When it comes to responsibility, we are responsible and accountable for the response-abilities we have been given...

This week, we have been looking on as Jesus told a parable, which is an earthly story that reveals a deeper spiritual truth. 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.

 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. Wednesday, we saw that 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 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.

Today, we will see this reality revealed to us in verse 26-28. Now so often we read verses like these in the Bible as though we are reading a chemistry book. Instead, we should read the Bible like we would a novel. Place yourself in this scene watching this confrontation as we look at these verses together:

"But his master answered and said to him, 'You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. (So, is that who you think I am. Well if that is who you think I am.) 'Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. (But that is not what you did, because you do not even know me.)  'Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.'“For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. "Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Now as soon as you read verse 28, for some, your immediate response was “wait a minute, that’s not fair. I mean the one slave already has ten talents. Shouldn’t the talent go to the slave who has four talents? Shouldn’t the master redistribute the income so that everyone has the same? That would be fair.

But the timeless reality is that life is not fair. As a matter of fact, fairness is not a biblical value. Nowhere in the Bible will you see the concept of fairness. What you see everywhere in the Bible is the concept of rightness. The reality is that there are some people who are five talent people; there are some people who are two talent people; and there are some people who are one talent people. God gives talents and resources how He wants and to who He wants.

And it is in this parable that we see revealed for us another timeless truth when it comes to the issue of responsibility. And that timeless truth is this: When it comes to responsibility, we are responsible and accountable for the response-abilities we have been given. The timeless reality is that just like this parable, 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. Just like the slave who was given the one talent, our lack of responsibility can reveal the reality that we do not know God or care to know or be responsible with what God has given us.

Because, 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. God is not fair, but God is right and God is just. God gives the talents He gives to whom He chooses to give.

And God’s standard is the same for all when it comes to how He measures the results. God’s standard is that the results of our lives reveal the reality that we have been responsible with the talents we have been given. God does not expect the two talent person to produce five talent results. But God does expect that the two talent person produce two talent results.

But not only is God not fair when it comes to the talents we have been given. God is not fair when it comes to the results that we receive for our responsibility. Whether we are five talent people or two talent people, the result for being responsible with the talents we have been given is the same. Because, when it comes to responsibility, we are responsible and accountable for the response-abilities we have been given.

So here is the question: What are you doing with the response-abilities that you have been given? Are you being responsible with those response-abilities by taking the opportunity to use the talents and resources you have been given?  Or are you being irresponsible with those response-abilities by making excuses and playing the blame game?