Trusteeship

For to every one who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.

Matthew 25:29

The day before Jesus was crucified he taught his disciples a parable. In Matthew 25: 14-30 he told them about a Master who was going away for a long time. Jesus knew he was to die the next day. I suspect he had saved this important story until the last day of his teaching. Known as the Parable of the Talents, Jesus introduced a legal concept that today we call a "Trust."

Think of a Trust like it is a box. There are three parts to every Trust. The person who makes the Trust is whom we call a "Trustmaker". The Trustmaker is the person who owns the "box" and the assets inside of it. The person who is put in charge of the trust is known as the "Trustee". The Trustee does not own the assets; but, the Trustee has complete control and authority over the assets for the person who benefits from the Trust. The person who benefits from the Trust is called the "Beneficiary". In this parable the Master [i.e. God] is the both the Trustmaker and the Beneficiary of three (3) different trusts.

There are three different Trustees in our story. The first one is given five talents. In today's economic terms this was a staggering amount of wealth that we would understand to be about 100 years of wages of a typical blue-collar Jewish male. The second Trustee was given the equivalent of sixty years of wages, and the third Trustee about twenty years worth of wages. All were substantial sums of wealth.

After a considerable amount of time the Master returned to reclaim his Trusts. The first Trustee had doubled his investment! Since the Trustee had been faithful over a few things, he was to be put in charge "of many things". Likewise, the second Trustee had been able to earn a 100% rate of return on his investments. He too was rewarded as he had been faithful over a "few things". The third Trustee was then called to account. He did not lose one cent; but, he had stashed the wealth and done nothing with it. Note the Master's reaction. This Trustee was labeled as "lazy", "good for nothing" and "evil". I fear that many faithful pew sitters may find themselves in this category on the day of judgment. Coming to church on Sunday morning and paying the dues for a one hour service is not what God is after. Crying out that one's name was on a church role is not going to cut it on the day of judgment. God wants the total sum of our hearts which puts His Kingdom first in everything we do. The results for the third Trustee were that he was to be cast out into the darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. So what does this parable tell us today?

1. God gives everyone Talents to be used for His Kingdom

Talents come in all kinds of shapes, sizes and abilities. Most are overlooked. The ability to speak and read. The gift of memory and mobility. Other gifts may be valued physical or mental abilities, i.e. musical proficiency, athletic prowess or the ability to solve problems. Material wealth is another talent given by God. But, so is a formal education, a house, paved roads or an apartment. All of these are gifts from God that are worth more than one hundred years of wages. Every member of the body is given gifts. Do you know what your gifts are? If not, make a list of them. Every Christian needs to ask himself or herself, how am I using those gifts for the Master's purpose? Everything we own including our own bodies belongs to the Lord. When we really learn to believe that we are just Trustees of what God gives us, we will discover a wonderful freedom that comes to the mind of the believer. It is the realization that naked we entered the world, and when we leave this world we leave with nothing physical. But, what we do now with what we hold in trust for God in this life makes a big difference in how we will spend eternity.

2. God gives us freedom to choose.

The Master gave each Trustee an additional gift - FREEDOM to choose. He did not stand over their shoulder and scrutinize or criticize anything that the Trustees did. They were on their own. They could choose whatever risk factors that they each deemed appropriate.

God gives each of us the same gift today. We get to choose how we will spend our money, time and energy? In the story of the prodigal son, the Father gave his son the inheritance which he subsequently squandered on riotous living and prostitutes. Didn't the Father know what his son was going to do with the money? I suspect the answer is "yes". But, he gave it to him willingly. The freedom to choose is what makes us in the image of God. God gives each of us the gift of life. What we make of it is up to us. But, what we do and how we act now will have consequences into eternity.

3. God wants us to use our gifts well.

The master was delighted that the first two Trustees performed well. He enjoyed rewarding them for faithful service. Here is an eternal truth: OUR CHOICES MATTER TO GOD.
He also reacts with passionate, righteous anger when valuable lives, each embedded with talent and bright possibilities are wasted. What are you doing with what God has given you? My hope is that every reader will hear the following words from Jesus someday:

'Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; Matthew 25:34