You know what parable I can’t stand? The parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30). It’s always bothered me, but thinking about Russia and Ukraine makes it worse.
This parable tells us what readiness looks like. It follows the parable of the ten bridesmaids (Matthew 25:1-13), which emphasizes being ready. This one continues on the same topic by showing us what it does and doesn’t look like to be ready.
To be ready for what? For your life. For this time in history. For Jesus’ return. For telling Jesus what He did with His investment in you.
And what has bugged me most about this parable is not that each servant received different amounts of resources based on their abilities. The different amounts aren’t the parable’s point because the master said the same thing to the two servants who invested: “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” (verse 23 repeats verse 21).
No, what’s bugged me most is that I have found myself too much like the third servant far too often. He understood the assignment but didn’t act. What he didn’t understand was that he was given all he needed to fulfill his purpose. And this has everything to do with how we view ourselves in light of the enormity of what’s going on in Eastern Europe today.
Commentators identify several reasons for the servant’s inaction. We can find ourselves in this cluster of reasons that kept the servant from embracing what was given to him.
Was he struggling with comparison? Perhaps. He probably watched the other two servants receive more, and they probably saw him receive less. Did he wonder what the point was of investing so little? Did he wonder what different it would really make to a master who had so much?
Was he struggling with feeling overwhelmed? Was the desire there but did the loss of direction lead to inaction by default?
Was he struggling with fear? Was he afraid of mishandling what was entrusted to him and disappointing his master?
Yes, all of these in varying amounts. But they were symptoms of a bigger issue. He misunderstood his master.
The servant goes for the jugular when pressed for an explanation of why he didn’t use the money: Master, you’re not fair! You’re harsh! You want to keep others’ work for yourself! So I just gave your money back.
That’s a fundamental misunderstanding of his master. The same master who gave resources to other servants who used them. They had faith that their master had given them what they needed. Same master; different results.
Now let’s take this out of a purely economic sense and put it back into the moral one that Jesus intended: this parable is about discipleship.
What does it mean to be ready, Matthew 25:14-30 asks? The answer is a discipleship that is willing to take risks. A discipleship that uses the resources given to you, without playing the game of comparison and without caving to fear. NT scholar R.T. France says that in this parable, we see that being ready, being a disciple, is not passive waiting but responsible activity.
So if you identify as a disciple of Jesus, what is your response to the current Ukraine-Russia crisis? A disciple’s response is not:
“It is what it is.” -That’s fatalism.
“I’m glad I don’t live over there.” -That’s self-preservation.
“I’m not NATO. I’m not the president. I can’t affect change in this situation.” -That’s comparison.
“All I can do is pray.” -That’s an underestimation of the gifts given to you—which is a reflection on an understanding of your Creator.
He’s given you everything you need for this time in history. If all you currently detect inside you is a capacity to pray, pray with all your might. Dr. Beth Grant spoke a prophetic word at church last Sunday about our prayers (and I paraphrase): prayer is the substance, not the substitute.
Don’t compare your lack of power (politically or otherwise) with someone else’s position. Don’t underestimate what you can do with what you have; God didn’t skimp on giving to you. Remember your maker, your master. Recognize the risks involved in using what He’s put inside you. And remember that discipleship is defined by action that counts the cost.
Maybe who you are and what you have isn’t enough to stop a war. But it’s enough to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
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R. T. France spoke about readiness in his commentary on Matthew for the Tyndale NT Commentaries, pg. 352.
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Photo: I took this photo while on a train through Eastern Europe in 2014. It’s typical of the landscape in many countries there, and it reminds me of the villages for which I pray today.