“Well done good and faithful servant”
How to be a faithful steward of that which God has given you

The parable of the talents is found in Matthew chapter 25. It actually deals with the subject of money, but has broader application as well. The master gave three different amounts of money to three of his servants to invest as each was able, according to his ability. The servant with the most invested his amount wisely and so did the second, each according to his ability. The second man’s return was not as much as the first, but then he did not have as much to start with. God commends the first two servants as being faithful with what had been given them. But the third servant with the smallest talent did not use it and gave the master no return on His investment. His master called him unprofitable, lazy and “wicked”. Obviously God takes this business of being faithful with what you have been entrusted with, very seriously.

I feel sorry for the unfaithful servant, because he made a tragic mistake. I do not believe he was necessarily “lazy” on purpose, he may have just failed to realise the significance of what he was given, and, as a result, failed to put it to good use. It was “only one” talent, and compared to the five talents given to the other man, what use was his one? Why even try and compete?

Many people today are making this same mistake. How often have you heard this………”Oh, I can’t sing very well, I don’t think I should audition for the church choir.” Or……“My guitar playing isn’t very good, I could take lessons, but what’s the point, there are so many much more talented than I am.” Or the budding songwriter / author whose efforts pale in comparison to those seasoned in the industry, giving up after their first big “no”.

There is a huge mistake being made by these millions of one-talent-holders in the kingdom, and it is this - the vast majority of kingdom business must be done by these people, and if they fail to do their part, the business of the kingdom is largely left undone. Not many people are given five talents and even fewer are given ten. The majority of people in the Kingdom are just one talent people, and most of the work of the kingdom is going to be done by the vast majority of these people. There are very few “gospel stars” or famous christian authors or well known evangelists. Most people are not saved by the eloquence of the worlds most gifted speakers. Most people are saved by the faithful workmate or relative who shares the gospel with them – imperfectly, but effectively nevertheless. Most people do not go to their local church to have some famous gospel group lead them in worship. No, it is the humble church musician who faithfully gives his one talent every Sunday, doing his best to honor the Lord with what has been entrusted to him. What would the forest be like if only the birds who sang the best were allowed to sing? It would be a very silent place. Where would the church be if only the world’s best were allowed to sing and play their instruments before the Lord? It would be a very quiet place. “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!”

The earth is robbed of God’s plan of bringing ministry to a hurt and dying world when the gifts He sends into the earth are despised by those who receive them. Have you despised your talent? Have you hidden it somewhere, too discouraged or too self centred to see beyond your own poor self image? It’s not about you. When God gave you a gift to sing dance play write or whatever, He wasn’t thinking about you, He was thinking of somebody else. We need to stop thinking about ourselves and comparing our gift with others, and just get on with the business of being faithful givers of what we’ve got. “They that compare themselves among themselves are unwise” ( 2Cor.10:12 ) “Let every man prove his own work and then he shall have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.” ( Gal.6:4) Acknowledge the uniqueness of your own calling, and give yourself to the world. Do not be unfaithful to those God has called you to by holding back your gift, because you are too proud to admit to the world that you are only a “one talent” vessel.

Another reason every person should be faithful with their “talent” is for the sake of authenticity and uniqueness. When God made you He made you uniquely different. He gave you a background and perspective on life that no one else has. That means you have a story to tell that no one else can tell. He gave you a voice like none other, and like a finger print it uniquely identifies you. There is a beauty to your voice that cannot be matched by any other, and when you sing it has a sound that captures the ear because of its uniqueness. Rarity is what gives something it’s value. Diamonds are more valuable than coal because there is less of them. You are unique, and therein lies your great value to the world. No one will ever sing like you. No one will ever write songs like you. No one will ever minister quite like you. So who is going to sing your song if not you? No one can compete with you. You are the best “you” there is. It may only be one talent, but someone somewhere in the overall scheme of things needs what you have. That is why God judges so harshly the unfaithful servant, because by despising the gift entrusted to you, you deny someone something that was your responsibility to supply.

I have searched the web for years to find the sort of song that would reach my heart. The gospel music industry on the whole does not meet this need, it is more caught up with money-making hits than authenticity. Most christian music is never heard. It gets rejected by the recording labels, consequently it never gets distributed to the retail stores and so it seldom reaches its intended audience. Music feeds the soul of man, but not everybody’s tastes are the same. When you consider that about 90% of christian music is never heard by the vast majority of listeners, that’s an awful lot of God’s people going without their “daily bread.”

The other day I came across a girl singing on Soundclick. It made me cry, because the unique beauty of her voice and broken attempt to give expression to what God had given her touched my heart in a way that no other professionally produced song ever could. She apologised for not having any accompaniment as she was just “beginning”. Here at least is a faithful servant, and to her who is faithful with what little she has, to her will more be given. Her one talent is about to become two. I just hope she doesn’t lose her sense of individuality and transparency in worship when she gets into a band or something and tries to become “famous” – God forbid. She doesn’t need to become a famous anything. She is meeting needs in the Body of Christ right now just by being who she is. If more christians realised just how effective their particular ministry would be “as is”, I think there would be a lot more faithful stewards in the kingdom. We cannot be all things to all people, but we CAN be who God has made us, to some, and those are the people God will hold us accountable for, not the rest of the world ….. unless God has called us to the rest of the world. And that brings me to the next point.

Not every song is meant for the whole world. There are different levels of ministry, and God has called some to Jerusalem, some to Judea, and some to the outer most parts of the earth. If God has given you a song just for you and Him, be happy with that, and sing your heart out to Him. Be faithful to the Lord and sing Him your song. You have already reached the greatest audience you will ever sing to. Other songs are for you and maybe a few friends. Be faithful and sing your song in your home group. If the Lord has given you a song that your church embraces as part of its worship service, you have been given a 5 talent gift, be faithful with it. Develop your song writing skills, study hard, and write write write write continually be writing songs, and maybe one day you will be entrusted with songs that reach the Body of Christ for your entire denomination, nation, or even the world. But remember, very few are given the privilege AND RESPONSIBILITY of ten talents. Just make sure you are faithful with whatever you have been given, and do not despise the day of small beginnings.

I would love to hear your song……..

PARABLE OF THE TALENTS
“Well done good and faithful servant”. The meaning of the famous parable in the Bible ( Luke 25 ) about the talents and the good and faithful servant and unfaithful servant in the kingdom of God. Jesus explanation of this parable explained by Matthew Henry. Highly recommended reading.

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