Matthew 25:20-23: So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them. His lord said to him, Well done, good and faithfuyl servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord. He also who had received two talents came and said, Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look , I have gained two more talents besides them. His lord said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.
The key thought that our Lord brings out in this paragraph is that faithfulness is what is desired by Christ. Each of the first two servants received different amounts of talents. Each doubled the amount of those talents, and presented those to the Lord. Both demonstrated equal faithfulness even though what they had to begin with was not equal.
But note that the reward for each of those two servants was exactly the same. The results were different, yet the reward was the same. The reward was not financial, but rather each man was to receive "the joy of your lord." There are some people who delight in taking the joy out of life. I saw that in church when a child, and grieved for my parents. Although I thought that would never be in my path, it has been. Like the grinch at Christmas, there are the people who share their suspicions and fears and drive joy out of the hearts of others. Yet, we are promised the joy of our Lord if we are faithful. When people disappoint us, especially in the context of the faith, keep on being faithful.
One young adult that I was witnessing to today said: "Oh, I used to go to church and I remember accepting Christ." Then they confided that this was about 10 years ago. When asked for the reason, the reply was "hurtful gossip." What a judgment awaits those who caused a teen and her parents to flee their church and miss out for nearly a decade on the Word of God. Our talents should lead us to bringing the joy of the Lord to all we meet. We should reflect the Lord Jesus Christ in all our dealings with others. We are called to evangelize, not to judge. Jesus will handle that in His time. Our job, like the two servants before us, is to use our talents to advance Christ's kingdom. If we do, the joy of the Lord awaits. If we do not, self-condemnation and an absense of fruitfulness in our spiritual life will result.
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