An Opportunity from the Master

Matthew 25:14-30 tells of the well-known parable of the servants and the talents. Each talent represented opportunities from the master to be invested for gain. Two of the three servants accepted the talents, or opportunities, given by the master and invested them. They took a risk, put in the work, and exerted effort to make the most of these opportunities. The master rewarded them for their efforts. The third servant––whether out of abundance of caution, laziness, or fear of losing it––decided against investing his one talent. He instead buried it in the ground. He looked at that one talent as a “babysitting job” instead of as an opportunity to invest. In the end, he was duly chastised for wasting his talent. His actions became a waste of his master’s time, talent, and possible treasure. To put it simply, he wasted his opportunity.

I hate to see the tragedy of wasted opportunity. How easy it is to forget that great opportunities often come to us under the guise of hard work or a difficult task. God did not design the Christian life to be a life of drudgery. Instead, it is a life filled with opportunities. There are opportunities to serve in the ministry, to invest in future generations, and to tell others about Jesus Christ. What a tragedy it is to see these opportunities wasted! Instead of viewing them as a prospective investment like the first two servants did, we often see them as the third servant did: a babysitting job. 

What if everyone had the view of that third servant? Imagine if parents looked at their children and said, “Oh, I’d have such a great experience as an adult if I didn’t have to look after my kids.” Consider if teachers said, “Oh, I’d have such a great experience as a teacher if I didn’t have to deal with these students.” Think about if pastors looked at their congregations and said, “Oh, I’d have such a great experience as a pastor if it weren’t for having to mind my flock.” Imagine if a coach looked at his team and said, “Oh, I’d have such a great experience as a coach if it weren’t for having to babysit this team.” Consider if a team looked at its younger players and said, “Oh, we’d have such a great experience of a season if it weren’t for having to put up with these younger players.” Anyone who agrees with any of these statements should take care because this is exactly how the third servant viewed his talent. What a negative outlook this is!

If the people in these illustrations were honest with themselves, they would have to own up to reality. What those different “servants” are really saying is, “Oh, I’d have such a great experience if it weren’t for having the opportunity to invest in these people.” It sounds really bad when put into proper context like that! It reveals how selfish that mindset truly is. The “me-first” disease is a deadly one. The disease of putting “me first” has killed more opportunities than just about any other character flaw out there.

How do we combat this problem? It is quite simple really. Look back at the passage in Matthew 25:14-30. While the third servant was putting himself first, the first two servants were putting their master first. If Christians would start putting their Master first in their decision-making and in their daily living, what a difference it would make in the lives of others! Putting our selfish desires first and giving in to laziness results in wasted opportunities. Tragically, these wasted opportunities could result in more than just a buried talent. What if a soul never heard about Christ because we preferred to keep our knowledge of the Gospel buried instead of investing it in others? Putting the Master’s wants and wishes above our own will involve work. It takes effort to invest by taking a tiny opportunity and growing it into gain for the Master. We may ask ourselves, “Is it really worth it?”

I daresay that if we were to ask those two servants from the parable in Matthew 25, “Hey, guys, was it worth it?” they would break into smiles and say, “Imagine your Master returning after a long time of being away. He looks at what you’ve done for Him. He sees your work and investment. He notices that you didn’t waste any opportunity, didn’t give up, and kept going. Then, He looks into your eyes and says, ‘Well done.’ That is exactly what happened to us, and yes, it was worth it!”

Surely, we all want to hear “well done” someday. I hope this encourages us to put the Master first. I hope we make the most of every single opportunity that God gives us. I hope that today we will invest our talents to hear tomorrow’s “well done!”

by Beth Payton

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