In the shower, a direct question interrupted Summer's thoughts: "Summer, what are you doing with your gifts?" The Holy Spirit had brought to mind the three servants entrusted with different amounts by their master. Matthew 25:14-30 suddenly felt personal rather than abstract. The story raised a pointed question: Do we use what God places in our hands, or hide it because we fear what others may think?
Teaching had always been part of Summer's life. As a child, she arranged her stuffed animals and taught them. Later, she loved teaching first grade and third grade, coaching soccer, and hosting fifth grade Bible club boys at her house. Teaching children came naturally. Adults were another matter. That was where fear of man surfaced, along with comparisons to teachers such as Miss Carol and the suspicion that no one wanted to stop and hear a message from the Lord.
Still, being busy with teaching did not necessarily mean using this particular gift as God intended. Summer believed God gives gifts to the church and His people "for others." A tree does not eat its own fruit. Likewise, insights from the Word of God may nourish us without being meant to remain private. Sometimes quiet time with God becomes a lesson to share with someone else, even when that audience consists of one person.
A tree does not eat its own fruit.
What Matthew 25:14-30 asks of us
In Matthew 25:14-30, one servant receives five bags of gold, another receives two bags of gold, and a third receives one bag of gold. Each receives as much as he can handle. The amounts differ, but the passage does not invite comparison.It asks whether each servant will handle what he received faithfully.
The first servant acts quickly, putting five bags to work and gaining five more bags. The second puts two bags to work and gains two more. Their totals differ, but the master responds to them in the same way. The move from two to four earns the same approval as the move from five to ten. Another person's measure is irrelevant to becoming a good and faithful servant.The responsibility is to use what God has placed in our own hands.
The master tells both servants, "Come and share my joy with me." The invitation connects joy with using spiritual gifts for the kingdom. Summer feels most full, peaceful, and joyful when she teaches what God has given her. Teaching and coaching bring her more joy than anything else. Faithfulness is not determined by whether someone received one, two, or five. It appears in what that person does with the amount received.
The responsibility is to use what God has placed in our own hands.
Fear buries gifts, but shared gifts work together
The third servant cites fear as his reason for doing nothing. He digs a hole, hides the one bag, and returns exactly what he received. He has lost nothing, but he has used nothing. That is the passage's severe contrast. Fear can make preservation appear responsible while keeping a gift from the people it was meant to serve.
The fear is painfully familiar. We may expect judgment, negative comments, or accusations that we are crazy. Comparison can bury gifts as effectively as fear. Keely's gift is hospitality; Summer's is teaching. One can open the house and bring the food while the other provides the lesson. The church does not need competition over who received what. It needs those different gifts working together.
The church does not need competition over who received what. It needs those different gifts working together.
Peter stepping out of the boat presents the choice more sharply. He may sink, but he steps onto the water while the others stay in the boat. The same pattern appears when the servants fill the water jugs and start carrying them before the water becomes wine. Obedience begins before the outcome is visible.Waiting for fear to disappear, or for our contribution to resemble someone else's, only delays the first move. Summer's answer is to take the gift already in hand, use it, and ask God for fresh fire to offer it to others.
Obedience begins before the outcome is visible.
