"For it is as when a man, going into another country, called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one; to each according to his several ability; and he went on his journey. Straightway he that received the five talents went and traded with them, and made other five talents. In like manner he also that received the two gained other two. But he that received the one went away and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money. Now after a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and maketh a reckoning with them. And he that received the five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: lo, I have gained other five talents. His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will set thee over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy lord. And he also that received the two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: lo, I have gained other two talents. His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will set thee over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy lord. And he also that had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou didst not sow, and gathering where thou didst not scatter; and I was afraid, and went away and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, thou hast thine own. But his lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I did not scatter; thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the bankers, and at my coming I should have received back mine own with interest. Take ye away therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him that hath the ten talents. For unto everyone that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not, even that which he hath shall be taken away. And cast ye out the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth." (Matthew 25:14-30)

While Jesus was in Jerusalem, He taught the parable of the talents to His disciples, who were questioning Him about the time of the temple's destruction and, as they said, "the end of the world" (Matthew 24:1-3). Jesus replied by speaking of the coming of false prophets, the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel, and of multiple warnings to be ready for the occurrence of the events in question. Beginning in Matthew 24:32, and continuing through 25:30, Jesus admonished those who heard His words to be ready at all times. These admonishments included the parable of the fig tree (Matthew 24:32), the example of the great flood that Noah survived (Matthew 24:39), the faithful and wise servant (Matthew 24:44-51), the parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25:1-13), as well as a part of the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30).

The parable of the talents contains other lessons for us to consider. One such lesson is our need to remember that our Lord and Master expects His servants to be active, not idle, when there is opportunity to do His work. Each of these servants received a portion of his master's goods "according to his several ability" (Matthew 25:15). Who is more aware of our capabilities than God and ourselves? God does not expect us to do more than what is possible, but he does expect us to do all that is possible. This does not mean that we can excuse ourselves from certain work by saying, "God has not given me talent or ability to do this task."

The work must still be accomplished, even if we have less skill than someone else. In Romans 12:4-8, the apostle Paul described how the church, as a body with many members, functions when all its members work. He described how some, at that time, were given the task of prophesying, others ministering to needs, teaching, exhorting, giving, ruling, even showing mercy. But after saying that each person has a task to accomplish, he emphasized that each is to do his task as superlatively (excellently) as possible, just as the first two servants in Jesus' parable did. When given five and two talents respectively, they "straightway," or immediately, set to work trading with them. They did the best they could for their master, and He called them "good and faithful servants." Peter, in 1 Peter 4:8-11, spoke of similar matters. He also emphasized that all are capable and must be fervent in love for their brethren, regardless what else (ministering and teaching/speaking God's word) they do for them.

Elsewhere in the Scriptures, there are a couple of wonderful examples that clearly portray this attitude. Consider the Macedonian saints mentioned by the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 8:2-4. "That in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints." Paul said of these that they joyfully gave liberally out of their deep poverty. In like manner, in Mark 12:41-44, we read that Jesus praised the attitude of a poor widow who, he noted, gave two mites (a very small amount) into the treasury. These people might not have given large amounts, in banking terms, but they gave all they could in service to God.

The all-knowing God whom we serve knows and understands what each of us is capable of doing. That's why He instructed Moses to lead the Israelites to Canaan. Moses would have been content to live the remainder of his life in Midian; and he used his inabilities as excuses for not doing what God asked (Exodus 3-4). However, God told him to meet with Pharaoh and deliver His words to Egypt and Israel, and that task Moses could do.

In like manner, Jeremiah tried to refuse God's orders to prophesy to the nations; he said "Ah, Lord Jehovah! Behold, I know not how to speak; for I am a child." (Jeremiah 1:6) God responded by telling Jeremiah that was no excuse for not doing what He commanded and that Jeremiah would go wherever God sent him and say whatever God told him to say.

"But he that received the one went away and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money." (Matthew 25:18) Notice that the difference in what these three did with the money entrusted to them gives a good picture of Jesus' teaching on storing up treasures (Matthew 6:19-21). We can see that the first two servants were storing up better things in preparation for their master's return. The third entrusted his lord's money to the earth. It was left to decay. Later, we will note how great a loss that truly is.

"Lord I knew thee, that thou art a hard man ..." (Matthew 25:24). Did this servant really know the Lord? If he knew him that well, he should have realized that he would be very upset and disappointed with his slothfulness and the lack of profit on his funds. Neither is our Lord pleased with slothfulness and lack of productivity. This is not to imply that in order to seem productive to the Lord, we must meet certain labor quotas and numbers of responses from the people with whom we speak. Rather, we must be mindful that there is work to be done. We might not all be wonderful music composers and song-writers; however, we can all contribute by singing, as God expects us to do. Whether it is by teaching others how to be better singers, song-leading, or singing along in services, each has a part.

Similarly, we can all teach God's word to others. Whether it is preaching a lesson, writing a tract or lesson plan, sending out a lesson for someone to study at home, inviting others to attend a Bible study, or reading Scriptures to others, we can all participate in sharing with others the knowledge of God and His word. Regardless how we view the strength of our ability, it is our responsibility, and God expects us, to use that ability on His behalf.

Neither Jeremiah's age, nor Moses' weak tongue and meek demeanor, were excuses to keep them from serving God. Even so, we cannot allow such things to hinder our resolve to work with what God has given us, thereby fulfilling His expectations. We have already seen what can be the outcome of such attitudes. Those who give their best in service to God can expect to hear, "Well done good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over many/a few things, I will set thee over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." (Matthew 25:21-22) But those who would excuse themselves from serving God will hear, "Cast ye out the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness: there shall be the weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Matthew 25:30)

"For unto everyone that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not, even that which he hath shall be taken away." (Matthew 25:29) In this parable's context, and at other times the Bible uses this phrase, it refers to those who have worked to earn their abundance. Others who, due to neglect and idleness, have little often allow what they do have to weaken or become worthless. Consider your faith in the context of 2 Peter 1:5-8, "But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." When we work, by diligently studying, praying, and other means, our faith grows stronger. Then we can add to it and abound in the virtues and traits Peter listed as being able to prevent our being barren and unfruitful. However, if through neglect and slothfulness, we allow our faith to weaken, we are faced with the real possibility of losing what little we had to start with.

Brethren, let us work diligently with what God has provided, in whatever capacity we can. Let us soberly evaluate ourselves to see if we are making use of the abilities our Lord knows we have. And let us work to improve ourselves in every aspect so that we might be pleasing servants in the eyes of our Lord and Master.

Brother Hinds has reminded us of an important truth--all have ability; therefore, all have some responsibility. God's people--all of us-need to understand how to work together to enable the Lord's church to function and to help it be the best it can be. Too often, people feel that because they are one-talent members, they have nothing to contribute. Each person needs to remember that if he fails to use his one talent, someone else will have to do his work. Each of us has a duty to grow. Five- and two-talent people must strive to produce additional talents to help with the Lord's work. Are you seeking for ways in which you can help the Lord's church become stronger and more effective, or are you seeking ways to put more work on others? Just as the parable teaches us, it's not how many talents one has but what he does with those he has. May God help us to put all our efforts into furthering His work. (KMG)