STEWARDSHIP OF THE POUNDS AND TALENTS.
MAY 17.-Luke
19:11-27. Compare also Matt. 25:14-30; 1 Cor. 4:1-7.
“He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much; and he
that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.”-Luke 16:10.
THE Parable of the
Pounds and the Parable of the Talents, as companion parables, illustrate from
different standpoints the responsibilities of the stewardship of God’s people.
St. Paul says, “Let a man so account of us as of the ministers [servants] of Christ,
and stewards of the mysteries of God.” This stewardship and ministry, while it
belonged in a special sense to the apostles, belongs also to the whole Gospel
Church, all of whom have the anointing and the commission (Isa. 61:1,2) and the
consequent responsibilities of the sacred trusts committed to them. And as
stewards of God we have nothing of our own, nothing with which we may do as we
please; for, says the Apostle, “What hast thou that thou didst not receive?”
Nothing. And what have we to call our own that has not been included in our
covenant of consecration to God? Nothing. Consequently all that we have
belongs to God, and we are merely stewards of his goods.
“Moreover,” says the Apostle, “it is required in stewards that a man be
found faithful”; and the parables under consideration show what is considered
as faithfulness to our stewardship. To merely receive the gifts of God is not
faithfulness, tho many seem to think so. Many indeed seem to think they have
done God a great favor in merely accepting his grace through Christ, and are
satisfied to make no further efforts. But such make a great mistake; for
faithfulness, as here shown, consists in a proper and diligent use of
our gifts in harmony with the divine purpose and methods; and both the Lord and
the Apostle point to a day of reckoning, when even the secret things will be
brought to light, and all the counsels of the hearts shall be made
manifest.-Luke 19:15; 12:2,3; 8:17; Mark 4:21,22; Matt. 25:19; 1 Cor. 4:5.
We observe that in the former parable each of the servants received
exactly the same thing-a “pound,” while in the latter the gifts varied: one
received five talents, another two, and another one, “every man according to
his several ability.” The “pound,” being the same to
all, fitly represents those blessings of divine grace which are common to all
God’s people. Among these are the Word of God and the various helps to
its understanding, the influences of the holy spirit, the privileges of faith
and prayer and communion with God and fellowship with Christ and with his
people. But the “talents” being distributed according to every man’s several ability, represent
opportunities for the service of God along the lines of such abilities as we
possess. They may be talents of education, or money, or influence, or good
health, or time, or tact, or genius, with opportunities for their use in God’s
service.
In both parables our Lord is represented as about to take his
departure to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. And a part of their
object was to disabuse the disciples’ minds of the idea that his Kingdom would
immediately appear. He thus intimated that while he was about to return to his
Father in heaven there would be an interim between then and the time of his
return, during which time their faithfulness to him would be fully tested, and
that all that would prove faithful to their stewardship in his absence would be
owned and blessed of him in his Kingdom upon his return.
The commission to each and all of the Lord’s stewards is expressed in the
words, “Occupy [which, in old English, signified, “Do business with,” “Use,”
“Traffic with”] till I come.” And the first business with the King on
his return is not to deal and reckon with and judge the world, but to reckon
with these servants to whom his goods-the “pounds” and the “talents”-had been
committed; to see how much each had profited thereby, as a test of their
fidelity, to determine what place if any should be granted them in his
Kingdom. Notice also that the reckoning with them is as individuals, and not
by groups or classes.
In plain language, these parables teach that it is the duty of every
Christian to make good use of all that the Lord has given him. The right use
of the “pound” is to diligently profit by all the means of grace for the
spiritual upbuilding of ourselves and others. We cannot afford to neglect any
of these; for we cannot do so without loss. If we neglect to consider and
ponder the principles and precepts of God’s Word, or to heed their wholesome
instructions; if we fail to consider or to follow the leadings of the holy
spirit; if we neglect the privilege of prayer and communion with God; or if we
fail to cultivate the fellowship and communion of saints, we are folding our
“pound” in a napkin. It cannot yield its legitimate increase while thus
unused. Christian character cannot grow and develop in the neglect of the very
means which God has provided for its perfecting. In such neglect a spiritual
decline is sure to set in; and the more persistent and long-continued is the
neglect, the less realized is the decline, and the less inclination is there to
energy, diligence and zeal in correcting it. But in the diligent and proper use
of these means of grace there is a “feast of fat things” which is sure to build
up and invigorate the spiritual life and cause it to bring forth much fruit
unto holiness, which is the increase for which the King is looking.
Yet the parable shows different degrees of increase in different cases
following the right use of the “pound.” The “pound” in the care of one servant
gains ten, while with another it gains five. This reminds us of what we
commonly observe, that even the same means of grace do not profit all to
exactly the same extent. Some, for instance, are by nature more studious and
thoughtful, or more generous, or grateful. And therefore the appeals of the
various means of grace to the heart differ in different individuals, and the
consequent fruitfulness also differs in quantity. Another illustration of the
same thing is also found in the parable of the sower (Matt. 13:8), where the
seed in good ground produces fruit in varying quantities-some
thirty, some sixty, and some an hundred fold.
But all such fruitful characters are appreciated and rewarded as “overcomers,”
and of the “little flock” to whom “it is the Father’s good pleasure to give the
Kingdom.” The different measures of fruitage-the
thirty, sixty, and hundred-fold, or the ten pounds and the five, mark
differences in obstacles to be overcome, etc., rather than unfaithfulness in
the use of the means of grace. Some may work long and diligently for small
results, while the same effort in others of more resolute will and of greater
continuity may accomplish great things. Some by slips and occasional backslidings,
from which they subsequently recover, lose time and opportunities which can
never be regained, although they are forgiven and generously reinstated in the
divine favor and thenceforth run with diligence and patience to the end.
All of these, therefore, because of their faithfulness, because
they have overcome the obstacles in their way and have diligently cultivated
the fruits of the spirit in the use of all the means of grace provided, are
accorded a generous welcome into the everlasting kingdom, although the best
efforts were short of perfection, and each must still have the robe of Christ’s
righteousness imputed to him by faith. But the degrees of exaltation in the
kingdom differ according to the measure of their fruitage here. The steady diligence
that secured the gain of “ten pounds” here is rewarded with corresponding
exaltation there, which figuratively is likened to authority over ten cities;
while the faithfulness which was sometimes interrupted and imperilled by
dangerous backslidings afterward healed, but which apart from these
perseveringly gained “five pounds,” is rewarded with an exaltation in the
Kingdom represented as “authority over five cities.”
The Parable of the Talents illustrates fruits of labor. In it the ratio of
increase is the same with both of the faithful servants-each doubled his
“talents”; and the same approval is expressed to each, according to the
principle mentioned by Paul (2 Cor. 8:12),-“If there be first a willing mind,
it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath
not.” A truly “willing mind” to serve the Lord will always find a way to serve
him in the use of whatever talents are possessed; and the increase is sure to
follow; and if not under our immediate, present observation, it will appear by
and by. “God is not unmindful of our work and labor of love,” however
unfruitful it may appear to us. The fruit will be manifest by and by when all
the secret things shall be revealed.
The differences of reward, accompanied by the same words of approval and
welcome to the Kingdom glory and joy of the Lord, call to mind those scriptures
which bid us rejoice in all present opportunities for that suffering and
service which attest our faithfulness, because they work out for us “a far more
exceeding and eternal weight of glory,” and also remind us that there will be
some least and some greater in the Kingdom of heaven. This is an incentive to
“lay up treasures in heaven,” where moth doth not corrupt and where thieves do
not break through and steal.-See Matt. 5:11,12; 2 Cor. 4:17,18; Matt. 11:11;
6:20.
But what of the faithless servant who wraps his “pound” in a napkin (who
failed to make use of the means of grace for his own spiritual upbuilding and
character development) and who buries his “talent” (of time or means or
education, or ability of any kind, great or small) in the earth-in the service
of self and Mammon? Is there any reward for his faithless misuse of the
Master’s goods? No! even that which he hath shall be taken away, and he shall
be cast into outer darkness. (Luke 19:24-26; Matt. 25:28-30.) The principle
announced in the golden text is that upon which the rewards are to be given.
Great trusts are to be committed to the “overcomers” of this age, and their
worthiness must be tested: they must endure the tests, and thus be proved.
The citizens that hated him (verse 14), and sent a message after him,
saying, We will not have this man to reign over us, represent not only the Jews
who cried, Away with him! Crucify him! We have no king but Caesar! but
includes also all who having come to a knowledge of Christ and his coming
kingdom are so out of accord with righteousness that they do not desire the
promised Millennial Kingdom. Wrath will come upon these, a great “time of trouble,
such as was not since there was a nation,” soon after the “servants” have been
reckoned with and rewarded. “Bring them hither and slay them before me,”
speaks of the Lord’s righteous indignation against evil doers, but in no way
cuts off hope of forgiveness for those who shall then repent and become loyal
subjects of the King.