Today's Scripture
Question #4 Can I be trusted? – Matthew 25:14-30
14 “For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; 15 to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. 17 In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. 18 But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20 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.’ 21 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.’ 22 And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.’ 23 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.’ 24 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; 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ 26 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? 27 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. 28 So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. 29 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. 30 As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
RJ's Devotion
As we start 2017, we wanted to examine the 22 questions of John Wesley. He challenged his followers to ask these rigorous self-examining questions, as they walk toward holiness. For the next four weeks, we will examine each question, daily. Also, I encourage you to read the ‘One Year Bible Reading Plan’ suggested by Bishop Sharma Lewis.
What the passage says
V. 14-18 The master gives out the talent and takes off on a journey.
V. 19-23 The first two servants doubles the portion of talents and receive compliments from the master.
V. 24-30 The last servant, who dug his talent in the ground comes to his master. He is stunned by the response. He is criticized as a ‘lazy and worthless servant.’
What does the passage say to me/us?
The parable of the Talent is a well-known story of the Bible. However, we are often caught up with the fact that the master distributed talents in different amounts, ‘according to their ability,’ we miss the point of the story. We need to remember that in God’s eyes, 5,2,1 do not make a big difference.
The point of the story is ‘are we faithful to what is entrusted to us’ or ‘do we compare what we have to others who have more, and lose the opportunity to serve.’
When Wesley asks the question of ‘Can I be trusted?’, We need to ask who are trust is subject to. Do we only maintain our trust to humans? Do we only maintain our trust with people in power?
I believe that Wesley’s intention was to ask If God can trust me. Can God entrust me with God’s work? When we can be trusted by God, we will naturally be trusted by other people.
Rember the word of Paul from Colossians 3:22 “Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything, not only while being watched and in order to please them, but wholeheartedly, fearing the Lord.”
Prayer
Lord, transform us as a trustworthy servant for your kingdom. Open our hearts to see your will today.
In Christ name, AMEN.
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