"For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves
and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents, to another two,
to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.
"The one who had received the five talents went off at once and
traded with them, and made five more talents. In the same way, the one who had
the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one
talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.
"After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled
accounts with them. Then the one who had received the five talents came forward,
bringing five more talents, saying, 'Master, you handed over to me five talents;
see, I have made five more talents.' His master said to him, 'Well done, good
and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you
in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.'
"And the one with two talents also came forward, saying, 'Master,
you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.' His
master said to him, 'Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been
trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into
the joy of your master.'
"Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward,
saying, 'Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not
sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went
and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.'
"But his master replied, 'You wicked and lazy slave! You knew,
did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter?
Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I
would have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him,
and give it to the one with the ten talents. For to all those who have, more
will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing,
even what they have will be taken away.
" 'As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer
darkness, where there will be weeping
and gnashing of teeth.' "
- Matthew 25: 14 - 30"-
The meaning of Christ's words in this parable is twofold-directed, and
yet singular in meaning: Decide to invest what is given you and make
it return increased profit. What is contained in this parable is a
short and not-so-sweet lesson of basic capitalism; that is, money is
not supposed to be taken out of circulation, but instead invested so
as to make a profit. The same correlation can be drawn to Christian
discipleship. It will do neither God nor the believer any good if
the message of Christ is bottled up in the believer, and the
believer does nothing with it. There is also a deeper meaning here.
There is no room in any form of Christian orthodoxy for the passive
believer. With faith imbued, and orientation on the correct course,
the Christian disciple is commanded to carry the message of the
Gospel out into the world, 'invest it' into the ears of listeners'
souls, and then by setting an example of living the lifestyle of
Christ for all hearers to witness, and to bring home to God those
souls who have been convicted by the disciple's message.
That is precisely how capitalism and discipleship correlate. The
currency of the world is invested for profit. The currency of the
Kingdom of God is invested for profit. And nothing profitable will
be gained, either with worldly coin or heavenly specie, if either is
buried and not allowed to grow by circulation.
This is Capitalism 101, and this is also Discipleship 101. As a
disciple of Christ, you are expected to go forth into the world with
your currency and make sure that it produces a profit. If you do
not, then I suggest you cogitate on the final paragraph of the
parable. Jesus is the compassionate one who forgives; yet it must be
clearly understood from his words, that he is one who is not either
displeased or disappointed, but it is God the Father who will react
to the disciple's action or inaction. When we take Jesus as our
'Captain' we pledge to serve at God's pleasure, and to do so in the
role of disciple, we are then expected to produce profits.
The third servant was familiar with the ways of his master, and he
should have known what was expected of him regarding the talents
invested into his care. Yet, the servant did not do as he knew he
should. Instead, the servant put his own self interests before those
interests of his master. The servant made the wrong decision...
and he paid dearly for his mistake.
Such is the way for the disciple of Christ. When we enter the 'Kingdom
of God',
(which I explain in another chapter) it is no longer a matter of our 'self ' that is
to be considered, but it is the will of God that is paramount. The
disciple's path to action is no longer to be restrained with matters
of self, but a clear and unhesitating obedience to the will of God.
Jesus is telling us in the parable that we disciples do not have the
self-serving luxury of questioning and deliberating the outcome of
our call to action. Instead, we are compelled to do what is right,
what is expected of us, and do so without hesitation or doubt. In
the depths of our soul, because of the working of God's Spirit, we
know what is right and what is wrong. It is an Either/Or time of
decision for the disciple: choose to do God's will, or chose not to.
Such choices are proofs that we are either inside, or outside, of
the Kingdom of God.
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©Copyright 2009 - Donald Neal McKay -
The MISSION DISCIPLESHIP
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