“He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. His lord said unto him, well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things….” (Matthew 25.22, 23.)
Introduction. Have you wealth, or influence? Whatever be your position and gifts, they are lent to you from on high. No man has anything of his own except his sins. God has put us into his estates, and he has said, “Occupy till I come.” Even the man who hid his talent in the earth was ahead of those who deny their obligations to God and who spend their time and powers in rebellion against him.
(1) God has Made some Men with Few Talents. One successful man supposes that if everyone were as industrious and persevering as himself, everyone would necessarily be as successful. But even in our birth there is a difference. We ought to avoid saying harsh things of those very men to whom God will afterwards say, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’ Why has God not given to all men similar talents? Next to love, God is the most fond of displaying his sovereignty. Hence it is, that he gives salvation to some and not to others. Most men quarrel with God’s sovereign right. But the thing that you complain of in God is the very thing that you love in yourselves, for every man likes to feel that he has a right to do with his own as he pleases. Oh! for a spirit that bows always before the sovereignty of God. Again, God gives to one five, and to another two talents because the Creator loves variety. If order is heaven’s first law, surely variety is the second. All the stars do not shine with the same brilliance. No two faces are exactly alike. Should minds be alike? Should souls all be cast in the same fashion? For variety’s sake, one man will be a renowned David, another will be his unknown armor-bearer. But there is a deeper reason why some men are given few talents. There are many small spheres to be filled. Does God intend a woman to be a quiet trainer of her own family? Would it not disturb and injure her if he made her a poetess whose gifts might electrify a nation? What’s more, the greatness of God’s grace in saving souls is often displayed through men with two talents.
(2) A Few Talents must be Accounted for. Maybe you think that the day of judgment will pass you by because you have been no murderer, no prince among sinners like Napoleon was. But your guilt will be exceedingly increased by the fact that your talent was little, and therefore easy to make use of, and yet you did nothing with it. Remember, your connection with churches will avail you nothing; it is your personal doings that you will be called to account for. ‘Well,’ says one, ‘if I look at my life in the bulk, I am not very much ashamed. But those little items are the troublesome part of the account.’ You had an hour to spare the other day—what did you do? And God will look at the pence sins as well as the pound iniquities. All must be brought against us, and an exact account given. And remember, in the last place, that every person, whether courtier or slave, will be tried without reference to station. Nothing can bias our Judge, apart from the evidence. How solemn the trial, especially if we have no blood of Christ to plead!
(3) Two Talents, if Rightly Used, will be no Injury to Us. There is many a humble village pastor who uses all the little ability he has for the good of his flock of fifty or so. Do you imagine that his entry into heaven shall be less triumphant than that of Calvin or Luther?
Selection from Conclusion. “Ah! if there be degrees in glory, they will not be distributed according to our talents, but according to our faithfulness in using them.”
