STEWARDSHIP
OF THE POUNDS AND TALENTS.
"He that is
faithful in that which is least is faithful
also in much; and he that is unjust in the
least is unjust also in much."—Luke
16:10.
THE Parable of the
Pounds and the Parable of the Talents, as
companion parables, illustrate from different
standpoints the responsibilities of the
stewardship of God's people. St. Paul says,
"Let a man so account of us as of the
ministers [servants] of Christ, and stewards
of the mysteries of God." This
stewardship and ministry, while it belonged
in a special sense to the apostles, belongs
also to the whole Gospel Church, all of whom
have the anointing and the commission (Isa.
61:1,2) and the consequent responsibilities
of the sacred trusts committed to them. And
as stewards of God we have nothing of our
own, nothing with which we may do as we
please; for, says the Apostle, "What
hast thou that thou didst not receive?"
Nothing. And what have we to call our own
that has not been included in our covenant of
consecration to God? Nothing. Consequently
all that we have belongs to God, and we are
merely stewards of his goods.
"Moreover," says the
Apostle, "it is required in stewards
that a man be found faithful"; and the
parables under consideration show what is
considered as faithfulness to our
stewardship. To merely receive the gifts of
God is not faithfulness, tho many seem to
think so. Many indeed seem to think they have
done God a great favor in merely accepting
his grace through Christ, and are satisfied
to make no further efforts. But such make a
great mistake; for faithfulness, as here
shown, consists in a proper and diligent use
of our gifts in harmony with the divine
purpose and methods; and both the Lord and
the Apostle point to a day of reckoning, when
even the secret things will be brought to
light, and all the counsels of the hearts
shall be made manifest.—Luke 19:15;
12:2,3; 8:17; Mark 4:21,22; Matt. 25:19; 1
Cor. 4:5.
We observe that in the former
parable each of the servants received exactly
the same thing—a "pound,"
while in the latter the gifts varied: one
received five talents, another two, and
another one, "every man according to his
several ability." The "pound,"
being the same to all, fitly represents those
blessings of divine grace which are common to
all God's people. Among these are the Word of
God and the various helps to its
understanding, the influences of the holy
spirit, the privileges of faith and prayer
and communion with God and fellowship with
Christ and with his people. But the
"talents" being distributed
according to every man's several ability,
represent opportunities for the service of
God along the lines of such abilities as we
possess. They may be talents of education, or
money, or influence, or good health, or time,
or tact, or genius, with opportunities for
their use in God's service. (June 22)
In both parables our Lord is
represented as about to take his departure to
receive for himself a kingdom and to return.
And a part of their object was to disabuse
the disciples' minds of the idea that his
Kingdom would immediately appear. He thus
intimated that while he was about to return
to his Father in heaven there would be an
interim between then and the time of his
return, during which time their faithfulness
to him would be fully tested, and that all
that would prove faithful to their
stewardship in his absence would be owned and
blessed of him in his Kingdom upon his
return.
The commission to each and all
of the Lord's stewards is expressed in the
words, "Occupy [which, in old English,
signified, "Do business with,"
"Use," "Traffic with"]
till I come." And the first
business with the King on his return is not
to deal and reckon with and judge the world,
but to reckon with these servants to whom his
goods—the "pounds" and the
"talents"—had been committed;
to see how much each had profited thereby, as
a test of their fidelity, to determine what
place if any should be granted them in his
Kingdom. Notice also that the reckoning with
them is as individuals, and not by groups or
classes.
In plain language, these
parables teach that it is the duty of every
Christian to make good use of all that the
Lord has given him. The right use of the
"pound" is to diligently profit by
all the means of grace for the spiritual
upbuilding of ourselves and others. We cannot
afford to neglect any of these; for we cannot
do so without loss. If we neglect to consider
and ponder the principles and precepts of
God's Word, or to heed their wholesome
instructions; if we fail to consider or to
follow the leadings of the holy spirit; if we
neglect the privilege of prayer and communion
with God; or if we fail to cultivate the
fellowship and communion of saints, we are
folding our "pound" in a napkin. It
cannot yield its legitimate increase while
thus unused. Christian character cannot grow
and develop in the neglect of the very means
which God has provided for its perfecting. In
such neglect a spiritual decline is sure to
set in; and the more persistent and
long-continued is the neglect, the less
realized is the decline, and the less
inclination is there to energy, diligence and
zeal in correcting it. But in the diligent
and proper use of these means of grace there
is a "feast of fat things" which is
sure to build up and invigorate the spiritual
life and cause it to bring forth much fruit
unto holiness, which is the increase for
which the King is looking.
Yet the parable shows
different degrees of increase in different
cases following the right use of the
"pound." The "pound" in
the care of one servant gains ten, while with
another it gains five. This reminds us of
what we commonly observe, that even the same
means of grace do not profit all to exactly
the same extent. Some, for instance, are by
nature more studious and thoughtful, or more
generous, or grateful. And therefore the
appeals of the various means of grace to the
heart differ in different individuals, and
the consequent fruitfulness also differs in
quantity. Another illustration of the same
thing is also found in the parable of the
sower (Matt. 13:8), where the seed in good
ground produces fruit in varying
quantities—some thirty, some sixty, and
some an hundred fold.
But all such fruitful
characters are appreciated and rewarded as
"overcomers," and of the
"little flock" to whom "it is
the Father's good pleasure to give the
Kingdom." The different measures of
fruitage—the thirty, sixty, and
hundred-fold, or the ten pounds and the five,
mark differences in obstacles to be overcome,
etc., rather than unfaithfulness in the use
of the means of grace. Some may work long and
diligently for small results, while the same
effort in others of more resolute will and of
greater continuity may accomplish great
things. Some by slips and occasional
backslidings, from which they subsequently
recover, lose time and opportunities which
can never be regained, although they are
forgiven and generously reinstated in the
divine favor and thenceforth run with
diligence and patience to the end. (June 23)
All of these, therefore,
because of their faithfulness, because they
have overcome the obstacles in their way and
have diligently cultivated the fruits of the
spirit in the use of all the means of grace
provided, are accorded a generous welcome
into the everlasting kingdom, although the
best efforts were short of perfection, and
each must still have the robe of Christ's
righteousness imputed to him by faith. But
the degrees of exaltation in the kingdom
differ according to the measure of their
fruitage here. The steady diligence that
secured the gain of "ten pounds"
here is rewarded with corresponding
exaltation there, which figuratively is
likened to authority over ten cities; while
the faithfulness which was sometimes
interrupted and imperilled by dangerous
backslidings afterward healed, but which
apart from these perseveringly gained
"five pounds," is rewarded with an
exaltation in the Kingdom represented as
"authority over five cities."
The Parable of the Talents
illustrates fruits of labor. In it the ratio
of increase is the same with both of the
faithful servants—each doubled his
"talents"; and the same approval is
expressed to each, according to the principle
mentioned by Paul (2 Cor.
8:12),—"If there be first a willing
mind, it is accepted according to that a man
hath, and not according to that he hath
not." A truly "willing mind"
to serve the Lord will always find a way to
serve him in the use of whatever talents are
possessed; and the increase is sure to
follow; and if not under our immediate,
present observation, it will appear by and
by. "God is not unmindful of our work
and labor of love," however unfruitful
it may appear to us. The fruit will be
manifest by and by when all the secret things
shall be revealed.
The differences of reward,
accompanied by the same words of approval and
welcome to the Kingdom glory and joy of the
Lord, call to mind those scriptures which bid
us rejoice in all present opportunities for
that suffering and service which attest our
faithfulness, because they work out for us
"a far more exceeding and eternal weight
of glory," and also remind us that there
will be some least and some greater in the
Kingdom of heaven. This is an incentive to
"lay up treasures in heaven," where
moth doth not corrupt and where thieves do
not break through and steal.—See Matt.
5:11,12; 2 Cor. 4:17,18; Matt. 11:11; 6:20.
But what of the faithless
servant who wraps his "pound" in a
napkin (who failed to make use of the means
of grace for his own spiritual upbuilding and
character development) and who buries his
"talent" (of time or means or
education, or ability of any kind, great or
small) in the earth—in the service of
self and Mammon? Is there any reward for his
faithless misuse of the Master's goods? No!
even that which he hath shall be taken away,
and he shall be cast into outer darkness.
(Luke 19:24-26; Matt. 25:28-30.) The
principle announced in the golden text is
that upon which the rewards are to be given.
Great trusts are to be committed to the
"overcomers" of this age, and their
worthiness must be tested: they must endure
the tests, and thus be proved.
The citizens that hated him
(verse 14), and sent a message after him,
saying, We will not have this man to reign
over us, represent not only the Jews who
cried, Away with him! Crucify him! We have no
king but Caesar! but includes also all who
having come to a knowledge of Christ and his
coming kingdom are so out of accord with
righteousness that they do not desire the
promised Millennial Kingdom. Wrath will come
upon these, a great "time of trouble,
such as was not since there was a
nation," soon after the
"servants" have been reckoned with
and rewarded. "Bring them hither and
slay them before me," speaks of the
Lord's righteous indignation against evil
doers, but in no way cuts off hope of
forgiveness for those who shall then repent
and become loyal subjects of the King.
