City Life Starter

Written by Paul Lane

The Word

¹⁴ “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. ¹⁵ To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. ¹⁶ He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. ¹⁷ So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. ¹⁸ But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. ¹⁹ Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. ²⁰ And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ ²¹ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ ²² And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ ²³ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ ²⁴ He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, ²⁵ so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ ²⁶ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? ²⁷ Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. ²⁸ So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. ²⁹ For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. ³⁰ And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Matthew 25:14-30 (ESV)

4 Then Moses answered, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’” ² The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.”

Exodus 4:1-2 (ESV)

²⁰ Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, ²¹ to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Ephesians 3:20-21 (NKJV)

Reflection

It is interesting that when Moses expresses lack to God, God points to the provision that He has already given him. 

The question “what is that in your hand?” can be applied to us in so many ways.  When we are not confident about a test, we can answer it by saying, “yes, Lord, you have already provided a way for me to learn what I need to learn and perform well.”  When we don’t know how to make ends meet, we can say “yes, Lord, you have already provided a way for me to manage my affairs and make a living.”  When we find ourselves in the hour of disappointment, we can say, “yes Lord, while the day is dark, you have provided for the dawning of a new day, and I look forward to it with gladness.”

This is not to say that we must pretend that difficult times are not difficult.  Rather, we are to recognize that they are indeed very difficult, but we are not put out there to face them alone.  The Lord is with us, and it is Him who provides, prepares, and guides us.  In most cases, it is God who prepared the test that we will go through, so it makes sense that we should look to Him for the best way to overcome.  For that is exactly what He wants for us, to overcome. 

I find it interesting that in Matthew 25:29 Jesus doesn’t allow for a middle ground.  Either you embrace the challenge, go for it, and learn how to overcome, or you reject it and you find yourself without.  Some might think that this is like the survival of the fittest.  That would be true if this test were able people being able to do it on their own.  But that is not the nature of this test.  God measures out the trial to the person.  So, each one is tested to the level of their ability to handle it.  Note that the guy with the one talent would become the guy with two talents if he simply performed as his master expected.  He did not fail because he was given less.  He failed because he did not know who his master really was.  Be slow to criticize your leaders, for it is easy to misjudge them and it is likely that you will end up tearing down your own house.

Application

Have you ever found yourself the last one picked, or the low man on the totem pole?  Have you ever felt rejected, disrespected, or otherwise considered as not useful?  If you can say no to these questions, congratulations, but I don’t need to talk to you.  So, for everyone else, I feel your pain.  I’ve certainly been there too.  And I know that pretending that it doesn’t hurt, doesn’t make it stop hurting.  Also, ice cream doesn’t fix it, but I won’t say that such a remedy is useless.

What I will say is that if you want to be happy, and I mean truly happy, then it will have to be from a happiness that the Lord creates in your life.  There are so many stories of famous and successful people who are not happy, and of poor people who are.  Why is that? It is because they have learned the value of contentment.  Knowing that you are where God wants you to be brings a peace of mind that is beyond our ability to reason.

So let the nations rage and the crazy drivers go by.  Don’t get caught up in the crazy chase of life.  Learn what it is that God has for you and go after that.  I promise you that there is no other place in life where you will find anything approaching the happiness that you will find there.  And in the end, you will find that your generosity to others is, unshakable.

Prayer

Dear Lord, I thank You for Your provision, and I know that though You challenge me. It is Your intent that I grow into the person You have called me to be.  So, I pray for the patience to endure the challenges, the strength to continue in the faith, and the grace to show Your love even in times of trial.  In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.