Equally Pleasing to God
The good master equally praised two good servants in the Parable of the Talents (found in Matthew 25:14-30) even though these men accomplished different things. One man was given 5 talents, and he doubled what he was given. The other man was only given 2 talents, and he doubled that too. Even though the 2nd man did not accomplish as much as the first man, we see a surprise. In verses 21 and 23 we read that the master offered each man the same affirmation: “His Master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’” The master did not scold the man who only brought forth 2 more talents. The only man rebuked in this story is the one who never did anything with the talent, except to bury it. I discussed that concept in last week’s post “Pride in Our Denial,” so if you missed that post, be sure to read it.
I want to address this surprising kindness God gave the man who produced less work, the “two talent man.” The good master represents God, and he was just as pleased with the man who got less done (the 2 talent man) as he was with the man who accomplished more than twice as much (5 talents.) This is an essential concept for us to embrace. When God gives people less talents, he is just as pleased with their efforts as he is with people who are given vastly more talent. By a percentage, the 5 talent guy was given 150% more talents. We don’t know why God gave that man more talents, just that God was pleased with this guy’s investing it in God’s kingdom.
If we, like the 2-talent guy, do “less” than the 5-talent guy, we might believe we are not doing enough to serve God. But we can only do as much as God has equipped us to do. Some people demand more of themselves than God asks, perhaps because of misleading phrases like this one: “Everyone has the same amount of hours in a day.” Not everyone has the same amount of “waking hours” in a day. For example, my cousin’s husband only needs 6 hours of sleep. I need nine. Her husband has three more waking hours per day than I have. Thus he has 21 more waking hours in a week. Could I skimp on sleep? I always catch a cold when I skimp on sleep, even for a week or two. If I skimp for many weeks, I get many sicknesses. I once went for a few months skimping on sleep, and I gained 25 pounds and fell into a low grade depression. God made me to need more sleep than many other people. Many people have shamed me for this truth or claimed I would not get sick, but they have always been wrong. We cannot deny the human body and its basic needs without incurring trouble.
These sleep differences point to the 2-talent and the 5-talent gifts—some have the gift of more waking hours. My cousin’s husband received the 5-talent gift of more waking hours, while I received the smaller portion of waking hours. I trust God’s wisdom in giving me a smaller number of waking hours, and I refuse to accept the shame others put upon me. Yet I do work to be a good steward of the waking hours I have. I have a calming routine before bedtime (with some of my Bible reading then) so I fall asleep within a minute or two. I don’t linger in bed, even on the weekends, but I hop up and quickly get to my work. I don’t watch TV or even the “cute videos” friends send via email. I do my best to wisely use my smaller number of waking hours. Nonetheless my “2-talent gift” contains less waking hours than some other people’s gift from God.
We may still feel we are not doing enough for God’s kingdom, because we have a secular job or are a stay-at-home mom or are retired or work part time. As a result, we may believe we are not using our talents for God in those areas. Let’s not forget Colossians 3:23 “Whatever you do, work at it as unto the Lord and not unto men.” Whether we are working at a computer, or washing dishes, we can do it with joy and without grumbling. Then those around us see the Holy Spirit in our hearts. Philippians 2:14 says, “Do everything without complaining and arguing.” We can invest the talents God gave us by joyfully doing work the world calls mundane. Perhaps others might consider this work to be “two-talent work,” but to God it is just as worthy of his praise as someone who does famous work like pastors and evangelists. If theirs is 5-talent work, it is only because God gave them more talents to invest, not because their efforts are worth more to God.
We can work as hard as we can, at the work God has called us to do, and then rejoice in the Lord. We can do our work (be it simple, humble, or mundane) with a heart that loves God and wants to please him. All that humble work, if done with a heart that loves and honors God, counts as much as the work of a pastor, evangelist or any other ministry worker. If God called you to your work, then it pleases God. Just make sure you do it without complaining and grumbling, and while rejoicing in the Lord. Then you have invested just as well as the big-name ministry workers. Our heart’s attitude and our commitment to God determine whether we have invested well or not.
Are there ways we could invest more in God’s kingdom? I think we can only invest more by first asking God if there is more we can do while we work or enjoy free time. Sometimes God will reassure us we are doing enough while we work or rest. At other times he might nudge us to adjust our spiritual attitude or to do something extra. The extra thing might not even take more time, such as having the courage to smile at someone while we work. Or perhaps, as we walk or stand in line, we speak about the Lord to another person. God may or may not allow us to share the full Gospel with them, because sometimes God only wants us to plant seeds but not harvest souls. Ephesians 4:11-12 says, “Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.” Then 1Cor.3:6-7 adds to this truth: “I planted; Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.” When we open our hearts according to what God urges, we can share as much or as little as God wants us to do. God might only want us to listen to the other person as she pours out her heart and pain. God will show us what to do and how to do it, whether we are at work or enjoying our leisure time.
Our Christian walk is individual. What one gal accomplishes might be different from another. An introverted gal might serve in the background. Another gal might lead a large group. Yet both can be serving God at her maximum capacity and be just as pleasing to God. So we can hold our heads high before God, knowing he is smiling at us when we do our best. We can trust that when we invest our gifts to the best of our ability, God is just as pleased with us as he is with full time ministry workers.
God does not love the 5-talent people more than the 2-talent people. Should we question why God gave differing gifts? No, for we should look at Isaiah 45:15 “Truly, Oh God of Israel our Savior, you work in mysterious ways.” Furthermore, look at Jeremiah 18:3-6, where God says he is the potter and we are the clay and he can do with us as he pleases. Please don’t let Satan, your flesh, or the world mock you about having a 2-talent life, because we don’t even know what God says about our talents. Maybe God thinks yours are 5-talent gifts, and the world does not appreciate your gifts. Even if you do have a 2-talent gifting, you are not “less than,” because you have talents that keep you out of the public’s eye. Less people may know what you are doing. You may not mean much to the world, but you mean the world to your loved ones.
Furthermore, God sees your life, and as long as you love and serve him earnestly, he is pleased with you. He is so kind that he even loved you before you were a Christian (Romans 5:8 “God demonstrates his love for us in that even while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”) Jesus knew Judas Iscariot was going to betray him, yet Jesus still loved Judas and washed his feet (John 13:1-17.) So we don’t invest the talents God gave us to earn his love. He already loves us. We invest those talents because we love him and want to show our thanks.
This is only a brief exposition about our talents, and I want to write more about this so I can encourage gals to see how valuable they are, just the way they are. Please feel free to let me know about your talents or struggles too.
I pray we have blessed you with this post. Every day I pray over my website, that God would guide what I write so I bless my readers with his shalom (peace/wellness,) hesed (loyal love,) and agape (unconditional love.)