Managing God’s Assets
Matthew 25:14-30
INTRODUCTION
One thing that we are all aware of, yet are all slightly uncomfortable with, is the idea of accountability. Throughout our lives we are faced with being held accountable. Some accountability is formal and some is informal, but it is always present.
When we are in school, every quiz or exam is an exercise in accountability. Have I mastered the material or not? At work, we are held accountable for how well we perform our given assignments. It may be measured by how many widgets we have produced, or how many sales we have made, or how well we have managed the employees that we are responsible for. At home we are held accountable for picking up or socks and putting our dishes in the dishwasher. Wherever we go in life, we cannot avoid accountability.
Unfortunately, many people today try to live as if they will not be held accountable for the way they live their lives. They believe that they are the master of their own soul and that there is no reckoning outside of themselves. They want to live their life on their own terms. The mantra, “I’m only accountable to myself,” is all too common today. Yet, even in the simplest terms, the idea that we are not accountable to anyone or anything outside of ourselves is blatantly false.
The Bible makes it clear that all that we have, tangibly and intangibly, has been given to us by God. Even the very breath in our lungs is a gift. These assets have been given to us for a purpose, to bring glory to God.
The Bible also makes it clear that we will be held accountable for how we use the assets that God has entrusted to us. As Paul states in Romans 14:12, So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. And in 2 Corinthians 5:10, For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. Although we might try to avoid being held accountable during our lifetime, we cannot escape the final settling of accounts.
The passages of Scripture that we are exploring are parables told by Jesus. If we are going to understand what Jesus is teaching us, we need to understand the use and application of parables.
First, every parable has one main point that the story illustrates. To understand a parable, you need to look for the main idea being conveyed.
Second, the details of the parable are there to support the main point. They are illustrative and need to be understand in that way. If we make too much of the details, we will stray from the main point and come to faulty conclusions that were never intended.
Third, parables use common life events to awaken us to spiritual truth. They often sneak behind our defenses, and encounter us at a deeper emotional level. They are intended to stir us and cause us to think differently about life.
On the surface parables may seem simple, or sometimes confusing. But when we have our spiritual eyes opened, we can see their depth and their clarity.
Study 1: Matthew 25:14-18
The concept behind this parable is stewardship. A steward is a person given the responsibility of managing another’s assets. In this case the assets are financial. A talent was originally a unit of weight (about 75 lbs), but it came to be used for a certain amount of money (about $3,000).
1. Who is the rightful owner of the resources in this parable?
2. On what basis did the master give resources to each servant?
3. What does this say about the master’s understanding and estimation of each servant?
4. How did the first two servants respond to the assignment they had been given?
5. How did the third servant respond to the assignment he had been given?
MAKE IT PERSONAL
1.Although this parable uses money to illustrate stewardship, we should not limit the concept to money alone. What assets has God entrusted to you?
2. What does this parable teach us about all of the assets that we have?
3.What does this parable tell us about God’s complete understanding of who we are and what we are capable of?
4. What would have been involved in the first two servants “putting the master’s money to work?” What does this say to you about the use of God’s assets in your life?
5. What observations can you make about the actions of the third servant?
6. For what reasons might the third servant have acted the way that he did? How does it apply to your use of God’s assets?
Study 2: Matthew 25:19-23
In the parable, the day came when each servant had to give an accounting of his actions.
1. What is the point of verse 19?
2. In what way is the return given to the master by the first two servants that same?
3. In what way is the response by the master to the first two servants the same?
4. What did the master emphasize in his commendation of the first two servants?
5. What was the outcome for the first two servants?
6. What basic principle is Jesus illustrating with the response to the first two servants?
MAKE IT PERSONAL
1.What kind of emotions do you feel when you are called upon to give an accounting?
2. How do you think the first two servants felt as they settled accounts with the master? Why?
3. Why do you think Jesus had both of the first two servants double the master’s assets?
4. The master rewarded both of the first two servants in the same way. What does that say about how God will reward his faithful servants?
5. Part of the reward for the faithful servants was greater responsibility. In what ways is this a positive thing?
6.What does it mean for you to share God’s happiness?
Study 3: Matthew 25:24-30
This parable ends on a dark note. Where the first two servants succeeded, the third servant failed miserably.
1. What excuse did the third servant give for not being faithful to his assignment?
2. What does his response say about his attitude toward the master?
3.How did the master respond to the third servant’s excuses?
4. What did the master do with the one talent he had entrusted to the third servant? What reason did he give for doing this?
5. What did the master do with the unfaithful servant?
6. What is implied by “weeping and gnashing of teeth?”
MAKE IT PERSONAL
1.How does your attitude toward God affect the way you use the assets that have been entrusted to you?
2. How can fear be a barrier to faithfulness?
3. God chided the unfaithful servant for not even doing the minimum. What does this say about our efforts vs. our inactivity in God’s sight?
4. Do you think God was more concerned about the return on His investment or our faithfulness in carrying out His commands?
5. The idea that God will give more to those who have an abundance and take away from those who don’t seems unfair. What is the real principle behind what Jesus was saying?
6. What does darkness represent in this parable?
7. How does verse 30 relate to regret over lost opportunities?
Study 4:Luke 19:11-27
Luke records a similar parableto the one recorded in Matthew. It is very likely that Jesus used this parable at different times in different settings. The main point of the parable remains the same.
1. The details of this parable are different from Matthew.
a. How many servants were involved?
b. How much money was given to each servant? (A mina was worth about 50 days wages.)
c. What specific instructions did the master give to his servants?
2. How does this parable describe the conditions surrounding the master’s long journey?
3. The master returned and called his servants to give an account.
a. What did the first servant have to give to the master?
b. How did the master respond to the first servant?
c. What did the second servant have to give to the master?
d. How did the master respond to the second servant?
4. The third servant had a different response to the master.
a. What did he have to give to the master?
b. What was his reason for how he acted?
c. How did the master respond?
MAKE IT PERSONAL
1. What does this parable say to us about what God expects from us?
2. What does this parable tell us about the environment in which we are to serve the master?
3. Each of the ten servants were given the same amount to work with, yet their results were different. What does this say about our being too worried about the results?
4. The master rewarded the faithful servants. What does that tell you about how God will treat you if you are faithful?
5. How and why did the master judge the third servant? What does that say to us?
6. What do these two parables of Jesus tell us about being faithful stewards of God’s assets?
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