#DailyDevotion At Least Bet It All On Black
Matt. 2524Then came also the one who got one talent. “Master,” he said, “I found out you’re a hard man. You reap where you didn’t sow, and you gather where you didn’t scatter. 25I was afraid, so I went and hid your talent in the ground. There’s your money!” 26“You wicked and lazy slave!” his master answered him. “You knew I reap where I didn’t sow and gather where I didn’t scatter. 27Then you should have invested my money with the bankers, and when I came back, I could have gotten my money back with interest. 28Take the talent away from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents. 29Whoever has anything will receive, and so he will have more and more. And from him who doesn’t have what he should have, even what he has will be taken away. 30Throw this good-for-nothing slave out into the dark where there will be crying and grinding of teeth.”
Today we get to what happened when the master came home. There was an accounting of what the slaves did with what the master gave them. The first two got busy and doubled their master’s money while the third returned that which he was given. Remember each was given according to their ability. The first two are praised for their work and rewarded, “Well done, good and faithful slave!’ his master answered him. You proved you could be trusted with a little. I will put you in charge of something big. Come and share your master’s joy.”
The third comes to his master with his lazy excuse that he knew the master was a hard man who reaps where he doesn’t sow and gather where he doesn’t scatter. The master calls him a wicked and lazy slave. If he really believed that he would have given the money to the bankers who could have at least gotten interest on his money. Therefore the talent is taken away and given to the one who had ten and the slave is cast out where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Now you might think this parable is about the quantity and the quality of the results of one’s work in the faith. If so, that is a terrifying proposition. Thanks be to God that is not the point Jesus is making with this parable. No, like the parable that precedes it, it is about know who Jesus is, trusting who he is, and then living that out in our lives. It is about Jesus knowing us. The third slave, in trusting who Jesus is could have bet it all on black and lost everything. At least he would have acted in faith. His faith would have prompted him to keep working anyway.
We can see the third slave doesn’t know Jesus, “I knew you were a hard man.” That is what the slave thinks and believes or at the very least he doesn’t think Jesus cares one way or another what he does. He doesn’t think very much of him. The first two on the other hand believe Jesus trust them. Because they believe Jesus trust them they know and love Jesus and trust Jesus. They believe will be happy with whatever they do and they want to please him. The third doesn’t care what Jesus thinks of him. You have been given the gifts of eternal life, the forgiveness of sin, the Holy Spirit, and faith. What is your attitude toward Jesus? Do you know Jesus? What are you going to do with these gifts? Are you going live in this faith and at least bet it all on black or are you going to act as if they weren’t even given to you to work with? Your results don’t really matter. If you act in faith in trust you will hear, “Well done, good and faithful slave! Come and share your master’s joy.”
Heavenly Father, grant that we may truly know and trust your Son Jesus Christ that we may work out the gift of our salvation with fear and trust so our faith in him may not be found wanting when he appears in judgment. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.