordinary 33 TEXTS: 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11; Matthew 25: 14-30 © 1999 C.M. Simpson

In our Gospel lesson for today, Jesus tells the famous parable of the talents. A man was going away on a trip, so he distributed a portion of his wealth to his three servants. To one he gave five talents -- to the second he gave two talents -- to the third he gave one talent, a talent being a significant sum of money in those days.

As we might expect, when the man returned from his trip, he asked the servants for an accounting. What had they done with the money he had given them? The servant who had received five talents had put the money to work and earned an additional five talents. The servant who had been given two talents reported that he had also doubled the amount with which he had been entrusted. But we discover that the man who had received only one talent had buried it in the ground, so all he had to show when his master returned was that which he had received in the first place.

The two servants who had invested wisely and doubled their Master's wealth, were richly rewarded. The third servant, however, the timid soul who feared his master and who lacked sufficient confidence in himself to take a risk, was not praised for keeping his master's money safe and returning the one talent intact. He was instead, loudly criticized; he was berated and made to feel the fool. Then, after being stripped of his one talent, and undoubtedly his pride as well, he was thrown into the outer darkness.

This is not a story about daring investment brokers and stock market geniuses. The first two servants, the one who received five talents and the one who received two, simply took what they were given and used it wisely. Over time, they doubled their investment. The third man, on the other hand, took what he was given and buried it. He did not use his mind or his hands to make it grow. He was so petrified at the thought of losing that which had been entrusted to him, "for he knew his master to be a harsh man," that the idea of investing the money may never even have occurred to him.

Put yourself in his shoes for a moment. He was a timid man, perhaps the kind of man who wore both a belt and suspenders; he liked to play it safe. He must have been quite good at his job or his master never would have entrusted even one talent to him. He was probably also the kind of man who did well under someone else's direction, but had a hard time making decisions for himself -- and he is all the more terrified here because the decision he is asked to make affects not only himself, but also his employer's welfare. So he did the safe thing; he buried the money. That way, he reasoned, there was no way he could lose any of it. Even if the market crashed, even if he was robbed, even if the sky fell in, his master's money would be safe. We might even imagine that he felt good about that decision. Perhaps he considered himself a loser and felt proud that this time he had surely done the right thing, and he probably approached his master confidently when called to give his accounting. Imagine him saying proudly, "Here it is, sir. Every cent of it. Just as you entrusted it to me. Not a penny has been lost."

We could debate a long time about whether he was treated justly. Was it fair for his master to be so upset or was it only because the other two had done so well, that his performance was even called into question. What if the other two had gambled and lost? Would he have been rewarded as the more faithful? Life is full of difficult questions without easy answers. And life does not always seem fair.

Somehow, though, I don't think Jesus intended this parable to be a lesson in economics or in investment banking. Once again, the parable is told to make a deeper point. The illustration about the talents is only a point of departure. Jesus is telling us that although life may be tough and may seem unfair, God is always fair. Clearly, we don't all have the same talents; we'll be judged only by what we do with what we have. God won't ask why we didn't hit home runs like Mark McGwire or sing like Barbara Streisand, but he will ask if we became what we were capable of becoming, if we used each of the gifts and talents with which God endowed us to the best of our ability in service to others.

Preacher and author Paul L. Moore recalls an old story about two farmers visiting over a fence in early Spring. "Jake," the first one said, "what are you going to plant this year, corn?"

"Nope," Jake replied, "scared of the corn borer."

"Well, what about potatoes?" his neighbor asked.

"Nope, too much danger of potato bugs," announced Jake.

The neighbor pressed on, "Well, then, what are you going to plant?"

Jake answered, "Nothing, I'm going to play it safe." (Like the man who received one talent!)

In the parable of the talents, Jesus is telling us what life is like. Jesus is saying that what we don't use, we lose. Nothing is more valuable than life itself, and nothing more tragic or more evil than destroying or wasting life and its gifts, whether it is in ourselves or in others. The one talent in this parable is nothing compared with the grand wealth of life God entrusts to each of us. To waste such a divine investment is serious business.

What tends to stick with us from this parable is the harsh treatment received by the timid servant who was given only one talent. But think for a moment about the employer. He was actually very generous. He entrusted each of his workers with a substantial sum, asking only that they do with it what they could while he was gone. There's no indication that he gave them any instructions about how to invest the money, or any indication of his expectations regarding return on the investment, and he apparently put no restrictions on them. They were left on their own, with marvelous freedom and a generous resource.

The analogy here is to life itself. Each of us begins with a treasure, a God-given gift, a life to be lived. The size of the treasure varies according to the circumstances of the life into which we are born, the abilities invested in us, and the setting in which we live out our lives. But we are each given a treasure. We are given life itself and multiple gifts and talents to use as we see fit during the course of our life. Which of the workers are we like? Do we dare great things for God, or do we hide our light under a bushel and keep what we have for ourselves?

The employer in Jesus' parable asked only one thing of his workers, that they earn something with the talent they were given. The inference seems to be that the earning ought to somehow be commensurate with the amount we've received. Thus the five-talent person brought back five more talents and was commended; the two-talent servant brought back two more and was also commended. It seems clear that the one-talent man would have been praised with just as much enthusiasm if he had brought back two talents instead of only one. Like the employer in this parable, God asks only one thing in return for giving us life – Do something with it. Use what you have been given for some good purpose.

Note that the parable gives no particular spiritual directives. The workers were not told to pray, to be honest, to love God, or even to be kind to their neighbors. They, and we, are told simply to use, in the best way that we can, what has been entrusted to us. We can, perhaps, conclude that we will never put our lives to the best use until we point them toward eternity and live with eternity in view, and we would be justified in drawing that conclusion. But the parable doesn't really even go that far. It simply asks, "How are you going to use your talent?" "What do you owe God for the inexpressibly valuable gift of life?"

When we return to our parable and look once more at the timid man who buried his talent, we discover that his sin was not so much a sin of thought, word or deed, as it was his failure to trust God. Paul wrote to the church at Thessalonica, "Now concerning the times and the season, brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.....You, beloved, are not in the darkness for that day to surprise you like a thief; for you all are children of light and children of the day." One of the gifts we have received, from parents, friends, teachers and pastors is the gift of faith. But what do we do with that gift? Do we cling to it selfishly or do we share it and multiply it in the sharing?

There is no better way to prove that we cherish the prospect of eternity than to live as children of the light, taking hold of life with passion and enthusiasm, using our gifts to glorify God. Those who wrap their talent in a napkin and bury it, will remain in darkness. Life is to be lived, to be lived richly and fully, using all of the talents and resources given to us by God. There is probably a little bit of the timid, one-talent worker in each of us. In times of self-doubt, in times when weariness shuts out the sunlight of hope, or in times when we lose heart, we may be tempted to bury our treasure. We may turn from God, or become angry with God, even for a short while. Those are the times when we need to dig deep within ourselves and uncover the treasure that God has entrusted to us, the potential for good, the potential for joy, the potential for living as God calls us to live. Paul writes, "Since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation."

You and I have received the greatest gift that can be bestowed upon a human being. We are children of the light, followers of Jesus Christ. But what have we done with that gift? Are we daily honoring that gift by walking in the steps of the Master and accomplishing the good in the world He would have us accomplish, or are we burying our gift in the ground? Christ's wish for us is that we follow in His footsteps--spreading His love, peace and joy in a world of darkness.

Jesus told this parable to His disciples. They had been given the gift of Jesus himself. But what were they doing with it? Were they enjoying Him privately, like the servant burying the talent? Or were they ready to share their knowledge of Him with others so that the church could increase? Jesus was saying to them, and He says to us as well, "You will have to give account to God for the way in which you use the Gospel. Share it with all the world. This is your responsibility."

God holds Christians accountable for what they do with their lives and their "gifts." Above all, we are to give account of our whole selves, of what sort of people we are. But we must also give account of our use of our "gifts," of our experience of God being at work in our lives, of our money, our time, our being parents, our being citizens, the things that each of us is able to do well. It was not enough for the servant to keep the bag of gold safe; he was expected to use it, to do something with it. So also, it is not enough for us to keep our gifts "safe." If they are not used and increased, they are taken away.

The society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children reported that a little girl was forced by her parents to pretend that she had only one leg so that she could go out and beg for them. So her left leg was tied up, out of sight. She was like that for so long that in the end she could not use her leg at all. There was no power left in it.

We have received this incredible gift from God, the treasure of life itself and gifts with which to live it, and in addition, we have been given the gift of Jesus Christ. What will we do with these gifts? Will we bury our treasure or use it to spread the Gospel and the love of God? The choice is ours...will we use it or lose it? If we dare to use our talents in the name of Christ, God's love will multiply ‘til it fills all the dark corners of our world. Let us put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation, and let us use our gifts for God. Amen.

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