The key is to remain faithful
14 – For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.
15 – And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.
16 – Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents.
17 – And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two.
18 – But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money.
19 – After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.
20 – And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.
21 – His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
22 – He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.
23 – His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
24 – Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:
25 – And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
26 – His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:
27 – Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.
28 – Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.
29 – For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.
30 – And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Mathew chapter 25 verses 14 to 30)
To share what a man has worked for all his life among his servants is never an easy task
This chapter of the bible so much struck me that many questions began to emerge, which we are going to look deep into as we read through this episode. As I read through from verses 14, I began to understand that it was the master who first professed his faith in his servants. Think about it! All that he had worked for, one fateful morning he called his servants and began to share his possession among them.
I hope you understand what that means. No one can tell how long it took him to rise to such an enviable height, but it is clear that it took hard work to bring such virtues into place. To share what a man has worked for all his life among his servants is never an easy task. It must have taken him so much thoughts and adequate deliberation to arrive at a conclusion. There was a course and there is need to handover his business to those who can manage it for greater returns.
The place of authority is for those who were able to prove themselves by gaining the heart of their master
There is a principle I developed on this course that a servant must gain the trust of his master. This is one aspect many have failed and they live to regret every of their action. You must gain the trust of your master if you must be trusted enough to take over in his stead. The place of authority is for those who were able to prove themselves by gaining the heart of their master. To remain faithful is the only key to navigate through life to an expected destination.
The master may be battling trust issues, maybe because of past experiences. It might be that the last time he gave his servants such an opportunity and priviledge , the whole business was messed up. Here he is faced with another scenario that may result to defaults and this is never an idea he will want to entertain. This time he was careful to know what an individual’s can handle effectively. He did not want to work on assumptions, but he decided to go on statistics this time.
His trust in them is that everyone of them will deliver
Based on his personal observations, he was able to come to the conclusion that the one he gave five talents will be able to handle the five talents and to deliver effectively. The same with the servant he gave two talents and the one who was given one talents. He gave them talents according to their several abilities. This proves that the master was deliberate about his actions and he was not a waster.
His trust in them is that everyone of them will deliver. The servant with the five talents was amazed that his master could entrust him with five talents in his possession. The servant understood that was a test to his personality and ability. He needed to prove his loyalty to his master and that was a huge opportunity and he so much cherished it. He understood such opportunity is rare, but he has to prove himself.
Little did he know that he who desires the higher office must be the servant of all
The same with the servant with two talents. He can’t believe that his master could ever entrust such into his hands. Althrough he has been serving it was as though his master never appreciated his decisions. His master always sees fault in everything about him. When he saw that two talents was given to him, he decided to prove his loyalty and faithfulness by making the talents that was delivered into his hands to speak for him. The only option he had was to be faithful.
The servant with one talent, lacked the understanding others had. He might be closer to the master than everyone else. He might be the one informing the master about whatever happens. He will be there laughing at others when the master is scrutinizing them. Others mistake is an object of amusement for him. Little did he know that he who desires the higher office must be the servant of all. He betrayed his master’s trust when he failed to live up to expectation.
Conclusion:
It is vital for everyone to know that whenever there is a responsibility, an individual’s loyalty is put to test. We must prove how faithful we are by diligently discharging our individual responsibility. We will be remembered by what we have done, and we will be promoted on the same note. The key is to be faithful and to remain faithful till the end.
