the parable of the talents

Matthew 25:14-30
14“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them.

15To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey.

16The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more.
17So also, the one with the two talents gained two more.
18But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.
19“After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.
20The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’
21“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!’
22“The man with the two talents also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.’
23“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!’

24“Then the man who had received the one talent came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed.
25So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’
26“His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed?
27Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
28”‘Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents.
29For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.
30And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’


i just just finished exams :) and i'm very happy.
but besides all that, there still lots to do, there's still this and that to get done, and sometimes it all get's just so - overwhelming.
and there are times when i would just wish my life was free of responsibilities and all that stuff, but that's very selfish and irresponsible of me.

the parable of talents recently spoke to me, in the midst of all my frustration and wanting to let go of everything. i was at the point of asking why i had to do this, and why i had to do that, why was i given such responsibilities to bear...it was a lot of questions!

as i read this parable. the answer came to my questions of why.

we are all given different kinds and amounts of "talents". some have more, some less, some have certain gifts and some don't, everyone has a different calling and a role to play.

that's why, it's not for me to demand of God that i had been given more of this or less of that. it's ultimately up to God what He wants to give.

and then, it's up to us what we want to do with the talents given to us.
will we go at once and put our money to work?
or dig a hole in the ground and hide my Master's money?

putting out talents to work, means being obedient to the purposes and things God calls us to. sometimes along the way, we may get worried, and tired of working, we may lose our vision of being at work at it in the first place, and we may reach moments where we just want to give up.

it's a whole lot easier to just dig a whole and hide the talent given to us. it won't multiple but it'll be safe. we won't have to worry about it and we can go on doing our own things without much thought of the talent (except that we'll have to remember where it's buried). we could go shopping, makan, anything we want. sounds good, no?

but what happens when the Master comes back?
to the one who has put his talents to work and have gained even more, the master says,

‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!’

and to the one who hid the talent, he replies in verse 26-30,

'You wicked, lazy servant!... And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

so, what's worth it in the end?
working our talents though it may be really tough at time, but reaping the fruits at the end of the day and sharing in our Master's happiness?
or having a jolly good holiday yet ending up thrown out?

and at that point, lots of things were put in perspective for me. what kind of servant am i?
i hope that at the end of the day, i will hear something like this ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!’ from my Master.

i want to be sold out for Christ.

Lord, i know that i've been pretty 'complainy' about certain things lately and i know i've been getting frustrated with lots of stuff and that all that breaks your heart. but i sometimes really feel so so so helpless and i don't know what i should do. Lord, i need you to help me. and i want to serve you with all i am, i want to put to work the talents you have given to me. i want to be obedient to your calling. Lord, whenever i lose sight of the vision and purpose of my calling, i pray that you would remind me of it.