Don't Be Stupid- The One Talent Guy

I'm currently teaching through a series in our young marrieds' Bible Fellowship class called "Don't Be Stupid- Stupid People in the New Testament". The concept is that it is often easy to look back in Scripture and see where people made "stupid" decisions or choices while at the same time overlooking our own poor choices. Rather than judging, our goal should be to use Godly wisdom and learn from the mistakes of others.

In Matthew chapter 25, Jesus tells the story of a master who went away for a time. He left talents (a monetary amount) with some of his servants. One servant received 5 talents; another received 2 talents and another servant received 1.

When the master returned from his journey, he asked what each servant had done with what was given him. The servant with 5 talents had earned 5 more and the master was pleased. The servant with 2 talents had earned 2 more; this also pleased the master. However, the servant with the lone talent had buried his talent so as not to lose it and this greatly displeased the master.

Here's The Point: God wants more from us than playing it safe and doing little or nothing of value with what He has given us. He desires the kind of service and effort that produces results.

No employer ever hired an employee just to be. There is always a role, a function. There is work to be done.

We've each been given talents (skills, abilities, aptitudes) that are an area of specialty for us. Things we're good at. Because God allows us to be good at it; He gave us the talent. Don't be stupid. Don't waste your talent. Whatever you have has value.

A couple of weeks ago, a group from our young marrieds ministry helped with a clean-up day at a local high school. One guy came around 9:00 AM. I asked what time he'd gotten off the night before. "Midnight", he replied. Learning that, I was surprised he'd come at all. Later that morning as we talked, I asked if he was off on Saturday. "No", he said, "I go back in at 2:00. But I love doing this kind of stuff". Impressive. He used what he had on that day. The Master would be pleased.

Don't be stupid. Use what you've been given.