The Talents
Jan 30th, 2007 by Jeff
Matthew 15:14-30
“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone. He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last—dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip.
“The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more. The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more. But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master’s money.
“After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money. The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, ‘Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more.’
“The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’
“The servant who had received the two bags of silver came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest, and I have earned two more.’
“The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’
“Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. 25 I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.’
“But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate, why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’
“Then he ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth
I attend a Bible Study on Monday evenings and we looked at the parable of the Talents a few months ago. During the study the group leader asked everyone to share a strength or talent that they have. When we got to me I said something along the lines of “Welll….I just don’t know.” I then shared about how I have taken many different spiritual gift inventories and other random tests to help you see how God has gifted you. And I always get different results. So in short. I can’t figure out how God has gifted me. And I shared how frustrating this has been for me.
Let me tell you how I have always look at this parable Jesus shared in regards to my life. I have always been convinced that I am the guy who received one bag of silver or you know, the guy who got one thing. I am that guy. And what I learned from this parable is to not do what the guy with the one bag does in this parable. So I have been living to simply not bury that one thing in the ground and at least earn some interest on it for God or be able to give him a bit more than He has given me. I have never considered myself to be the guy who received 5 bags of silver or , the guy who received a lot. So I have always been trying to figure out what my one thing is.
Well I was shocked when the group leader, Kerry Eastridge, said something similar to. “Jeff, you are the guy God has given much too.” He said I am the guy with the 5 bags of silver. What? Me? He shattered my view of myself. I left this study thinking. “If I am the guy who God has given much too then I have a problem. Because I am not doing diddly squat with what he has given me.” Since this time others have also shared the same thing with me. It appears that it has just been me, not seeing myself clearly. This inability to see myself has been such a huge hinderance and it really wasn’t until this study that I am beginning to really see that I need to be doing a lot, because I have truly received much.
Now I can’t list off a bunch of talents (maybe someone else can leave some comments to this regard as I still can’t really see myself well enough to even begin any kind of listing process), but I know when God needs me to do something I become gifted to do it. Kerry said I am more like God’s go to guy. A guy that is simply available and God can use him for whatever needs to be done. That my giftings change depending on where God has me. Now this seems to explain why each time I take a spiritual giftedness test or inventory I always get different answers.
So now I am facing a new reality. One of much more responsibility than I had ever thought could fall on my shoulders. I mean seriously, I am Jeff. Not Billy Graham or [name some great spiritual leader here]. But I recognize that I need to be using the giftings God has given me for His Kingdom. And I need to recognize that God does have something for me that is more than just earning a bit of interest for Him, that He has given me a lot so that I can bless others a lot. That I can help his Kingdom grow.
So…. what to do now…..
I guess I need to find that Lion and begin chasing it, and not worry so much about my abilities, God will provide what is needed for any task that He may have for me. I need to trust God and take pursuit.
http://www.thebristows.com is an OpenID for Jeff Bristow
This is a great posting Jeff. I myself have been growing in my knowledge and my walk with Christ. I have been praying for some time for god to move in my life and give me a close friend that is a follower of christ. I have many friends, but so many of them are lost in the hussle and bussle of the world. I see how they are all searching for Jesus to fill the hole they have right through the middle of them. I know god can fill that hole. He did it with me and with my family. I could thank god everyday all day for the rest of my life and it wouldn’t be enough to say thank you for all that he has done for me. I guess that is why it is called “grace” yet while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
I think some people get confused about their gifts and they expect so much of themselves and they miss all the little things they do everyday that furthers the kingdom, and shows the love christ showed us. My wife amazes me often with her faith. She makes me a better person because of her faith in the lord and her dedication to serving him. I have heard people describe it like this. Many people worry about what job they do and wonder how it will benefit them. I think that it isn’t so much what we do in life, but how we do it. Do we do it with the love of christ. We are all blessed with different gifts. Jeff I believe your gifts are things you use everyday, but just don’t realize it. You said it best when you said you need to just trust god and take pursuit. Jeff you are a great guy and have many gifts. You are one of the smartest people I know. You are also one of the most caring people I know. I think like most people you expect your talents to be easily seen and tangible like, being a good cook or a painter that paints masterpieces for the lord. I think god is more subtle than that with you. You have many talents, but they are subtle. I believe one of your greatest talents is how much you trust the lord and are willing to do anything he asks of you. You are a good friend also, that is a talent. I am blessed to have a good friend such as yourself. \
I think our little minds are too small to grasp the vastness of gods great plans for us, and his great plans to utilize us. He is using you in a mighty way Jeff, and he is the only one that knows that plan. I think we will only see how he used all our talents to further his great plan when get done with our lives and we see how our talents furthered his mighty kingdom. In the meantime, I would say continue to pray for god to use you however he saw fit, because who knows all your talents better than your creator.
Matt,
Thanks for your encouraging words. I know God will use me, I guess I often would like a road map so I can see where I am at. The good news is I am beginning to realize I am not the guy who received a little, but the guy who has received a lot and I know I need to do something with it for God’s Kingdom. And as GI Joe always says “Knowing is half the battle.” But the other half is likely more difficult.