I’m so very glad that Jesus doesn’t view people the way that most do.
You see, we humans typically fall into the trap of ranking others according to their looks or their abilities or their amount of possessions or according to some other human standard.
It happens in some churches now with how some visitors are treated when they walk in the door.
The Book of James even addresses this cancer of wealth-based favoritism that slips into Christianity.
“She’s the smartest” or “He’s the wealthiest” or “They’re the most popular” seem to naturally pop into our minds as we try to organize how we assign places of influence that others have with us.
Jesus didn’t do this during His ministry and we shouldn’t, either.
What He did do, though, was evaluate people according to their responses to Him or according to how they practiced their faith.
I was reminded of this truth this morning during my reading from Matthew 25 and the Parable of the Talents. I’m sure that you recall the story.
A wealthy man was going on a long trip and wanted his money to be profitable while he was gone so he assigned five talents (i.e., five bags) of gold to one, two talents to another and one talent to a third. The variance in assignments was based on the subordinate’s ability, the Bible says.
Interestingly, though, how the wealthy man valued the men seemingly was not determined by ability, but instead by their demonstration of responsibility.
At his return, the wealthy man described both the first and second servants as “faithful” because their efforts produced a 100 percent return on the investment.
It didn’t matter that the gross amount of investment return was greater for the first, the parable showed. What mattered was that both the first and second servants were faithful and that pleased the master.
Of course, we know that the third servant messed up big-time because he simply buried the bag of gold that he’s been told to invest. And the excuse he gave — that the master was a hard man who wanted a harvest but was unwilling to work for it — was incredibly offensive. It’s no wonder that servant #3 ended up on the fast train to hell.
What’s the point of this devotion? You and I are to find encouragement and inspiration in the fact that Jesus is just as pleased with a two-talent servant as He is with a five-talent servant. For it is the fact of the fruitfulness — not the specific amount — that brings Jesus joy and brings verification that His Word and His Spirit are moving and transforming a congregation of believers.
Please pray for spiritual eyes to see the opportunities to use your gifts and talents more successfully so that more lives can be influenced by the Gospel.
If you’re making a genuine difference in people’s lives because of how you’re using your gifts and talents, then rejoice as you continue bearing that fruit and growing in your ability to be even more fruitful in the years ahead.
As always, I love you
Martin
