Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury?
In the parable of a man going to a far country to receive a kingdom and returning to reckon, the master answers the servant's excuse of harshness out of his own mouth, for if increase was expected he should at least have put the money with the exchangers to gain interest. What is placed in human hands is the Lord's own capital and not man's own, embracing powers of body and mind, time, means and influence, together with light, truth, grace and spiritual gifts proportioned to each capability. He requires His own back with increase proportioned to what was entrusted, and rebukes hoarding it idle, hidden, or spent selfishly. At His coming as Judge He will say Give an account of thy stewardship and expect results from everyone, so the trading and building must be done now before opportunity ends forever. Faithful trading is putting all actively to use to win souls and advance the work in cooperation with divine power, while wrapping the talent in a napkin is doing nothing and letting souls die, and those who make no return lose what they had while the diligent gain commendation and greater trust.
Parable Setting and Wording
The verse is part of Christ's teaching given in connection with His riding into Jerusalem. It belongs to the parable of a man who goes into a far country to receive a kingdom and then returns. In the parable the servant who calls his master harsh is judged out of his own mouth, for if he really believed the master looked for gain he should at least have put the entrusted money into the bank where it could earn interest. His refusal to do what he could to increase it, and his wrongful blaming of his lord, exposes unfaithfulness that even larger resources would not have changed, since responsibility is measured by what each has received and God does not require the same return from one talent as from five.
Putting the money out to the exchangers means unearthing the buried talent and putting it to active use in ministering to others. It means teaching church members how to labor effectually and educating people until hundreds become diligent laborers in the harvest field. Those exercised abilities develop workers for positions of trust and influence and accomplish great good for the Master. That work of enlightening souls perishing without Christ and making Christ known belongs not to ministers alone but to all who profess the truth, in contrast to wrapping the talent in a napkin and burying it in the earth, which is doing nothing, letting souls die, and remaining a slothful idler in a sleeping church. In the same figure, putting money to the exchangers means using personal judgment to invest where the work has need, including helping to establish a place of worship where the truth is gaining a foothold, as part of the steward's individual responsibility.
The bank and usury are the picture of the increase expected from what is entrusted. Entrusted money and resources are to be put to productive use rather than left idle. Faithful use of the means placed in people's hands should advance the work of saving souls and yield a return to the Master, and not be kept idle or used to foster pride or envy.
Ownership and Required Return
What is placed in human hands remains the Owner's own property and capital, lent in trust to be used in His service rather than hoarded or left idle, though men often claim it as their own. He requires His own returned with increase, and each must answer for how the entrusted gifts were used. The account will be examined individually, with reward and punishment corresponding to whether the gifts were improved or abused, and the time to use them is now before the Master returns and opportunity ends.
What is entrusted includes powers of body and mind given to be used as a blessing to the world and to bring glory to Him, with physical, mental, and moral powers assigned to each in a particular sphere and work. It includes time and opportunity, means, property, money, and influence as loans to be put to work for the One who entrusted them and not merely for the steward. All that men have is money loaned as a trust, purchased by blood and suffering, and every human must give an account to the Owner for the use made of His goods. Only food needed for sustenance can be claimed, while everything else — time, learning, gifts, offerings, money, even the lowliest talent and humblest service — must be put out to use for doing good, saving souls, and promoting His glory, including bringing offerings freely and at once to relieve embarrassed suffering institutions. To fold these powers up unused and hidden, or to bury the capital so it benefits neither God nor steward, brings loss and invites strict reckoning, for faithful use must benefit the Master with increase proportionate to what was entrusted.
What is entrusted also includes light of truth and knowledge of vital truth to be shared and employed faithfully even when abilities are small. It includes grace, power, and spiritual gifts with all spiritual advantages, given as the Master's own capital in trust and proportioned to varied capabilities from the lowliest and most obscure to those in highest positions. No one may be an idler in the vineyard and no one is excused, but each as a worker bearing cares, burdens, and responsibilities must trade on the Lord's goods, use them to God's glory, and by using increase usefulness, character, and ability. As gifts are used faithfully, divine power works with human effort so that truths are presented to minds with renewed power, and praise belongs to God. Those given spiritual advantages should develop their talents so they can return the Lord's own with increase, employing them in carrying truth to others and saving souls.
The Lord expects His goods returned with increase and rebukes leaving them hoarded, idle, hidden, or used for selfish ends. Every talent is capital whose use will be scrutinized to see whether it has been improved, and mere profession of faith has no value, for only love shown by works counts as genuine. All are stewards of what belongs to God, and even those given little are responsible to put entrusted money and talents to best use for good and for advancing His work and kingdom. Burying or withholding a talent is unfaithfulness.
No Christian may use his means selfishly, because he is not his own but has been bought with a price and all that he is and possesses belongs to Christ to be used to do good with the Lord's money in accountability to God and submission to a will higher than human judgment. Money entrusted must not be buried or spent for personal advantage, and investing the talent in worldly possession while neglecting service to others and eternal interests is burying it in a napkin. Wealth is entrusted as a test of faithfulness, not for selfish pleasure, needless luxury, or display, and diverting God's goods from the work of His kingdom while people remain in need makes a person an unfaithful steward whom the returning Owner will investigate and judge.
The increase required is proportionate to what was entrusted and according to the measure of the gift, for God does not expect the same return from one talent as from five. Each servant is judged according to how faithfully the trust was used, and burying entrusted goods or leaving them unused brings an accounting for both what was entrusted and what it produced. Responsibility increases and intensifies with the amount received, with greater talents and means requiring interest according to the entrusted capital. The one-pound trust is to be used to the best of ability, accountability corresponds to known capacity, and faithful use of every gift however small in God's service leads to increased ability and can gain further abilities or opportunities that also become responsibility. The servant who buried his talent refused to do what he could to increase it and wrongly blamed his lord, and even greater resources would not have changed his unfaithfulness, while faithful diligent service earns commendation.
Each person's work and accountability remain individual and cannot be transferred to another or taken over by human judgment, for people are accountable for the gifts they have received, not for gifts they lack, and faithfulness is measured by using what one has whether little or much. The steward must act in his master's interests and not turn the gains from trading with the master's goods to his own advantage, for doing so perverts the trust placed in him.
Reckoning at Christ's Coming
At His coming the Master as Chief Shepherd and Judge will reckon with every servant and require His own with increase, expecting results from everyone. To each steward He will say, Give an account of thy stewardship, holding him accountable for the use made of what was entrusted to him. What men use belongs to God and not to themselves, though men often claim it as their own, and money and means are lent to be used in His cause during their lifetime rather than shifting that stewardship to children or others. Gifts to advance His work, including gifts to sanitariums, belong to the work for which stewards will answer in the day of reward.
The time to use entrusted gifts is now, before the Master returns and opportunity for service ends. People are now trading with the Lord's money and building day by day and hour by hour for the last great day, with no second probation afterward. As responsible beings they are working for time and for eternity, their deeds are recorded in the books of heaven, and by that use of entrusted goods they are preparing their own reward or punishment, which will be given to every person in proportion to his work. The account will be examined individually, and reward and punishment will correspond to whether the gifts were improved or abused.
Faithfulness in little things and small duties decides eternal life and each person's reward, for small duties that seem small are the only opportunity to do that little. Neglecting small opportunities for serving God and failing to serve Him in little things is neglect of duty. When a person works on the plan of addition in the littles, heartily as unto the Lord, God works on the plan of multiplication so those littles become the most precious influences in His work, and no offering is small that is given with pure-heartedness and gladness of soul. The work of one who has only one talent is as valuable in His sight as the work of one who has five talents when faithfully done, and those entrusted with even one talent are required to do their very best with it to increase the Master's revenue.
Mere profession of faith has no value and church membership alone does not secure entrance into the kingdom of heaven; only love shown by works counts as genuine. Having opportunities and knowing God's will brings a duty to serve faithfully, develop Christian character, and help and encourage others, and doing nothing to help in the work of salvation is perilous. Failing to serve faithfully robs Him of that increase, and proving false to sacred obligations, perverting abilities, and misusing and misapplying influence and wasting the Lord's substance is not a small offense but robs God and brings guilt, disqualifying from sacred, holy trust. He will judge the world in righteousness and with righteous impartiality, and condemnation will fall on everyone who has wasted his Lord's substance, to whom He cannot give the commendation of the good and faithful servant. Those who fail in this are the ones who make the most complaints against God and their brethren.
Entrusted resources are to be put to work for the Master rather than left unused, for the servant is accountable to return what belongs to the Master with an increase. Burying the capital or leaving it unused benefits neither God nor the steward but brings loss and an accounting according to how faithfully the trust was used. Money and influence are loans from Him, and their faithful use must benefit the One who entrusted them, not merely the steward. The expected increase is proportionate to what was entrusted, not an equal amount from everyone.
Faithful Trading Versus Neglect
Faithful trading means refusing to remain a slothful servant, but working and watching for opportunity to represent the truth to others, win souls to Christ, and advance the message to those in darkness. Money, mind, and influence are to be put to work for His honor with the aim of bringing people to know the truth, helping them consecrate their talents to God. Such active use produces increase for the owner and brings further workers with greater power and efficiency to the gospel work. The more talents are exercised, the greater the increase of capability, usefulness, character, ability, and wider influence.
Wisely used gifts can increase their fruit, while littles worked on the plan of addition become precious influences as God works multiplication, and no glad, pure-hearted offering is small. Faithful use of every gift however small in God's service leads to increased ability to serve, for responsibility is given according to ability and increases with the amount received. The talent is ability entrusted for Christ's service, not to be wrapped up and hidden in the world, but employed for His glory in saving souls. Unless the seed sown struggles above the soil springing up into life, it will lose all its power to germinate.
Human effort works together with divine power, for as gifts are faithfully used the Holy Spirit presents truths to minds with renewed power. All success in trading comes from the Lord's original deposit and principle, since no gain could be made without the first capital and no interest without the principal advanced by Him. Therefore the faithful servant takes no credit but gives all praise and glory to the Lord, for the effect comes from divine power working with human effort, not from human ability. Knowledge of vital truth is to be shared and employed faithfully even when abilities are small.
Wrapping the talent in a napkin and burying it in the earth is holding means back, doing nothing, letting souls die, and remaining a slothful idler in a sleeping church. Investing the talent in worldly possession while neglecting service to others and eternal interests is the same burial, as is laying up means to throw upon others after death the burden of work belonging to the steward to do while living with reason and ability. Leaving entrusted property to people who disregard the truth wastes it rather than wisely advancing the cause, for laying up treasure in heaven means dispensing it wisely while living to sustain truth and support laborers in needy fields. The use of gifts tests whether people love and honor God or make gifts objects of pride that draw affections away from Him, and worldly learning can foster self-sufficiency and forgetfulness of duty. God searches for fruit from what He gave and will find only leaves if it is left unused, so those with great light must keep hands free, move guardedly, and trust Him as compassionate, merciful, and long-suffering.
Those who live selfishly and make no return lose what was entrusted and suffer eternal loss and separation, while the useful servant receives the talent taken from them. Hoarding the Lord's goods and doing nothing, like the slothful servant with his one pound, causes loss of the soul and eternal life, and slothfulness in trading with what belongs to the Lord with selfish withholding of His portion retards His work. Returning what is His does not buy heaven. Servants are justified by faith and judged by their works, for faith works by love and purifies the soul of moral defilement to become a temple for the Lord.
Faithful, diligent service earns the Lord's commendation, and God can increase gifts used in trust and humility so that faithful use gains further abilities and opportunities that also become responsibility. Accountability corresponds to known capacity and work suited to ability, and the one-pound trust is to be used to the best of ability. The lesson is mental and moral improvement, growing in grace and knowledge, with God's family below cooperating in harmony with His agencies in molding character after the divine similitude as laborers together with God. Mind, soul, and strength are to be connected with God and controlled by the Holy Spirit, each trading upon entrusted talents so they increase and obtain power through earnest individual effort for peace in Christ.
Practical Stewardship Applications
Tithes, gifts, offerings, and all means, ability and work belong to God and are to be brought to His treasury with willing and abundant offerings according as He has prospered, for talents are capital entrusted to be traded diligently for Him in a time of solemn privilege and sacred trust when destiny is decided for life or for death. No gain could be made without the first deposit and no interest without the principle, for the capital is advanced by the Lord and all success in trading comes from Him, so the faithful servant takes no credit but renders all praise and glory to Him. Faithfulness means joining with God and entering His service to trade on His gifts in partnership with Him, practicing frugality and self-denial, doing all possible in His service, and keeping before oneself the need for the message of truth to be given in one's own neighborhood and in regions beyond, a spirit that banishes avarice, overreaching and every dishonesty, while unfaithfulness in rendering what is His and disregard of His charge takes away blessing, though no one is forced to present them.
Means and property are lent by God to each owner as a stewardship to be used by himself in His cause while he lives, rendering back both principal and interest when the Master calls to account, and the work left for him to do must not be shifted to children or others after him. Leaving property to those who disregard the truth wastes the means rather than wisely advancing God's cause, and wrapping money in a napkin and burying it means holding it back and doing nothing with it in life while throwing upon others the burden that belongs to the steward to do while he has reason and ability. Laying up earthly treasure in heaven means dispensing means wisely and judiciously while living to sustain the cause of truth and support laborers in needy missionary fields, for Christ became poor that through His poverty believers might be made rich and therefore requires self-denial and action with means and influence in advancing the work, never more earnestly than now while the angels are holding the four winds. Entrusted means should be put to useful service rather than left idle or tied up where they cannot serve God, for money used faithfully can bring a return and help others, while burying the talent even in buildings misapplies it.
Each must manage his own God-given means and abilities rather than surrender that personal stewardship to another man or set of men, and no manager is to place restrictions on how another shall use his entrusted talents of means for God. Faithful stewardship invests when and where the Spirit indicates, unrestricted by compromise, having resources to see and use many ways and opportunities of helping the cause that others would not discern, including the ability to write as a God-given talent entrusted to gain means to enter mission fields that require means. Means are the Lord's talent to be put to active use to build up and advance His work where the field is in greatest need, east or west, north or south, and to hide the talent in a napkin and bury it is to embezzle the Lord's goods and misappropriate His money by diverting it into channels that bind it away from the cause.
Entrusted resources are to be put to work rather than hidden or hoarded so the Master may receive His own with increase, applied directly to giving money for missionary work instead of keeping it or leaving stewardship to others, for those who cannot go abroad can still support the work with their means. Means lying in banks are to be used to strengthen the work of spreading the truth, and gifts to sanitariums are part of the Lord's money to support His work for which stewards will answer in the day of reward. Every talent and all property are goods lent to be used for His glory and returned with usury at His soon coming, which means bringing offerings freely and at once, looking over personal affairs and doing what can be done without a day or hour of delay, especially to relieve His embarrassed suffering institutions, with those in responsible positions setting the example by planning and working with greater earnestness for their relief than for saving their own property, for large sums are needed but even a small amount is accepted, and rightly employing property has eternal consequences because placing money in the hands of Christ in the person of His afflicted brethren is how God regards it.
Hiding the talent in a napkin to embezzle, divert and bind it away from the cause is unfaithfulness that God sees and is displeased by, will not sanction and prosper, brings His curse on selfish planning and takes blessing away, while entrusted money is to be put to work for good and for advancing His cause. Leaving entrusted resources unused is condemned, while faithful effort to develop and use the abilities God has given to increase them is rewarded. The entrusted money is a talent to be used and improved so as to return more than the original, with each person accountable and influence to help save those around him. The amount may differ but even those given little are responsible to put it to use rather than dismiss it as insignificant, for accountability corresponds to known capacity and work suited to ability, and faithful service uses capabilities wisely to increase what was entrusted, leading to increased ability in God's service.
A minister's wife holds her abilities as such a lent talent for which a return is required, and must use them faithfully and earnestly in united work with her husband to help save souls, sacrificing personal wishes and natural preferences. Knowledge and learning are likewise to be put to useful work to serve others rather than left unused, for continually accumulating without putting into practice hinders usefulness.
In the parable of a man going to a far country to receive a kingdom and returning to reckon, the master answers the servant's excuse of harshness out of his own mouth, for if increase was expected he should at least have put the money with the exchangers to gain interest. What is placed in human hands is the Lord's own capital and not man's own, embracing powers of body and mind, time, means and influence, together with light, truth, grace and spiritual gifts proportioned to each capability. He requires His own back with increase proportioned to what was entrusted, and rebukes hoarding it idle, hidden, or spent selfishly. At His coming as Judge He will say Give an account of thy stewardship and expect results from everyone, so the trading and building must be done now before opportunity ends forever. Faithful trading is putting all actively to use to win souls and advance the work in cooperation with divine power, while wrapping the talent in a napkin is doing nothing and letting souls die, and those who make no return lose what they had while the diligent gain commendation and greater trust.
Parable Setting and Wording
The verse is part of Christ's teaching given in connection with His riding into Jerusalem. It belongs to the parable of a man who goes into a far country to receive a kingdom and then returns. In the parable the servant who calls his master harsh is judged out of his own mouth, for if he really believed the master looked for gain he should at least have put the entrusted money into the bank where it could earn interest. His refusal to do what he could to increase it, and his wrongful blaming of his lord, exposes unfaithfulness that even larger resources would not have changed, since responsibility is measured by what each has received and God does not require the same return from one talent as from five.
Putting the money out to the exchangers means unearthing the buried talent and putting it to active use in ministering to others. It means teaching church members how to labor effectually and educating people until hundreds become diligent laborers in the harvest field. Those exercised abilities develop workers for positions of trust and influence and accomplish great good for the Master. That work of enlightening souls perishing without Christ and making Christ known belongs not to ministers alone but to all who profess the truth, in contrast to wrapping the talent in a napkin and burying it in the earth, which is doing nothing, letting souls die, and remaining a slothful idler in a sleeping church. In the same figure, putting money to the exchangers means using personal judgment to invest where the work has need, including helping to establish a place of worship where the truth is gaining a foothold, as part of the steward's individual responsibility.
The bank and usury are the picture of the increase expected from what is entrusted. Entrusted money and resources are to be put to productive use rather than left idle. Faithful use of the means placed in people's hands should advance the work of saving souls and yield a return to the Master, and not be kept idle or used to foster pride or envy.
Ownership and Required Return
What is placed in human hands remains the Owner's own property and capital, lent in trust to be used in His service rather than hoarded or left idle, though men often claim it as their own. He requires His own returned with increase, and each must answer for how the entrusted gifts were used. The account will be examined individually, with reward and punishment corresponding to whether the gifts were improved or abused, and the time to use them is now before the Master returns and opportunity ends.
What is entrusted includes powers of body and mind given to be used as a blessing to the world and to bring glory to Him, with physical, mental, and moral powers assigned to each in a particular sphere and work. It includes time and opportunity, means, property, money, and influence as loans to be put to work for the One who entrusted them and not merely for the steward. All that men have is money loaned as a trust, purchased by blood and suffering, and every human must give an account to the Owner for the use made of His goods. Only food needed for sustenance can be claimed, while everything else — time, learning, gifts, offerings, money, even the lowliest talent and humblest service — must be put out to use for doing good, saving souls, and promoting His glory, including bringing offerings freely and at once to relieve embarrassed suffering institutions. To fold these powers up unused and hidden, or to bury the capital so it benefits neither God nor steward, brings loss and invites strict reckoning, for faithful use must benefit the Master with increase proportionate to what was entrusted.
What is entrusted also includes light of truth and knowledge of vital truth to be shared and employed faithfully even when abilities are small. It includes grace, power, and spiritual gifts with all spiritual advantages, given as the Master's own capital in trust and proportioned to varied capabilities from the lowliest and most obscure to those in highest positions. No one may be an idler in the vineyard and no one is excused, but each as a worker bearing cares, burdens, and responsibilities must trade on the Lord's goods, use them to God's glory, and by using increase usefulness, character, and ability. As gifts are used faithfully, divine power works with human effort so that truths are presented to minds with renewed power, and praise belongs to God. Those given spiritual advantages should develop their talents so they can return the Lord's own with increase, employing them in carrying truth to others and saving souls.
The Lord expects His goods returned with increase and rebukes leaving them hoarded, idle, hidden, or used for selfish ends. Every talent is capital whose use will be scrutinized to see whether it has been improved, and mere profession of faith has no value, for only love shown by works counts as genuine. All are stewards of what belongs to God, and even those given little are responsible to put entrusted money and talents to best use for good and for advancing His work and kingdom. Burying or withholding a talent is unfaithfulness.
No Christian may use his means selfishly, because he is not his own but has been bought with a price and all that he is and possesses belongs to Christ to be used to do good with the Lord's money in accountability to God and submission to a will higher than human judgment. Money entrusted must not be buried or spent for personal advantage, and investing the talent in worldly possession while neglecting service to others and eternal interests is burying it in a napkin. Wealth is entrusted as a test of faithfulness, not for selfish pleasure, needless luxury, or display, and diverting God's goods from the work of His kingdom while people remain in need makes a person an unfaithful steward whom the returning Owner will investigate and judge.
The increase required is proportionate to what was entrusted and according to the measure of the gift, for God does not expect the same return from one talent as from five. Each servant is judged according to how faithfully the trust was used, and burying entrusted goods or leaving them unused brings an accounting for both what was entrusted and what it produced. Responsibility increases and intensifies with the amount received, with greater talents and means requiring interest according to the entrusted capital. The one-pound trust is to be used to the best of ability, accountability corresponds to known capacity, and faithful use of every gift however small in God's service leads to increased ability and can gain further abilities or opportunities that also become responsibility. The servant who buried his talent refused to do what he could to increase it and wrongly blamed his lord, and even greater resources would not have changed his unfaithfulness, while faithful diligent service earns commendation.
Each person's work and accountability remain individual and cannot be transferred to another or taken over by human judgment, for people are accountable for the gifts they have received, not for gifts they lack, and faithfulness is measured by using what one has whether little or much. The steward must act in his master's interests and not turn the gains from trading with the master's goods to his own advantage, for doing so perverts the trust placed in him.
Reckoning at Christ's Coming
At His coming the Master as Chief Shepherd and Judge will reckon with every servant and require His own with increase, expecting results from everyone. To each steward He will say, Give an account of thy stewardship, holding him accountable for the use made of what was entrusted to him. What men use belongs to God and not to themselves, though men often claim it as their own, and money and means are lent to be used in His cause during their lifetime rather than shifting that stewardship to children or others. Gifts to advance His work, including gifts to sanitariums, belong to the work for which stewards will answer in the day of reward.
The time to use entrusted gifts is now, before the Master returns and opportunity for service ends. People are now trading with the Lord's money and building day by day and hour by hour for the last great day, with no second probation afterward. As responsible beings they are working for time and for eternity, their deeds are recorded in the books of heaven, and by that use of entrusted goods they are preparing their own reward or punishment, which will be given to every person in proportion to his work. The account will be examined individually, and reward and punishment will correspond to whether the gifts were improved or abused.
Faithfulness in little things and small duties decides eternal life and each person's reward, for small duties that seem small are the only opportunity to do that little. Neglecting small opportunities for serving God and failing to serve Him in little things is neglect of duty. When a person works on the plan of addition in the littles, heartily as unto the Lord, God works on the plan of multiplication so those littles become the most precious influences in His work, and no offering is small that is given with pure-heartedness and gladness of soul. The work of one who has only one talent is as valuable in His sight as the work of one who has five talents when faithfully done, and those entrusted with even one talent are required to do their very best with it to increase the Master's revenue.
Mere profession of faith has no value and church membership alone does not secure entrance into the kingdom of heaven; only love shown by works counts as genuine. Having opportunities and knowing God's will brings a duty to serve faithfully, develop Christian character, and help and encourage others, and doing nothing to help in the work of salvation is perilous. Failing to serve faithfully robs Him of that increase, and proving false to sacred obligations, perverting abilities, and misusing and misapplying influence and wasting the Lord's substance is not a small offense but robs God and brings guilt, disqualifying from sacred, holy trust. He will judge the world in righteousness and with righteous impartiality, and condemnation will fall on everyone who has wasted his Lord's substance, to whom He cannot give the commendation of the good and faithful servant. Those who fail in this are the ones who make the most complaints against God and their brethren.
Entrusted resources are to be put to work for the Master rather than left unused, for the servant is accountable to return what belongs to the Master with an increase. Burying the capital or leaving it unused benefits neither God nor the steward but brings loss and an accounting according to how faithfully the trust was used. Money and influence are loans from Him, and their faithful use must benefit the One who entrusted them, not merely the steward. The expected increase is proportionate to what was entrusted, not an equal amount from everyone.
Faithful Trading Versus Neglect
Faithful trading means refusing to remain a slothful servant, but working and watching for opportunity to represent the truth to others, win souls to Christ, and advance the message to those in darkness. Money, mind, and influence are to be put to work for His honor with the aim of bringing people to know the truth, helping them consecrate their talents to God. Such active use produces increase for the owner and brings further workers with greater power and efficiency to the gospel work. The more talents are exercised, the greater the increase of capability, usefulness, character, ability, and wider influence.
Wisely used gifts can increase their fruit, while littles worked on the plan of addition become precious influences as God works multiplication, and no glad, pure-hearted offering is small. Faithful use of every gift however small in God's service leads to increased ability to serve, for responsibility is given according to ability and increases with the amount received. The talent is ability entrusted for Christ's service, not to be wrapped up and hidden in the world, but employed for His glory in saving souls. Unless the seed sown struggles above the soil springing up into life, it will lose all its power to germinate.
Human effort works together with divine power, for as gifts are faithfully used the Holy Spirit presents truths to minds with renewed power. All success in trading comes from the Lord's original deposit and principle, since no gain could be made without the first capital and no interest without the principal advanced by Him. Therefore the faithful servant takes no credit but gives all praise and glory to the Lord, for the effect comes from divine power working with human effort, not from human ability. Knowledge of vital truth is to be shared and employed faithfully even when abilities are small.
Wrapping the talent in a napkin and burying it in the earth is holding means back, doing nothing, letting souls die, and remaining a slothful idler in a sleeping church. Investing the talent in worldly possession while neglecting service to others and eternal interests is the same burial, as is laying up means to throw upon others after death the burden of work belonging to the steward to do while living with reason and ability. Leaving entrusted property to people who disregard the truth wastes it rather than wisely advancing the cause, for laying up treasure in heaven means dispensing it wisely while living to sustain truth and support laborers in needy fields. The use of gifts tests whether people love and honor God or make gifts objects of pride that draw affections away from Him, and worldly learning can foster self-sufficiency and forgetfulness of duty. God searches for fruit from what He gave and will find only leaves if it is left unused, so those with great light must keep hands free, move guardedly, and trust Him as compassionate, merciful, and long-suffering.
Those who live selfishly and make no return lose what was entrusted and suffer eternal loss and separation, while the useful servant receives the talent taken from them. Hoarding the Lord's goods and doing nothing, like the slothful servant with his one pound, causes loss of the soul and eternal life, and slothfulness in trading with what belongs to the Lord with selfish withholding of His portion retards His work. Returning what is His does not buy heaven. Servants are justified by faith and judged by their works, for faith works by love and purifies the soul of moral defilement to become a temple for the Lord.
Faithful, diligent service earns the Lord's commendation, and God can increase gifts used in trust and humility so that faithful use gains further abilities and opportunities that also become responsibility. Accountability corresponds to known capacity and work suited to ability, and the one-pound trust is to be used to the best of ability. The lesson is mental and moral improvement, growing in grace and knowledge, with God's family below cooperating in harmony with His agencies in molding character after the divine similitude as laborers together with God. Mind, soul, and strength are to be connected with God and controlled by the Holy Spirit, each trading upon entrusted talents so they increase and obtain power through earnest individual effort for peace in Christ.
Practical Stewardship Applications
Tithes, gifts, offerings, and all means, ability and work belong to God and are to be brought to His treasury with willing and abundant offerings according as He has prospered, for talents are capital entrusted to be traded diligently for Him in a time of solemn privilege and sacred trust when destiny is decided for life or for death. No gain could be made without the first deposit and no interest without the principle, for the capital is advanced by the Lord and all success in trading comes from Him, so the faithful servant takes no credit but renders all praise and glory to Him. Faithfulness means joining with God and entering His service to trade on His gifts in partnership with Him, practicing frugality and self-denial, doing all possible in His service, and keeping before oneself the need for the message of truth to be given in one's own neighborhood and in regions beyond, a spirit that banishes avarice, overreaching and every dishonesty, while unfaithfulness in rendering what is His and disregard of His charge takes away blessing, though no one is forced to present them.
Means and property are lent by God to each owner as a stewardship to be used by himself in His cause while he lives, rendering back both principal and interest when the Master calls to account, and the work left for him to do must not be shifted to children or others after him. Leaving property to those who disregard the truth wastes the means rather than wisely advancing God's cause, and wrapping money in a napkin and burying it means holding it back and doing nothing with it in life while throwing upon others the burden that belongs to the steward to do while he has reason and ability. Laying up earthly treasure in heaven means dispensing means wisely and judiciously while living to sustain the cause of truth and support laborers in needy missionary fields, for Christ became poor that through His poverty believers might be made rich and therefore requires self-denial and action with means and influence in advancing the work, never more earnestly than now while the angels are holding the four winds. Entrusted means should be put to useful service rather than left idle or tied up where they cannot serve God, for money used faithfully can bring a return and help others, while burying the talent even in buildings misapplies it.
Each must manage his own God-given means and abilities rather than surrender that personal stewardship to another man or set of men, and no manager is to place restrictions on how another shall use his entrusted talents of means for God. Faithful stewardship invests when and where the Spirit indicates, unrestricted by compromise, having resources to see and use many ways and opportunities of helping the cause that others would not discern, including the ability to write as a God-given talent entrusted to gain means to enter mission fields that require means. Means are the Lord's talent to be put to active use to build up and advance His work where the field is in greatest need, east or west, north or south, and to hide the talent in a napkin and bury it is to embezzle the Lord's goods and misappropriate His money by diverting it into channels that bind it away from the cause.
Entrusted resources are to be put to work rather than hidden or hoarded so the Master may receive His own with increase, applied directly to giving money for missionary work instead of keeping it or leaving stewardship to others, for those who cannot go abroad can still support the work with their means. Means lying in banks are to be used to strengthen the work of spreading the truth, and gifts to sanitariums are part of the Lord's money to support His work for which stewards will answer in the day of reward. Every talent and all property are goods lent to be used for His glory and returned with usury at His soon coming, which means bringing offerings freely and at once, looking over personal affairs and doing what can be done without a day or hour of delay, especially to relieve His embarrassed suffering institutions, with those in responsible positions setting the example by planning and working with greater earnestness for their relief than for saving their own property, for large sums are needed but even a small amount is accepted, and rightly employing property has eternal consequences because placing money in the hands of Christ in the person of His afflicted brethren is how God regards it.
Hiding the talent in a napkin to embezzle, divert and bind it away from the cause is unfaithfulness that God sees and is displeased by, will not sanction and prosper, brings His curse on selfish planning and takes blessing away, while entrusted money is to be put to work for good and for advancing His cause. Leaving entrusted resources unused is condemned, while faithful effort to develop and use the abilities God has given to increase them is rewarded. The entrusted money is a talent to be used and improved so as to return more than the original, with each person accountable and influence to help save those around him. The amount may differ but even those given little are responsible to put it to use rather than dismiss it as insignificant, for accountability corresponds to known capacity and work suited to ability, and faithful service uses capabilities wisely to increase what was entrusted, leading to increased ability in God's service.
A minister's wife holds her abilities as such a lent talent for which a return is required, and must use them faithfully and earnestly in united work with her husband to help save souls, sacrificing personal wishes and natural preferences. Knowledge and learning are likewise to be put to useful work to serve others rather than left unused, for continually accumulating without putting into practice hinders usefulness.