“Giving An Account”
Text: Matthew 25:14-30
11-19-2023
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. As I mentioned last week, with the Church year winding down there is an increasing focus on the end of the age, Judgment Day, and Christ’s return. That’s true, but another theme that simultaneously runs through these readings is stewardship. Stewardship of our time, energy, and possessions. In other words, not only is Christ telling us to be prepared for the end with a strong faith, but He’s also urging us to examine what we’re doing with our faith-life as we await His second coming. Specifically, in today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us that there will come a day when we will have to give an account of what we’ve done with all God’s many gifts that have been showered on us. That’s because how we use them is an indicator of the health of our faith. This parable of Jesus is pretty straightforward and easy to understand. However, there are some facts that are easily overlooked which can help us in applying it to our own lives.
Now, even though I took Accounting 101 in college I am NOT good at crunching numbers. So, I’ll let you do the calculating on what exactly the “talents” in the parable were worth. A talent was about 75 pounds of silver. It’s difficult to accurately compare the worth today compared to 2,000 years ago but it might help to just consider that a talent was equal to a common worker’s wages for two solid years. Just for the sake of discussion let’s say the average blue-collar worker today earns $50,000. In modern terms, then, a talent would be worth over $100,000. So that’s what the servant who received the 1 talent was handling. The guy with 2 was taking care of $200,000. And the guy with the 5 talents was left to manage nearly a half million dollars. All of them were entrusted with a sizable amount. But don’t get sidetracked by those numbers. The actual amount is not the main focus of the parable. What the servants did with the money is.
It may seem obvious but we still need to be reminded that ALL the money in the parable belonged to the master. And really, when you think about it, that fact alone took a huge burden off the shoulders of the servants. They had nothing personally to lose by investing that money. It was the possession of the master. All that was required of them was to do their best at handling it. That was the task the master had given to them. Which makes the actions of that last servant all the more despicable. Please notice that he had to put some modesteffort into digging a hole to bury it. When I was a police officer it always amazed me how much time and energy some criminals put into their schemes. If they only had used it to earn an honest living, they would have been rich. Back to the parable. It was a risky gamble for that servant to bury the money. Anyone could have come along and discovered it. Then, as the old saying goes, finders keepers. He could have avoided that risk by simply investing it with the bankers. But he didn’t and that ought to tell you something about his attitude towards his master. For whatever reason, he despised his boss and it showed. His own words convicted him of that.
Okay, so now we’ve got a clearer picture of the parable. But how do we apply it to ourselves as Christians? Well, first we can identify what those talents represent in our lives. Since the servants are handling money in the parable you might think that’s a good place to start. Actually, I’d rather begin with time. As the saying goes, “time is money,” so the two are naturally connected. Really, how you spend your God-given time is just as revealing as how you spend your money. Every minute of every day should be used wisely to bring honor to the Lord. How are you doing with that? Is God getting a good “return” on that investment? More specifically though, we need to look at how we spend our time when God calls us to His divine worship services. Here in God’s House, He promises a bountiful spiritual dividend on our time investment. Skipping opportunities to worship is no different than the servant who buried his master’s money and did nothing with it. Willingly choosing to spend that time on something else speaks volumes about our attitude towards our heavenly Master. And what does it say when we get anxious and edgy and crabby about Church services that last more than an hour? By having that attitude, we are despising the precious investment of time that God has entrusted us with.
We see something quite similar as we look at the handling of our material possessions, and more specifically, our money. Are you spending those monetary talents on things that are God-pleasing or on overindulgence and other things that God clearly forbids? Are you squandering it on foolish things like gambling and the lottery or your personal lusts for pleasure? Elsewhere Jesus puts this in perspective by reminding us that all those things are transient. They rust, decay, and fade away. So the question is, why are you wasting what you’ve been entrusted with in order to gain that “stuff?”
As you might expect, this leads to a discussion of our offerings to the Lord. In every church that I’ve ever belonged to, both large and small, this has been an issue. I’ve come to the conclusion that this problem of finances has two main sources. First, as I said, our worship habits are directly related to our money stewardship. It’s really simple. If a person isn’t in church then neither is their offering envelope. And guess what? Rarely do people “make up” for their missed giving at those missed worship services. Ask our financial secretary and see if that isn’t true. When that happens, God isn’t getting any return on His possession so it’s just like burying it... in your own back pocket!
The other source of the problem is simply not taking the time to consider what portion you should be returning to the Lord. Unlike some Pastors and some churches, we don’t insist on the Old Testament tithe of 10%. You’re free to give whatever percentage you decide on, and that could be more or less than 10%. The New Testament simply teaches us to give cheerfully from a grateful heart. I can’t tell you how much you should give. You need to look at how God has blessed you and then decide accordingly. But here’s the rub– most people haven’t taken the time to even see where they’re at. I challenge you to do that this next week. Look at your tax returns from last year and find out what your income was. And then find out what percentage of that was put into your offering envelopes. I think the answer will shock and humble you. You may find that you have inadvertently been burying God’s possession by not being intentional about your offerings to the Lord.
One other area where we can apply this parable is by examining our God-given skills and abilities. Ironically, we call those “talents” in our modern language, don’t we? Everyone has their own unique talents. You may not see them within yourself but they are there. Where we get into trouble is when we start comparing our talents to that of other people. Some folks view their talents as worthless so they bury them. Others recognize their talents but hide them to avoid being asked to use them. Either way, it’s a sinful waste for those skills and abilities to be buried and not used for God’s purposes. Think about that the next time you’re asked to serve on a church board or be a Youth Leader or to help with Sunday School or VBS. Trust me, you wouldn’t be asked if someone didn’t think you were capable.
In all of these areas, the lessons from the parable can guide us in properly using God’s gifts. Whether you’re talking about time, money, or abilities it isn’t a question of how much you’ve been given. Rather, it’s a matter of whether you used it faithfully and wisely. Like those servants in the parable, you have been entrusted with something very valuable to your Lord and Master. All three of those– your time, money, and talents– can be used to spread the Good News of the Gospel. And keep in mind; all of these ultimately are God’s possessions. You simply get to use them while you live on this earth. Like me, as you take an assessment of how you’ve been doing at this, you’ll find that you’ve failed. Time and again, you’ve squandered and buried those talents of the Master. So why don’t you put down the shovel and confess those sins to God? If you will, He promises to forgive you for Jesus’ sake. What’s amazing is that as we do so, the Lord invests even more in us! Through His Word and Sacrament, He fills up and strengthens our faith. He fills us with the assurance of our forgiveness and salvation. And He sends us His Holy Spirit to guide and empower us to wisely use all of God’s gifts to His glory. On the Last Day we will be called to give an account of how we used our Master’s possessions. May He make us trustworthy stewards so that we can hear those blessed words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria!