Matthew 25:14-30
When the late Nadine Stair, of Louisville,
Kentucky, was 85 years old, she was asked what she would do if she had her life
to live over again. Here is what she said:
"I’d
make more mistakes next time, I’d
relax. I would limber up. I would be sillier than I have been this trip. I
would take fewer things seriously. I would take more chances. I would climb
more mountains and swim more rivers. I would eat more ice cream and less beans.
I would perhaps have more actual troubles, but I’d have fewer imaginary ones. You
see, I’m one of those people who live sensibly and sanely hour after hour, day
after day. Oh, I’ve had my moments, and if I had to do it over again, I’d have
more of them. In fact, I’d try to have nothing else. Just moments, one after
another, instead of living so many years ahead of each day. I’ve been one of
those persons who never goes anywhere without a thermometer, a hot water
bottle, and a raincoat. If I had to do it over again, I would travel lighter
than I have. If I had my life to live over, I would start barefoot earlier in
the spring and stay that way later in the fall. I would go to more dances. I
would ride more merry-go-rounds. I would pick more daisies."
There are so many people - some
in this room – who, if asked what they would do if they had life to live over again, they
would say, “I would discover the gifts
God has given me earlier in life and use them for God’s glory all of my life.”
It is not too late! Those claimed by God in Christ spend this
life investing their lives out of gratitude to God. In other words, they live before they die. There are three acts of
God by which God moves us to live before
we die.
First,
God gives TALENTS.
A well-known conductor was
holding a rehearsal one night with a vast array of musicians and a hundred
voice choir. While the mighty chorus sang out there was also the peal of organ,
blare of horns, and clashing of cymbals. Far back in the orchestra the piccolo
player thought, "In all this noise
it doesn't matter what I do." So he stopped playing. Suddenly the
conductor flung up his hands stopping the music. He knew that someone had
failed to play his instrument. The shrill note of the piccolo had been missed. Many
notes are needed to make a tune, and many colors are needed to make a painting,
so also are many talents essential for the functioning of the body of Christ.[1]
God has given you a talent for the
strengthening of the body of Christ and for the furtherance of the kingdom.
Your talent is important!
The
One can draw up plans for a
church, another can write and play music, another can teach, another can build
a building, another can make phone calls, another can fold bulletins, and yet
another can… (You fill in
the blank). We don't all have the same talents - we are not equal in
that respect.
God has chosen to accomplish God’s
work in this world through you and me: through all who live before they die. What a blessed
responsibility and privilege it is to labor now, in this moment, at the side of
God in the church. You and I are important to God’s work. God gives us
different talents.
Second,
God moves us to live before we die by blessing
faithful stewardship.
The master in this parable
settled accounts upon his return. Two servants’ gifts were increased. Not that
they had earned God’s blessings –
they had simply done their duty. And the master's reply was, "Well
done, good and faithful servants."
That's the kind of God we
serve. God increases the gifts, responsibilities and privileges of the
faithful. Note that I did not say that God gives increase to the successful –
only to those who are faithful in their effort to use their talent for God’s
glory.
God’s faithful resemble the 5
and 2-talent men. They go to work with what they have been given. They don’t
sit around moaning: "Oh, if I had so and so's talent, I would do this
or that." And the master calls them good and faithful. They simply take what God gives and put it to
work the best they know how.
God gives talents to humans for
a purpose. And that purpose is to apply their talents in lifelong service for
the glory of God. The unfaithful, those who squander the gifts of God, find
themselves without purpose. They want to receive without giving – to horde
rather than investing their talents for the glory of God.
A visitor to
The unfaithful go through life
pulling the levers without putting anything in - hoping to prosper without
investing their talents, but, in the end, they dishonor God.
Faithfulness in little things
brings the blessings of God to our lives because faithfulness glorifies God. And
in the eyes of God, faithfulness is faithfulness - whether in little or in
much.
God gives different gifts and
increases the gifts, responsibilities and the privilege of the faithful steward.
Lastly,
God moves us to live before we die by judging
poor stewardship.
The unfaithful withhold from
God that which already belongs to God. The unfaithful 1-talent man received,
not blessings, but wrath, for withholding his talent from service to God.
It’s difficult for us to know
why some withhold their talent from God. Perhaps they resent those who have
been given more than they. Maybe they resent their master – They think, even if
they do not say: "I knew you to be a hard man, so I went and hid what
you gave me." Or maybe they are filled with fear, afraid to step out
in faith with God and life. Maybe they just choose to play it safe listening to
those who say, "Don't be a fool. Don't take risks. Let somebody else do
that."
Two
travelers, worn out by the heat of the summer's sun, laid themselves down at
You
know, it could be that the unfaithful man simply did not recognize his talent
as a blessing. And so, as a result, he was simply ungrateful. We don’t know exactly
why he withheld his gift from the master. What we do know is that the master referred
to him as wicked and lazy. You see, sin is more than something we do. Sin
can also be our failure to recognize our talents and to use them for God’s
glory. And that servant lost that which had been entrusted to him.
This is a rather disturbing
story because it hits right at the heart of what it means to be a child of God.
It makes very clear that those who belong to God are the ones whose faith moves
them to service. It makes clear that when Jesus, our Master, comes on the day
of accounting and asks us to tell him what we've done with the gifts of God,
some will have to say, "I took them and hid them."
God moves us to live before
we die by giving us talents, by blessing faithful stewardship and by judging unfaithful
stewardship.
Conclusion
In conclusion, a novel titled “The
man who lost himself” has an imaginary but haunting scene in it. The hero,
apparently a detective, is trailing a person in
That's an imaginary story, but
there is truth in it. There's a man or woman out there in the future whom you
and I will become. When the
future arrives, will we say, “Oh, how I
wish I had lived before I died! I wish I had recognized and used the talent God
gave me for God’s glory.”
Suppose you keep living until then just as you are living now. Will you be glad to stand before God to give an accounting of life? We all want to be found faithful, but do our actions reveal faithfulness? If you're not certain that God will say, "Well done, faithful servant," now is the time to begin using the talents God has given you. What talents do you need to commit to God's purposes? Remember, today is the first day of the rest of your life. Will you live before you die?