Your God is a Good God
by Max Lucado
Your God is a Good God
by Max Lucado
Use your uniqueness to take great risks for God!
The only mistake is not to risk making one.
Such was the error of the one-talent servant. Did the master notice him? Indeed, he did. And from the third servant we learn a sobering lesson. “Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground’ ” (Matt. 25: 24–25).
Contrast the reaction of the third servant with that of the first two.
The faithful servants “went and traded” (v. 16). The fearful one “went and dug” (v. 18).
The first two invested. The last one buried.
The first two went out on a limb. The third hugged the trunk.
The master wouldn’t stand for it. Brace yourself for the force of his response. “You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest” (vv. 26–27).
Whoa. What just happened? Why the blowtorch? Find the answer in the missing phrase. The master repeated the assessment of the servant, word for word, with one exclusion. Did you note it? “I knew you to be a hard man” (v. 24). The master didn’t repeat the description he wouldn’t accept.
The servant levied a cruel judgment by calling the master a hard man. The servant used the exact word for “hard” that Christ used to describe stiff-necked and stubborn Pharisees (see Matt. 19:8; Acts 7:51). The writer of Hebrews employed the term to beg readers not to harden their hearts (3:8). The one-talent servant called his master stiff-necked, stubborn, and hard.
His sin was not mismanagement, but misunderstanding. Was his master hard? He gave multimillion-dollar gifts to undeserving servants; he honored the two-talent worker as much as the five; he stood face to face with both at homecoming and announced before the audiences of heaven and hell, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Was this a hard master? Infinitely good, graciously abundant, yes. But hard? No.
The one-talent servant never knew his master. He should have. He lived under his roof and shared his address. He knew his face, his name, but he never knew his master’s heart. And, as a result, he broke it.
Who is this unprofitable servant? If you never use your gifts for God, you are. If you think God is a hard God, you are.
For fear of doing the wrong thing for God, you’ll do nothing for God. For fear of making the wrong kingdom decision, you’ll make no kingdom decision. For fear of messing up, you’ll miss out. You will give what this servant gave and will hear what this servant heard: “You wicked and lazy servant” (v. 26).
But you don’t have to. It’s not too late to seek your Father’s heart. Your God is a good God.
I still don’t understand the Parable of the talents ,God gave the Three servants.Please explain to me what is meant by the one servant burying his one talent.What was a telent,What did it mean back in bible times,Did the servant call his master hard and that is why he was a wicked and lazy servant because he talked to his master like that?
My own understanding is that a “talent” is a gift from God, in whatever form you want to interpret. For example: some people are good at numbers, so they are accountants – some people are good at organizing and managing, so they become business leaders, etc. But if they saw these “talents” in themselves but did not use them, and especially not use them in such ways to do good, then they are burying them. Which is exactly what God does NOT want.
As for the servant calling the master stubborn and hard, I think Mr.Lucado explains it when he says “He knew his face, his name, but he never knew his master’s heart. And, as a result, he broke it.”
Like being too close to something and taking it forgranted, but in the end realizing that you never knew it (or them) at all.
Hi Jeff, my understanding of the Parable of the talents is that the master gave each servant according to his ability. Talents are a huge sum. None of the servants earned it or deserved it, but they each got a huge sum. Even the third servant who buried his. If you never use your gifts for God, you are burying them. The third servant received a huge sum but was miserable because he compared it to the huge sums of the other 2 servants. But it’s ultimately up to the master to give whatever he feels is right to his servants. You see, He is always good, not hard. When you see how good He is, you will never think of Him as hard. So there is a warning here and a promise here for us : If you think God is a hard God, you are like the third servant and should get to know God for who He really is.
When you and I study God’s word and get to know how good He is, we will want to use our gifts to bring Him glory with our life, a life He gave you and me that we never earned and never deserved but we got because of His love and grace. Once we know His goodness, we’ll no longer fear doing the wrong thing for God, or worse yet do nothing for God. Because we will know His goodness, we won’t accuse God of being unfair or hard. So we can look forward to hearing God say to us, “Well done!” rather than, “You wicked and lazy servant.”
This parable to me means you and your character. I feel that I have a gift of love, joy and calmness. I have used this in many ways for others, but I have been hurt, so I hid it and buried it for awhile. This blessed others, but it also brought me joy. I think this is part of what the “Talents” mean! ? This could also mean our finances, ” First Fruits”. ? I to would like the understanding…
I agree compleltly with Sarah & Toby. The Lord gives us Talents, ALL of us! It is up to us to use the Talents God gave us for the good of His cause. Some have beautiful voices, so they sing His praises. Some can draw & paint, so they become Artist of beautiful works that can be used to display the Beauty & Love of Christ thru their art for others to enjoy. Some are talented writers, so they write books that help us to understand the concepts of the Bible to strengthen & impower us further with the Knowledge of God’s Love & work for us to do. Talent is what God gives us to go forth & multiply 10 or 100 fold for the betterment of spreading, teaching, praising & uplifting God’s purpose for us & His cause. Helping not only our selves & those we love, but, for ALL of God’s creation. So invest the Talents God has given you & when the time comes, you will hear Him say ” Well done! My good & Faithful Servant!!”.
I believe that God has given each of us talents or gifts that are meant to be shared with others. He wants us to help one another and need one another. That’s why none of us has all the talents. We serve Him by serving one another.
When we use our God-given talents to help someone, we develop our talent and build up another person.
God is not greater if we praise Him, but we will be better people and will please Him by doing good for each other.
I understand how if feels when someone has not taken the time to know your heart yet acts upon what they have heard or have been told by others about you. It is heartbreaking. I understand also acting or not acting out of fear. Where fear lives faith disappears. I pray that I have faith that God will guide me on the right path and grants me courage to take the risk of making a mistake. lf we sit still how will we learn.
The ‘talent’ part is clear to me. I have no trouble sharing my gifts. But I have, like the last servant, been in a place where I felt God to be ‘hard’. And I still struggle with that at times. But I am struggling because I don’t understand Him as Max Lucado said. One of my favorite thoughts is ‘Doubt your doubts before you doubt your beliefs.’ I would be wicked and lazy if I didn’t continue to seek the Lord in spite of my misunderstanding His purposes. I strive to always give my doubts to Him and let Him soften my hard heart.