How Talents Play Out In My Life

The Parable of the Talents is the topic today at SAMmy's.
The story itself is about a master who leaves three servants with denominations of money (in those days they're calle "talents") - each according to his ability. He entrusts one with five talents, one with two talents, and one with one talent. Now, these servants are entrusted with this master's money. The servants are stewards of the money - they are supposed to be doing something with it - investing it - making it grow. And, while one talent sounds like a small amount (one is the lonliest number, right?) - one talent in New Testament times is worth about 20 year's wages...that's alot of money!

So, the master comes back after a long time and wants to know what the servants have done with his money - he expects them to have done something with it - he entrusted his money to them according to their ability to do something with it remember. That was their job.
The one who was trusted with five has doubled it. The master is pleased and promotes him and tells him to share in his Master's happiness.
The one who was trusted with two has doubled it. The master is pleased and promotes him and tells him to share in his Master's happiness.
The one who was trusted with one tells the Master that he had heard that the Master was a hard man, harvesting where he had not sown and gathering where he had not scattered seed, so he was afraid and hid the talent in the ground. The servant gave the Master the talent back to the Master and said "See, here is what belongs to you."
The Master called him wicked and lazy and took away his talent and gave it to the one with ten talents, then he threw him out into the darkness.

I think the moral of the story is that we are responsible to use what we've been given to give God glory. Fear makes us self-focused and is not an excuse to hide what we have and be ineffective. Hearing false information about who God is is not an excuse, either - we need to not let fear hold us back - we need to pursue a relationship with God and get to know Him and we will find that when we use what we have to get to know Him and glorify Him, we will share in our Master's happiness.

God always has me teach a lesson at a time that coordinates perfectly with a similar situation in my life. Last week I was asked to speak at a church in town this Sunday. I understood I would be asked to come up during the sermon to promote SAMmy's. Yesterday, I spoke to the coordinator of the church service. She told me I would be giving the sermon.

Oh. Well, then...

Fear.

But, excitement, too.

So, pray for me if you think of it. This Sunday. :) I won't be hiding anything in the ground. I will be giving it all I've got. :)