Matthew 25: 14-30
Theme: Christian Life
Series: Parables of the Kingdom of God
ACCOUNTING 101
I worked in retail business for about 10 years, 5 years in a supermarket and 5 years at Radio Shack. Plus, I worked in my parents country store and café when I was a young teenager – that was before we started farming. I learned something about marketing and selling and making a profit. I was always taught to buy low and sell high. I had to do the markups in the supermarket when I managed the frozen food section. I always liked the response of a successful restauranteur when asked what was the secret to profitability. He said that it was simple, he bought the best food and marked all of it up a simple eight percent. "Eight percent?" replied the interviewer, "how can you make a profit with only an eight percent market?" "Let me explain. If I buy a steak for $1.00, I mark it up only 8% and sell it for $8.00. A simple eight percent!" With that kind of markup math, anyone could make a profit!
In business the goal is to sale things and make a profit. But, there are a lot of little things that must be done. A clean store, good displays, manners, stock that people want and a proper markup are some of the things you must do to stay in business. If you don’t do the small things, then the larger goal of making a profit will never happen.
The language of business is used in the Bible to describe the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven is like a man who goes on a long journey and leaves his servants in charge of his business. Please note that he gives to each one according to his ability. He did not give to anyone more than he could handle. Do you understand that God knows us, he knows our abilities, our gifts, and our talents? God does not hand you a job that you can't do or are not ready for. God gives you gifts of ministry. And He has left some aspect of his kingdom in your hands. A pretty awesome thought isn't it?
He gave one, five talents, another two talents and another one talent, each according to his ability. A talent was not a coin, it was a measure of weight. Most likely these were talents of silver. A talent of silver was the equivalence of 20 years of the average working man's wages. The man with five talents had a hundred years wages! The man with two talents had forty years wages. And even the man with one talent, though only one, it was by no means insignificant, it was 20 years worth of wages. Even though they had differing levels of ability, each one was given a significant amount of work and a significant amount of responsibility.
What were they to do with all this money? They were to work it. The first two went to work immediately even before their master went on his journey. Notice that they did not put the money in a bank. Rather, they put the money at risk. They traded, they put the money into business enterprise in order to make a profit. They understood that their master wanted them to take the risk which is the very nature of business. And this term risk is a key word, for the third man refused to take risk. He preferred to play it safe.
The third man had no self confidence. He forgot that it was not his money at risk. He forgot that he was merely a steward acting under orders of his master. No, he took that talent of silver and buried it in the ground.
The master returned and took an accounting of what his servants had done. The first one presented his five talents and said, "see, I have gained five talents more." The master said to him, "Well done, good and faithful slave; you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things, enter into the joy of your master." Notice what his master did. He praised him for his faithfulness. His master expected him to put his talents at risk in order to earn a return. Then his master gave him a reward by giving him more work to do, put him in charge of more wealth. I believe that all of God's work is important and I believe that there is great joy in doing God's work. The reward that he received was more responsibility, more work, "I will put you in charge of many things." But, notice by entering into the work of his master, he also entered into the joy of his master. His life earned meaning and purpose and joy because he put it at risk as the master ordered.
The same pronouncements were made to the second man who had two talents. He doubled his and the same reward was given to him. But, the man who received one talent man failed his master. He brought him the one talent that he had buried. "Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed. And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground; see, you have what is yours." His excuse was fear, I feared you, I feared myself, I feared the results.
The master called the servant wicked. If you really believed that I reap where I do not sow and gather where I did not scatter seed, then why did you not at least put it in the bank and earn interest. So, he took it from the wicked servant and gave it to the one who had five talents, called him worthless and cast him out of his kingdom. "For to everyone who has more shall be given and he shall have an abundance; but for the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away."
God has left us all with the gifts and abilities needed to further the Kingdom until he returns. He has given us gifts of money and faith and talent; gifts of teaching and preaching and gifts of mercy. God has given us gifts of leadership, vision, and faith. He has given each one to his ability. But, even to the one who has the least, he has given significant work.
But, just as there are sound business practices that ensure that the balance sheet comes out right, the same is true in the Kingdom of God. Our goal is to increase the size of the kingdom of God. And each one of us has certain responsibilities that we must do before God will give us greater things to do.
For youth, those basic responsibilities include honoring and obeying your parents and honoring and listening to the leadership of your elders. Young adults too need to learn from their elders but they must also make responsible choices in their relationships and in their education and job training and in their work ethic. Middle age Christians are in their primary earning years. They have to be faithful to their spouses and family. They have to have good work ethics and honest business practices. Senior adults are to be examples of those who have matured in the faith and who, even now, live that faith before others.
But, wait a minute, you say. These are not the great themes I was thinking of in regard to the kingdom work. What about witnessing and mission work and growing churches? These things come to those who are faithful in the smaller things. How you live your personal, private life is the foundation for your public ministry. If you want to tell your friend at school about Jesus but you don’t honor your parents and obey them, then your witness is hypocrisy and, in fact, a lie. How can a man or woman who cheats someone in business, then ask them to come to church and worship? How can a person who steals, do works of ministry to others? How can someone who commits adultery or gets drunk ever expect to serve the kingdom of God? Don’t you see, if you mess up on the little things, the big things will fail. If you can’t take care of the basics, do you think that God will give you greater work to do? According to this parable the answer is no!
The work in the kingdom of God is a call to faithfulness. It does not matter how much we have, but how we use it. We can do like that man with one talent. We can live in fear that we might fail. And in the end we will lose everything. Or we can take the risk, we can risk our money, our time and our talents and gain the praise of God. The only way you will ever hear those beautiful words "well done good and faithful servant" is to take the risk.
That’s Accounting 101, the most basic course in the Kingdom. Be faithful in the small things, do what God commands. That is the challenge. Trinity, what are you going to do?