~~~ 1 Thessalonians 4:9-11~~~ Psalm 98 ~~~ Matthew 25:14-30 ~~~
'Well done, my good and faithful servant.'
I think it is part of human nature to respond to positive feedback.
In my classroom I tried to give my students honest
positive feedback as often as I could.
Yesterday we heard about the foolish virgins
who did not prepare for the long night.
They ran out of oil.
Today we hear about the wicked, lazy servant who buried his talent.
He wasted what he had been given by the master.
This man had to relinquish his talent because he did not put it to good use.
The master does not tell him 'well done'.
God gives each of us gifts and talents, not necessarily
in the form of currency but gifts just the same.
It is up to us to discern how we can put them to good use.
Certainly it is not a good idea to hide them away.
In this case the coins did not decay; they were taken out of circulation.
As most people know who have money, it does not
increase in value if it is buried in the back yard.
...to work with your own hands,
as we instructed you.
as we instructed you.
Working with your own hands implies that you are the one responsible.
You make the decisions concerning your gifts and talents.
It is up to you to increase what you have been entrusted with by the master.
The more we invest in developing our gifts
the more likely we are to hear the rewarding words from the master...
'Well done, my good and faithful servant.'
I do not believe that God is the sort of bookkeeper
depicted in this parable,
but I do believe that he has expectations for us.
I pray that I recognize, accept, and develop the talents given to me by God.
I must confess I do want to get positive feedback from God when I die.
God gave each of different talents and gifts to use for his benefit.
The number of talents may not be as important as what you do to develop them.
Five talents, two talents, or one talent all entrusted to our hands
to multiply for the glory and honor of the Divine Master.
How are you increasing the value of your gifts?
Blessings in the actions you take regarding your talents.
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