Thought for Today

Micah 6:8 He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?  

Matthew 25:15 to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away . . . 19 After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them . . . 21 His master said to him, 'Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.'

The Parable of the Talents has long been one of my favorites of Jesus’ parables. I also believe it teaches several important lessons about the Kingdom of God. It is in my thoughts this morning because I awoke thinking about the song Little Things Mean a Lot. “’Little Things Mean a Lot’ is a popular song with lyrics by Edith Lindeman and music by Carl Stutz, published in 1953 . . . The best known recording of ‘Little Things Mean a Lot,’ by Kitty Kallen (Decca 9-29037) reached No. 1 in the Billboard chart in 1954 . . .” (en.wikipedia.org) I may remember the Platters’ 1964 version best, but hearing that song does evoke many memories.

For me, that song title is a neat summation of the lesson of the Parable of the Talents. One of the problems most of us encounter in applying that parable to our own lives is that the parable is not constructed around the common metrics we associate with success in our modern society. It does not recognize or value the same things our society recognizes as valuable. Trying to understand the parable and apply it to our lives is easily mislead by focusing on verse 15, noting the different amounts of the talents, 5/2/1 and especially the words, “to each according to his ability.”

Possibly the best known words of our Declaration of Independence are from the Preamble, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of happiness.”

Yet, even as children we very quicky realize that not everyone is equal in terms of ability, in terms of financial resources or even in terms of attractiveness. I frequently tell anyone who will listen, “There’s always someone smarter, someone prettier, someone richer.” The metrics of our modern, civilized world, however, are oriented around ability, physical attractiveness and financial resources. We casually toss around phrases like ‘the rich and famous,’ or ‘the beautiful people,’ noting that these are people of significance. Look at those you see or read about in newspapers or on television. They are judged noteworthy based on physical appearance, accumulated wealth and/or intelligence. Despite those beautiful words of our Declaration, even the youngest children realize that we are all not created equal.

In that parable, however, Jesus merely notes that each was given an amount “according to his ability.” The individual abilities are not the point of the parable. The 5-talent slave is not judged more worthy or valuable than is the 2-talent slave. The metrics of the Kingdom of Heaven, the “joy of your master,” is not related at all to the talents given to the recipient nor to the ‘return on investment.’

I do not think that any of the framers of our Declaration or any other of the Founding Fathers of our nation were unaware of the different abilities or ambitions of “all men.” I do not know whether or not they were thinking about the Parable of the Talents during the composition of the Declaration or the creation of the Constitution. But I do believe they were cognizant of the underlying truth that all of God’s children are equal in the eyes of our Creator God. The ‘whys and wherefores’ of our wide variation in talents, abilities and appearance are not the point. The point is that we are all equally lived and valued by our Creator.

It is important to note that the response in verse 21 is ‘word-for-word’ identical to verse 23. We are valued and rewarded in what we do with what we are given. Little things mean a lot, irrespective of what we are given. Peter Parker (a.k.a. Spiderman) was correct, “With great power comes great responsibility.” The opposite is equally correct. It’s not about how much we have, it’s about what we do with what we have. Micah is spot-on, God expects us all to love kindness, do justice and to walk humbly with God. That is not much for God to ask of any of us, 5-talent, 2-talent, or 1-talent.

Stay safe, do all you can with what you’re given, trust God,

Pastor Ray