Which Servant Am I?

Matthew 25:14-30

Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To 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. 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. But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.

After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The 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."

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!"

The man with the two talents also came. "Master," he said, "you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more."

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!"

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. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you."

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? Well 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."

"Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. For 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. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

This parable has been haunting my thoughts in recent days. How often do we read Jesus' parables and mentally place ourselves "in a good spot" in his stories. We are, of course, servants who are taking God's gifts and investing them, of course. Right? Reaping a good harvest with our talents...

Or are we?

I am struck of late by the haunting thought that I have perhaps more in common than I want to admit with the man who hid his one talent in the ground. This thought gravitates around these words...

I knew that you are a hard man.

It's a commonplace that most Christians are keen to not enter the field of full-time Christian missions. "Lord," we say, "I'll do anything... but please don't send me as a missionary." We often try to make it a bit of a joke (maybe it's nervous laughter?) when we share this sort of thing with each other. But at the heart of it all, are we not simply admitting that working for God full-time is a harder job than we care to contemplate? This has been the case for me more than I care to admit.

I knew that you are a hard man.

We don't simply avoid serving God full-time. We work full-time avoiding service to God. Our lives are, more often than not, a long story of taking care of ourselves and a pretty tight circle of family and friends. Count me guilty on this charge. I've only served one soup-kitchen for a few hours on one day — in the last ten years.

Matthew 10:42
And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.

Mother Teresa has our respect. but somewhere in our hearts we must think she was a fool. Do we really believe that she is now being rewarded more so than the average bloke who died last week while vegging in front of the TV? I guess not. If we really did, we'd be lining up behind her for the same bargain.

Instead we line up in front of Walmart at 4AM on the Friday after Thanksgiving. And when we're not in that line, we're likely lined up on a sofa. Most of American Christendom is spending most of their free time in front of a flickering screen.

In fact, I just read a day or two ago that the average American spends about five hours per day watching TV. And since, sadly, the average nominal American Christian is indistinguishable from the rest of America, the same number is a pretty decent proxy for the average bloke in the pew. But I digress...

At the close of the parable, Jesus' final words indicate that the first servant still has all ten talents — and now one more besides! God is not a hard man. The problem is with his hard-hearted and wretched servants.

Revelation 3:17
You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.

Help me, Lord! I don't want to be a wretched servant. Help me to invest into your kingdom the treasures you have given me.