Jesus tells us the Parable of the Loaned Money (or the Parable of the Talents) to help us understand what it means to be ready for His return…
Again, Jesus illustrates what the Kingdom of Heaven is like by telling a story about a man who is going on a long trip. Before he left, he gathered his servants together and entrusted to them each a sum of money. To one servant he gave five bags of silver, two bags of silver to the second servant, and one bag to the last servant. The master divided the silver in proportion to their abilities, and then he left.
The servant who was given the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more. The servant who was given two bags of silver also earned two more. But the servant who received one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the money that was given him.
After much time had passed, the servant’s master came home, and he called on each servant to make an account of how they had used the money. The servant who was entrusted with the five bags of silver came to him and said, “Master, you have given me five bags to invest and I earned five more. “The master was full of praise. “Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate!”
The servant who was entrusted with two bags of silver came and told the master that he had also invested the money, and now has two more bags. “Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!” Then the servant who was given one bag of silver came to his master and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate, I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.
But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate, why didn’t you deposit the money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’ Then he ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ Matthew 25: 14-30
The bag of silver given to each servant represents any kind of resource we have. We are each given gifts, talents, and time from God according to our abilities. God expects… He expects us to use and invest them wisely until He returns; He holds us responsible. How much we have isn’t the issue… it’s how we use what we have.
The first step is to acknowledge our time, abilities, and money aren’t ours to begin with – we are caretakers, not owners. This parable describes the consequences of the two different attitudes towards Jesus’ return; the person who diligently prepares by investing they’re time and talents to serve God will be rewarded. The person who has no heart for God, or has no interest in serving Him will be punished. Those who don’t bear any fruit for God can’t expect to be treated the same as those who are faithful…Hebrews 11:6 tells us that God, ”Rewards those who diligently seek him.