Unfairness and the "Blame Game"...

This week, we are looking at a parable, which is an earthly story that reveals a deeper spiritual truth that Jesus told His closest followers. In this parable, there are two characters. The first character Jesus refers to as a man, who represents Jesus. The second characters are the man’s slaves, which represents us. Jesus explains that this man, just prior to leaving on a trip, calls his slaves and entrusts his possessions to them. Jesus explains that the man gave one of his slaves five talents, another of his slaves two talents, and a third slave one talent. Now a talent was a measure of gold that was used in Jesus day.

In other words, this man divided his possessions among his slaves and gave them the responsibility to take care of his possessions while he was away on his trip. Yesterday, we saw that while the person with the five talents was responsible with the talents he was given to produce a positive result with what he was given; while the person with the two talents was responsible with the talents he was given to produce a positive result with what he was given, the person with the one talent does not seem to be very responsible.

Instead of using the talent that he had been given to produce something positive, the person with the one talent irresponsibly hid what he was given. Today, let’s continue as Jesus continues to tell this parable:

 "Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. "The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, 'Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.'  "His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.'

Jesus explains that after spending a long time away on his trip, the master returned to settle accounts with the three slaves. Now this little phrase “to settle accounts” is an accounting term that conveys the sense of holding one accountable for their actions. In other words, the master was going to hold these slaves accountable for how responsible they were with whatever talents that he had given them.

The master first engages the slave who was given the most talents. As the slave reveals the results of his responsibility with the talents that he was given, the master makes a seemingly strange statement “You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.”

Now you might be thinking to yourself “what do you mean he was faithful with a few things? That guy was a five talent guy, he received the most talents; how can he say that he was faithful with a few things? He gave Him more than anyone else”. If you think you are confused now, just look at what Jesus says next:

 "Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, 'Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.' "His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.'

Jesus explains that the master then engaged the slave who was given two talents. As the slave reveals the results of his responsibility with the talents that he was given, the master responds by giving him the exact same reward that he gave the slave who was given five talents.

Now you might be thinking to yourself “Wait a minute, hold on here. That’s not fair. It’s not fair that the two talent guy got the same reward as the five talent guy. I mean they did not produce the same results. The five talent guy ended up with ten talents, while the two talent guy only ended up with four talents. The five talent guy should get a bigger reward. That’s not fair. To which Jesus would say life’s not fair.

You see, as far as Jesus is concerned, the issue is not how much talent have you been given. The issue is how responsible are you with the talents that you have been given. That is why we get ourselves off track when we focus on comparing our talents with others talents instead of focusing on whether or not we are responsible with the talents we have been given.

We get off track because God gives the talents He gives to whom He chooses with the expectation that we will be responsible with the talents we have been given on this earth. Now this leads us to the slave who was given one talent. We see what happens next, beginning in verse 24:

 "And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, 'Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. 'And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.'

Unlike the first two slaves, the slave who received one talent revealed his irresponsibility with what he was given. Instead of taking responsibility for the talent he was given, the third slave chose to make excuses and play the blame game. The slave blames his master: “I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed.”

In other words, the slave states “I knew that you were unjust and a thief. I knew that you are an unyielding man who takes what is not his. So I did not risk the possibility of loss, so I am just giving you back what is yours”. The slave rationalized and made excuses for his irresponsibility and shifted the blame instead of owning up to his irresponsibility.

However, as we discovered earlier in this series, when we make excuses; when we play the blame game, the result is conflict and shame. Friday, we will see this reality play out in this parable and discover a timeless truth when it comes to responsibility...