This past week, I visited a client institution and spoke to their board of directors. They asked me, as part of their board meetings, to bring a devotional to them. This is that devotional:
The Greek word for Talents is: τάλαντον The transliteration to English is (in case you were wondering): tä’-län-ton
According to Vines Expository Dictionary, here is the meaning of the word:
As I look at this parable, several things stand out to me. In order for their to be gain or increase, there is a Required Investment. However, the Master provides that investment (seed capital, if you will). He doesn’t expect you to come up with it all on your own. (Not to be confusing here but He doesn’t want you to sit on your hands and not do your part to get said seed capital.) He also provides the investment according to abilities and gifts He gave us as individuals. A person that cannot handle managing ten bucks will not be given a million to handle. He also requires that you have faith in Him that He will do what He says and care for you in the process.
Another thing that is required is Effort. We have to expend effort to accomplish the Master’s plan. (That goes back to the not sitting on your hands part.) It is our job to be about the Master’s business. We have to be diligent. We often confuse a perfect world with lack of having to work. However, we see in the garden before the fall that Adam was busy caring for the garden. In our efforts, God expects us to use the gifts that we have. While we might be stretched beyond our comfort zone, He isn’t asking us to do things that He hasn’t prepared us to do. For example, I really don’t think that God is asking me to be the next slam dunk champion in the NBA. . .or the next hairstyle model (with natural hair anyway!) ;-D In using our gifts, we need to rely on the Master to effectively put them into practice, realize that they are just that: gifts (don’t get prideful about something you’ve been given).
The outcome of this investment and effort is reward for the good effort and good attitude. When you place your faith in the Master and His response to you, and do your part according to His plan, you are rewarded. For each of his first two servants, the Master rewarded their efforts, hustle and attitude. (I have to say, the servant who does nothing with his talents and then tells his Master how rotten he is has to be one of the most clueless of individuals. He has certainly not learned how to win friends and influence people.) When we use the gifts, talents, and resources that the Master has given us effectively, He gives us more to use and develop.
Another thing that I find it interesting that this story is found in Matthew in a section that talks about the last days. We are in the last days. As servants of the Master, it is our job to use the resources that He has provided us to accomplish His purpose for our lives and for the organizations with which we serve.
As I was finalizing the devotion, a devotion from Rick Warren came in that seemed to cap off this devotion quite well. He quoted Philippians 2:13: “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him” (NLT). The word for power is the root for our word energy. We have the God-given energy to accomplish what He has set before us to do.
Also, in Romans 8:31 it says, “If God is for us, no one can defeat us” (NCV). When God has set us on a path for Him, He is for us and will bring us through the fight.
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