7 Principles of Giving from Jesus' Parable of the Talents
Why Giving Is So Important:
Reason #1 - Giving makes me MORE LIKE GOD.
“God so loved the world that He gave his only Son ...” John 3:16 ESV
God is a Giver! He gave us life. He gave us this world to enjoy. He even gave us his only Son so that we might have a relationship with Him. That most famous of verses, John 3:16, shows us the connection between loving and giving. You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving!
Reason #2 - Giving draws me CLOSER TO GOD.
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21 NIV
Where I put my money, my time, my efforts, my thinking, my life... that’s where my heart will be! So where do I want my heart? If I want to be more like God, then I’ll also want to be closer to God. When I give out of a heart of love and compassion, I’ll find that I’m also next to God’s heart.
Reason #3 - Giving strengthens my FAITH.
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, do not depend on your own understanding. Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce.” Proverbs 3:5, 9 NLT
Nothing strengthens my faith more than giving when I don’t understand how in the world I possibly can do so. Giving the way God gives - and the way He wants us to give - goes beyond our budgeting. It requires faith. The more I give, the stronger my faith will become. This is so because I discover that I cannot out give God. The more I give, the more He provides me the ability to give.
“Give, and it will be given to you... For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” Luke 6:38 NIV
Giving of our money and material possessions is the only place in the Bible where God literally says, “I dare you.” Here is Mark’s translation: “Give with a cup and you will be measured back a cup. Give with a dump truck and you will be measured back with a dump truck!”
Reason #4 - Giving is an investment FOR ETERNITY.
“... Give happily to those in need, and always be ready to share whatever God has given you. By doing this, you will be storing up real treasure for yourselves in heaven - it is the only safe investment for eternity.” 1 Timothy 6:18-19 LB
As a financial planner I have prepared many estate plans for passing someone’s wealth on. As a pastor I have seen and spoken over many funerals. Let me tell you what I’ve never seen - a hearse followed by a U-Haul truck! You can’t take it with you, but you can send it on ahead!
Reason #5 - Giving reveals my SPIRITUAL MATURITY.
“But just as you excel in everything - in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness... - see that you also excel in this grace of giving.” 2 Corinthians 8:7 NIV
Ultimately giving is more about my spiritual maturity than it is about the actual gift. Our finances are the last part of our personal life that we will release in trust to God. We hold on to our money and our wealth as a form of security. We cannot trust in God AND trust in our money at the same time. Giving is the discipline of learning to trust God. And it reveals to us the truth of our spiritual maturity.
The principles behind giving were important to Jesus - the master teacher. Both the gospel of Matthew and Luke tell us the parable of the talents, and both are recorded in the final week of Jesus’ life. Because in it we find 7 underlying principles of a giving lifestyle! We’ll cover the first 4 this week and then finish the rest next week.
7 Principles of Giving from the Parable of the Talents:
Giving Principle #1 - It all belongs to the Master.
“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them.” Matt 25:14
Our whole sense of perspective is off base when it comes to our possessions and our wealth. We may think that we are the owner and that we give - or not give (our choice) - out of what belongs to us. Any sense of such ownership is an illusion. We are not the owner. God is! Everything was created by God and returns to God.
Jesus - as God’s son - knew that he only had days left in his earthly life, when he shared this parable. He is the “man going on a journey.” We are “his servants.” He (God) has “entrusted his property” to us. We are caretakers. Stewards. Managers. Everything belongs to the Master. We have been given the opportunity to manage his property here on Earth for the short period of our lifetime. Will we manage it in a way that reflects the values and priorities of our Master Jesus? Will we manage it in way that demonstrates His love, His compassion, and His selflessness?
Giving Principle #2 - We receive equal to OUR ABILITIES, not equal to ONE ANOTHER.
“To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability.” Matthew 25:15 NIV
No where do we find anything about fairness or equality in this parable. The fact is that different people receive different talents - one 5, one 2, and the third only 1. What is a talent?
Giving Principle #3 - What am I doing with what I’ve been given?
“The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. So also, the one with the two talents gained two more.” Matthew 25:16-17 NIV
Think of it this way - are you growing in your desire to give to God’s kingdom? Are you growing in seeing the opportunities? Our financial abilities will not be the same - from time to time or from person to person. But growth should be present in whatever it is that we are doing for God and with His help!
Giving Principle #4 - STEWARDSHIP = managing during the Master’s absence.
“After a long time the master of those servants returned...” Matthew 25:19a
Money is a bad master, but a good servant! Remembering that will help me to determine whether I am God’s servant - his steward of all He has entrusted to me, OR whether I have the attitude of Owner.
We all want to be a steward - God’s servant. The way we handle our money, though, tells us whether our actions equal our desires. That’s why tithing is so important. It’s not the money given as much as the attitude with which it is given. Not a tax (I gotta do it), and not a tip (I give a leftover amount). It’s a tithe - the first tenth given to say to God: “I know this is all yours. You have entrusted it to me. I am managing it for you and for your kingdom. Here is the first fruits of my labor. Without You, none of this would be possible.”
Giving Principle #5 - ACCOUNTABILITY - when I report the results of how I’ve done.
“After a long time the master ... returned and settled accounts with them.” Matthew 25:19b
There will come a time when Christ will return and he will settle accounts with us! How have we done? Have we managed the resources he has entrusted to us as if they belonged to Him for His benefit and His kingdom? Or selfishly for ourselves? Have we managed with a sense of urgency, an ethic of work, and the objective of growth?
One of the other parables Jesus told about was the workers in the vineyard who took over the vineyard as their own. Have we done that? The last servant in this parable of the talents returned the talent back to the master. At the very least he knew the talent belonged to the Master. How about us? Are we guilty not only of not managing the talent well, but of outright stealing the talent and using it for ourselves? Jesus is clear that there will be a day of accounting. Let’s manage each day with that in mind!
Giving Principle #6 - PROBATION - the reward of being entrusted with more based on my faithfulness.
“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!’” Matthew 25:21 & 23
Sometime we have the misguided idea of our eternal life in Heaven as if it will be eternal floating on clouds playing harps. BORING! God has work for us to do. Exciting, wonderful, fulfilling, God-designed work! It will be work you will long to do, that will give you an eternal purpose.
Jesus tells us that our assignment in Heaven will be based on how well we do with what we’ve been given here on Earth. Notice that even though one servant received 5 talents and another only 2 talents, that their reward in Heaven was exactly the same! Verses 21 and 23 are identical! In Luke’s version of this story, both are given multiple cities to manage! Imagine being entrusted with the leadership of heavenly cities!
Are you handling your resources now as if you are on probation? Do you understand that how you handle your affairs here on Earth will play an eternal role in what you are entrusted with for eternity?
Giving Principle #7 - RISK - the understanding that safety and growth are incompatible.
“So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.” Matthew 25:25
We really don’t understand this at all! We believe that safety is the most important thing. We pray that God would keep us safe. But Jesus teaches that safety and growth are incompatible! Growth requires risk!
Why don’t we want to take risks? Because we are afraid. The third servant admits his fear: “So I was afraid and hid your talent...” Here’s something you need to know about risk. When you take real risks, you will be afraid. Risk and fear go hand in hand.
The issue is not my fear but my response to fear. This is why giving in a sacrificial way, when we don’t see how we can make it, is such a faith-building exercise. When we give selflessly instead of selfishly holding back, we learn to place our faith in God and not in ourselves or our own resources. This is what grows our faith. The more we act - in spite of our fear - the more faith we have. Our goal should always be to exchange our faith in our selves and our stuff for faith in God. Because that’s the only Person Who is worthy of our faith anyway. Everything else will disappear. Everything else will let us down. Only God is worthy of our trust.
When Jesus taught this parable he taught both sides of the equation - not only the two faithful servants, but also the unfaithful one. The one who hid the talent in the ground. Here Jesus shows us how important this lesson really is. Jesus shows us what’s at stake!
What’s at stake:
#1. Loss of my REPUTATION.
“You wicked, lazy servant!” Matthew 25:26
Jesus does not mince words. He describes the third servant as wicked. As lazy. Sometimes we think of being lazy as just the absence of work. But Jesus says the heart’s motivation of the lazy person is evil, wicked. Why? Because the servant presumes that he has the choice of working or not working. That, however, is the choice of the master - not the servant. What is the reputation you are after? The one of faithful servant entering into your Master’s happiness someday? Or the one of wicked, lazy servant because you thought caution was the way to go.
“The master was furious. ‘That’s a terrible way to live! It’s criminal to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least?’” Matthew 25:26 The Message
Let’s risk everything now to live faithfully for the LORD. Let’s risk everything on this side of eternity so that we might hear those words, “Good and faithful servant” on the other side of eternity.
Jim Elliot was a young missionary who was killed by the Waodani tribe in Equador in January 1956. Later the very men who killed Elliot became Christ followers themselves because of his sacrifice. Several years before Elliot wrote, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” Are you giving now what you cannot keep in order to gain what you can never lose?
#2. Loss of my ORIGINAL GIFT.
“Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents... Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.” Matthew 25:28, 29b
Jesus takes the story even one step farther. The only talent given to the third servant is taken away from him and given to the first servant! One of the things that is at stake is the very gift I was given in the first place. What is it that you are good at doing? What do you see as “yours” as “your ability” as “what makes you special?” If you use it for God’s kingdom, unselfishly sharing it with others, then God will give you even more. But if you keep it to yourself, even what you have will be taken!
#3. Loss of my GREATER RESPONSIBILITIES.
Sometimes we learn as much from the Bible from what isn’t written as from what is written. Recall that the first two servants were given even greater responsibilities - put in charge of many things. Of course nothing is said about the third servant. He lost not only his original gift - he also lost the opportunity to do even more! There is an opportunity cost to this probationary life we are living. What are you risking losing in eternity some day because you are afraid to risk today?
#4. Loss of my FELLOWSHIP WITH THE MASTER.
“And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Matthew 25:30
This is the greatest tragedy of Jesus’ entire parable - and must be included. There are 3 other issues at stake - loss of reputation, loss of the original gift, loss of the opportunity for greater responsibilities - but this 4th “at stake” is the greatest downside of all: LOSS OF FELLOWSHIP with God. This is what “outside - into the darkness - weeping and gnashing of teeth” mean. This is what it will be like for those who are deprived of the fellowship with Almighty Father God.
Some will immediately challenge this on the basis on a theology that says one cannot lose one’s salvation. There is no inconsistency. Nothing can take you out of Jesus’ hands if you are a Christ-follower. Having said that, one of the most crucial marks of the authentic Christ-follower is the change in the heart from a self-serving person, to a Jesus-serving person. A Christ-follower is a giving person, who knows that everything belongs to the Master, and that he or she is a steward of the Master’s resources.
God does not force this issue with anyone. You do not have to name Christ as the Lord and Master of your life. You can - if you choose - remain to yourself and serve your own self. But you cannot serve self and God at the same time. One will be Master. And it is that Master with whom you will share fellowship.
Conclusion:
[The greatest] evidence of God's grace, His mercy and His love, is the way He gives. No one gives like God gives. If a person wants to be like God, then he will want to be be a giver like God. The parable of the talents shows us the seven principles of being a giver like God. It is a great parable because it doesn’t take much imagination to understand what Jesus was trying to say. No one needs to go to seminary to “get it.” Our problem has never been one of understanding how to be a giver. Our problem has always been our decision - our act of the will - to be a giver.
Imagine that you are a solitary traveler in a lonely desert. As you travel, you become very thirsty. Just ahead you see a rusty old pump at the edge of an oasis. Attached to the pump is a note that reads, “I have buried a bottle of water to prime the pump. Do not drink any of it. Pour 1/2 to wet the leather. Wait and then pour the rest to prime the pump. When you have drawn your fill of water, refill the bottle and bury it in the sand for the next traveler.” --- Will you drink the water from the bottle or follow the instructions. Will you only worry about your own thirst and drink the bottle dry? Or will you pour every drop of the water into the pump? The dilemma is this: do you trust the note and take the risk OR do you take care of your own needs?
We give everything we have to God and His kingdom because it all belongs to Him. And we trust God to take care of us and our needs along the way.
Reason #1 - Giving makes me MORE LIKE GOD.
“God so loved the world that He gave his only Son ...” John 3:16 ESV
God is a Giver! He gave us life. He gave us this world to enjoy. He even gave us his only Son so that we might have a relationship with Him. That most famous of verses, John 3:16, shows us the connection between loving and giving. You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving!
Reason #2 - Giving draws me CLOSER TO GOD.
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21 NIV
Where I put my money, my time, my efforts, my thinking, my life... that’s where my heart will be! So where do I want my heart? If I want to be more like God, then I’ll also want to be closer to God. When I give out of a heart of love and compassion, I’ll find that I’m also next to God’s heart.
Reason #3 - Giving strengthens my FAITH.
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, do not depend on your own understanding. Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the best part of everything you produce.” Proverbs 3:5, 9 NLT
Nothing strengthens my faith more than giving when I don’t understand how in the world I possibly can do so. Giving the way God gives - and the way He wants us to give - goes beyond our budgeting. It requires faith. The more I give, the stronger my faith will become. This is so because I discover that I cannot out give God. The more I give, the more He provides me the ability to give.
“Give, and it will be given to you... For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” Luke 6:38 NIV
Giving of our money and material possessions is the only place in the Bible where God literally says, “I dare you.” Here is Mark’s translation: “Give with a cup and you will be measured back a cup. Give with a dump truck and you will be measured back with a dump truck!”
Reason #4 - Giving is an investment FOR ETERNITY.
“... Give happily to those in need, and always be ready to share whatever God has given you. By doing this, you will be storing up real treasure for yourselves in heaven - it is the only safe investment for eternity.” 1 Timothy 6:18-19 LB
As a financial planner I have prepared many estate plans for passing someone’s wealth on. As a pastor I have seen and spoken over many funerals. Let me tell you what I’ve never seen - a hearse followed by a U-Haul truck! You can’t take it with you, but you can send it on ahead!
Reason #5 - Giving reveals my SPIRITUAL MATURITY.
“But just as you excel in everything - in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness... - see that you also excel in this grace of giving.” 2 Corinthians 8:7 NIV
Ultimately giving is more about my spiritual maturity than it is about the actual gift. Our finances are the last part of our personal life that we will release in trust to God. We hold on to our money and our wealth as a form of security. We cannot trust in God AND trust in our money at the same time. Giving is the discipline of learning to trust God. And it reveals to us the truth of our spiritual maturity.
The principles behind giving were important to Jesus - the master teacher. Both the gospel of Matthew and Luke tell us the parable of the talents, and both are recorded in the final week of Jesus’ life. Because in it we find 7 underlying principles of a giving lifestyle! We’ll cover the first 4 this week and then finish the rest next week.
7 Principles of Giving from the Parable of the Talents:
Giving Principle #1 - It all belongs to the Master.
“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them.” Matt 25:14
Our whole sense of perspective is off base when it comes to our possessions and our wealth. We may think that we are the owner and that we give - or not give (our choice) - out of what belongs to us. Any sense of such ownership is an illusion. We are not the owner. God is! Everything was created by God and returns to God.
Jesus - as God’s son - knew that he only had days left in his earthly life, when he shared this parable. He is the “man going on a journey.” We are “his servants.” He (God) has “entrusted his property” to us. We are caretakers. Stewards. Managers. Everything belongs to the Master. We have been given the opportunity to manage his property here on Earth for the short period of our lifetime. Will we manage it in a way that reflects the values and priorities of our Master Jesus? Will we manage it in way that demonstrates His love, His compassion, and His selflessness?
Giving Principle #2 - We receive equal to OUR ABILITIES, not equal to ONE ANOTHER.
“To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability.” Matthew 25:15 NIV
No where do we find anything about fairness or equality in this parable. The fact is that different people receive different talents - one 5, one 2, and the third only 1. What is a talent?
- talent = 6,000 denarii
- one denarii = one day’s wage for a common laborer
- so each talent would be worth 20 years of labor!
Giving Principle #3 - What am I doing with what I’ve been given?
“The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. So also, the one with the two talents gained two more.” Matthew 25:16-17 NIV
- Do I have a sense of URGENCY?
- Do I have an ethic of WORK?
- Do I have the objective of GROWTH?
Think of it this way - are you growing in your desire to give to God’s kingdom? Are you growing in seeing the opportunities? Our financial abilities will not be the same - from time to time or from person to person. But growth should be present in whatever it is that we are doing for God and with His help!
Giving Principle #4 - STEWARDSHIP = managing during the Master’s absence.
“After a long time the master of those servants returned...” Matthew 25:19a
Money is a bad master, but a good servant! Remembering that will help me to determine whether I am God’s servant - his steward of all He has entrusted to me, OR whether I have the attitude of Owner.
We all want to be a steward - God’s servant. The way we handle our money, though, tells us whether our actions equal our desires. That’s why tithing is so important. It’s not the money given as much as the attitude with which it is given. Not a tax (I gotta do it), and not a tip (I give a leftover amount). It’s a tithe - the first tenth given to say to God: “I know this is all yours. You have entrusted it to me. I am managing it for you and for your kingdom. Here is the first fruits of my labor. Without You, none of this would be possible.”
Giving Principle #5 - ACCOUNTABILITY - when I report the results of how I’ve done.
“After a long time the master ... returned and settled accounts with them.” Matthew 25:19b
There will come a time when Christ will return and he will settle accounts with us! How have we done? Have we managed the resources he has entrusted to us as if they belonged to Him for His benefit and His kingdom? Or selfishly for ourselves? Have we managed with a sense of urgency, an ethic of work, and the objective of growth?
One of the other parables Jesus told about was the workers in the vineyard who took over the vineyard as their own. Have we done that? The last servant in this parable of the talents returned the talent back to the master. At the very least he knew the talent belonged to the Master. How about us? Are we guilty not only of not managing the talent well, but of outright stealing the talent and using it for ourselves? Jesus is clear that there will be a day of accounting. Let’s manage each day with that in mind!
Giving Principle #6 - PROBATION - the reward of being entrusted with more based on my faithfulness.
“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!’” Matthew 25:21 & 23
Sometime we have the misguided idea of our eternal life in Heaven as if it will be eternal floating on clouds playing harps. BORING! God has work for us to do. Exciting, wonderful, fulfilling, God-designed work! It will be work you will long to do, that will give you an eternal purpose.
Jesus tells us that our assignment in Heaven will be based on how well we do with what we’ve been given here on Earth. Notice that even though one servant received 5 talents and another only 2 talents, that their reward in Heaven was exactly the same! Verses 21 and 23 are identical! In Luke’s version of this story, both are given multiple cities to manage! Imagine being entrusted with the leadership of heavenly cities!
Are you handling your resources now as if you are on probation? Do you understand that how you handle your affairs here on Earth will play an eternal role in what you are entrusted with for eternity?
Giving Principle #7 - RISK - the understanding that safety and growth are incompatible.
“So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.” Matthew 25:25
We really don’t understand this at all! We believe that safety is the most important thing. We pray that God would keep us safe. But Jesus teaches that safety and growth are incompatible! Growth requires risk!
Why don’t we want to take risks? Because we are afraid. The third servant admits his fear: “So I was afraid and hid your talent...” Here’s something you need to know about risk. When you take real risks, you will be afraid. Risk and fear go hand in hand.
The issue is not my fear but my response to fear. This is why giving in a sacrificial way, when we don’t see how we can make it, is such a faith-building exercise. When we give selflessly instead of selfishly holding back, we learn to place our faith in God and not in ourselves or our own resources. This is what grows our faith. The more we act - in spite of our fear - the more faith we have. Our goal should always be to exchange our faith in our selves and our stuff for faith in God. Because that’s the only Person Who is worthy of our faith anyway. Everything else will disappear. Everything else will let us down. Only God is worthy of our trust.
When Jesus taught this parable he taught both sides of the equation - not only the two faithful servants, but also the unfaithful one. The one who hid the talent in the ground. Here Jesus shows us how important this lesson really is. Jesus shows us what’s at stake!
What’s at stake:
#1. Loss of my REPUTATION.
“You wicked, lazy servant!” Matthew 25:26
Jesus does not mince words. He describes the third servant as wicked. As lazy. Sometimes we think of being lazy as just the absence of work. But Jesus says the heart’s motivation of the lazy person is evil, wicked. Why? Because the servant presumes that he has the choice of working or not working. That, however, is the choice of the master - not the servant. What is the reputation you are after? The one of faithful servant entering into your Master’s happiness someday? Or the one of wicked, lazy servant because you thought caution was the way to go.
“The master was furious. ‘That’s a terrible way to live! It’s criminal to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least?’” Matthew 25:26 The Message
Let’s risk everything now to live faithfully for the LORD. Let’s risk everything on this side of eternity so that we might hear those words, “Good and faithful servant” on the other side of eternity.
Jim Elliot was a young missionary who was killed by the Waodani tribe in Equador in January 1956. Later the very men who killed Elliot became Christ followers themselves because of his sacrifice. Several years before Elliot wrote, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.” Are you giving now what you cannot keep in order to gain what you can never lose?
#2. Loss of my ORIGINAL GIFT.
“Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents... Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.” Matthew 25:28, 29b
Jesus takes the story even one step farther. The only talent given to the third servant is taken away from him and given to the first servant! One of the things that is at stake is the very gift I was given in the first place. What is it that you are good at doing? What do you see as “yours” as “your ability” as “what makes you special?” If you use it for God’s kingdom, unselfishly sharing it with others, then God will give you even more. But if you keep it to yourself, even what you have will be taken!
#3. Loss of my GREATER RESPONSIBILITIES.
Sometimes we learn as much from the Bible from what isn’t written as from what is written. Recall that the first two servants were given even greater responsibilities - put in charge of many things. Of course nothing is said about the third servant. He lost not only his original gift - he also lost the opportunity to do even more! There is an opportunity cost to this probationary life we are living. What are you risking losing in eternity some day because you are afraid to risk today?
#4. Loss of my FELLOWSHIP WITH THE MASTER.
“And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Matthew 25:30
This is the greatest tragedy of Jesus’ entire parable - and must be included. There are 3 other issues at stake - loss of reputation, loss of the original gift, loss of the opportunity for greater responsibilities - but this 4th “at stake” is the greatest downside of all: LOSS OF FELLOWSHIP with God. This is what “outside - into the darkness - weeping and gnashing of teeth” mean. This is what it will be like for those who are deprived of the fellowship with Almighty Father God.
Some will immediately challenge this on the basis on a theology that says one cannot lose one’s salvation. There is no inconsistency. Nothing can take you out of Jesus’ hands if you are a Christ-follower. Having said that, one of the most crucial marks of the authentic Christ-follower is the change in the heart from a self-serving person, to a Jesus-serving person. A Christ-follower is a giving person, who knows that everything belongs to the Master, and that he or she is a steward of the Master’s resources.
God does not force this issue with anyone. You do not have to name Christ as the Lord and Master of your life. You can - if you choose - remain to yourself and serve your own self. But you cannot serve self and God at the same time. One will be Master. And it is that Master with whom you will share fellowship.
Conclusion:
[The greatest] evidence of God's grace, His mercy and His love, is the way He gives. No one gives like God gives. If a person wants to be like God, then he will want to be be a giver like God. The parable of the talents shows us the seven principles of being a giver like God. It is a great parable because it doesn’t take much imagination to understand what Jesus was trying to say. No one needs to go to seminary to “get it.” Our problem has never been one of understanding how to be a giver. Our problem has always been our decision - our act of the will - to be a giver.
Imagine that you are a solitary traveler in a lonely desert. As you travel, you become very thirsty. Just ahead you see a rusty old pump at the edge of an oasis. Attached to the pump is a note that reads, “I have buried a bottle of water to prime the pump. Do not drink any of it. Pour 1/2 to wet the leather. Wait and then pour the rest to prime the pump. When you have drawn your fill of water, refill the bottle and bury it in the sand for the next traveler.” --- Will you drink the water from the bottle or follow the instructions. Will you only worry about your own thirst and drink the bottle dry? Or will you pour every drop of the water into the pump? The dilemma is this: do you trust the note and take the risk OR do you take care of your own needs?
We give everything we have to God and His kingdom because it all belongs to Him. And we trust God to take care of us and our needs along the way.
The above material is borrowed and editorially adapted from the writings of the Rev. Mark Pierce.
