There are some people who have more money, possessions, talents and abilities than others; some even have very few talents. The Master told the servants that he would be gone for awhile, but when he returned, he expected to have a return on his investment. His investment? Yes, the talents or money that he had left to their care. Well, this story is a parable; Jesus had a way of making his point with short brief stories, so let me get to the nitty gritty of the matter. As I said, before the Master left on his journey, he left with the three men a total of eight talents dispersed thusly: to one he left five talents, to one he left two talents, and to one he left one talent. (Please take careful note that I do not refer to either of the servants as being first or last, that was not by accident, but is fertilizer for another episode of "The Lighthouse".) Here's what they did with the money....yes, it was actually money: The one he gave five talents went and traded or invested in something that gave him a gain of five talents, doubling what was given him. The servant who received the two talents acted just as wisely and doubled his, but.....OH MERCY! there's that "but" again! As I was saying, the servant who was given the one talent went and dug a hole in the ground and hid his Master's money. I'm going to give you a second to take this all in........ Alright'! let's go on.
Okay, so now comes the servant to whom he gave two talents, and he gives the Master the two talents he received from him and the two that he also had gained. Here it comes sisters and brothers....."Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many, enter into my rest".
I don't know about you, but by now, I'm starting to worry about this next servant. Okay....here he comes: "Lord, I know you, You are a hard man, I know you dont play about your money. You reap rewards from other peoplel's labor. I was afraid to do anything with it, scared I might lose it ,so I went and buried it in a hole. Here it is, just like you gave it to me. ( Okay, let's just all listen to the silence for a while...........................Alright, let's see the end of this poor fella's story.) The Lord answered and spoke these words: "You wicked and slothful servant". You knew I reap where I did not sow, then you should have put MY money to the exchangers/traders/stockmarket, then when I returned I would have received my money with a return on it. Then the Lord and Master of the servant gave the command to take the talent from him and give it unto him which had the ten talents. Now here it comes; not his reward, but his punishment, directly from the mouth of his Lord and Master:
" For unto everyone that has shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that has not, even what little he has shall be taken from him." And He said, "there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth". Well, you may not feel like shouting hallelujah right now, but take comfort. If you're reading this, that means you still have time to "get it together" my friend. We all do!
Then the Lord and Master gave the command to"cast the unprofitable servant into outer darkness".
So, what's the moral of the story, my friends? Here it is....Are you ready.....?
Let's be honest with the small things. You can't come to work at 8:30 and sign the signin sheet for 8:00am. You can't go to McDonalds to buy 1 cup of coffee and take 30 packs of sugar to take home. (Alright now, I'm just the messenger...just say forgive me Lord and move on friends.)
Take your talent out of the closet and dust it off. Stop burying your potential. You have to cultivate it my friend. You are not condemned for having only one talent; you are condemned for not using that talent/ability to help others, to glorify God. When I think of all the soulful stirring singers that have passed from this side of earth, I think of only one thing, were they saved? I especially think of this with the ones whom I never heard a gospel record put out by. Only God knows. I know the talent came from God, but was it used for God in the earth?
A final note: God has placed something in you. You have to nourish it. Let me tell you how I do it. When I see something needs doing and recognize that God has blessed me with some ability in that area, it doesn't have to be a lot, I will tackle it. I'm willing to give it my best. Also, I have experienced that the Lord just keeps blessing me with more and more things that I am able to do. Things that I never would have imagined, even in this latter stage of my life. I believe this is because I use those abilities to help people and to glorify him. Well, I've been asking my Father for a voice so beautiful it would make the angels envious. It hasn't happened yet; There are a lot of beautiful singing voices out there that are not being used for the glory of God, and I know one of those voices has my name on it. Is it Yours? So watch out all of you with great and beautiful singing ability....I might one day soon be singing with what "use to be" your tune. In fact, I'm claiming your beautifu singing voice right now, in Jesus' name. OHhhhhhhhhh.....Make a joyful noise unto the Lord Sherita! See you Next month.......Right here in the Lighthouse.
By Sherrie-Rita Marshall
