One Talent People

This morning I read in Matthew where Jesus told the parable about the talents. Three servants were given talents, each according to his ability, one was given five, one was given two and one was given one. They were told to use their talent while the master was away. When he returned they reported back to him. The first had made 5 more talents. The master was pleased and said, "Here are 5 more talents, enter into the master's joy". The second had made 2 more talents and also received the same commendation. The third servant came with only the talent he had received. He said, "master, since I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not plant, I went and buried the talent, but here it is. The master was not pleased with this servant and used the man's own words to rebuke him. If you knew I reaped where I did not sow why did you not at least put it in the bank where it would gain interest. The master then called him a wicked servant and took what he had and gave it to the one who already had 5. He then was cast out into darkness.

I've been thinking about this story all day. What am I? A 5 talent, a 2 talent, or just a 1 talent person? I'm not sure that I can figure that out. I know some 5 talent people. I know some 2 talent people. They are amazing. Their ability to accomplish spiritually significant things just blows me away.

Probably most people I know including myself are just 1 talent people. Not exceptional, not extremely gifted, just pretty ordinary. So what does one do with 1 talent? Living in fear is not what God wants. God wants risk. He wants his church to be full of risk takers. Instead of being the saved church most of us are part of the 'safe' church. We don't want to invest and risk losing what little we even have. God at least wants us to put in the bank his investment so that He gets the interest. So how would that look? We are committed to Christ. We are committed to a church family. We raise our kids in a Christian way. When asked, we even share about our faith. We live the 'safe' Christian life. Sounds easy? Well, it really is. No risk, the only return is interest.

That's not what I want for my life. If I only have one talent, I want to risk it to gain another for my master. How do I do that? I make choices that involve risk. I do the hard things. My passion for God is what consumes me and my total obedience to God in whatever He asks is evident in my life. Who knows, maybe I'll even gain another talent along the way!