From God's perspective, "I wouldn't be envious of someone with a lot of talents"

Pastor Mark Durie talks about the Parable of the Talents and what that means for our lives.


How unfair is it that some of us get more talents than others?

God reaches out to some people in ways that are very hard to explain. You can't measure Christ that way.

He shows his favor to some in a really profound way and not to some.

Some people have particular gifts and talents and others don't.

I think there's something really true in that parable.

Your comeback to the guy with one talent?

I think God will not ask how many talents they've been given, but what they've done with what they have.

That's incredibly fair.

The question is what will you do.

As the New Testament says, if you've been given more, more will be asked of you.

If you have more talents, you should have the fear of the Lord.

I wouldn't be envious of someone with a lot of talents, if you're thinking from God's perspective.

I think Jesus is asking us to look at this issue through God's eyes, from a different perspective.

The Lord seems to say to teachers, "Watch out, if you don't use your gift well." How scared should we be of that accountability? Can we be too cautious?

I think St. Peter said, "If anyone's been given a gift, use it with the most confidence."

Remember the warning in the parable, the person who hides the talent in the ground...that's the worst solution, really.

You'll be asked what did you do with it.

That will be the key question.

What is a good God-risk and what is a stupid man-risk?

That's is such a hard question - a discernment issue.

You need to seek the council of other people.

Ultimately, I think the church will be asked why we didn't take more risks, instead of too many.

The thing about the parables is that they're meant to challenge you. They're meant to rock you to the very core.

I think of it like a pebble in your shoe. It's meant to annoy you.

I've got a lot of so-called talents. It seems like the people with the most talents want to take fewer God risks. Close to the truth?

I think there's a lot of wisdom in that.

If you have a lot, you tend to be more cautious.

If you have a little, it's not so hard to give it  away.

I think it is difficult. Beware of the trap of having a lot.

There's a big challenge to be disciplined, to be consecrating everything you have to the Lord.

If you've had everything taken away from you, it's easier to give to the Lord everything you have.

The next passage is the account of the sheep and the goats. Could it be that the parable of the talents and the account of the sheep and the goats go together?

That's an interesting thought, isn't it?

In the second one, he talks about caring for your brother and sister. That puts a new spin on talents.

Maybe (our persecuted brothers and sisters) are our gifts.

It's a very hard expansion of the question of our heritage that God has given us.

Maybe the suffering Christians around the world today are the talents - how have we responded to them.