How to Trust the Truth of What God Sees in Us

I’d like to take a survey some day and find out which characters in the Bible people believe they are like.  I recently read the parable of the talents in Matthew 25.  My sweet Pastor husband and I discussed it as we headed up the mountain for a retreat.  It was fascinating to me how easy it was for both of us to see ourselves more like the servant given one talent versus the servant given 5 or even 2 talents. 

Are you like me?  Quick to judge yourself, quick to see yourself as less than?  Do you jump to the assumption that you will be the one not chosen, or the one who messes things up?  As they say, “the struggle is real.”

Simple Truth in Scripture

Sometimes, I imagine more into a Biblical passage than is written.  I knew that if I was to learn from the parable and not just beat myself up believing I was the servant who hid his talent in the ground, I needed to look at the passage of scripture carefully to see what it says specifically. I came up with 6 true statements from the story.

Entrusting our Treasure

I’m not wealthy and whereas my sweet Pastor husband and I have investments for retirement, I don’t hand over all my resources for someone else to manage.  Admittedly, I like the control.  I have passed off my children though, on a number of occasions.

I would love to impress you and say we interviewed people, then chose cautiously and wisely who would care for our most precious treasures. But we basically made a list and started making phone calls; we were just happy someone was just willing to take them! 

Different friends cared for our kids in different ways, according to their personality and focus on life.  One sweet Grandma-type fed our children amazing meals they talked about for years.  A twenty-something guy entertained our kids at the pool throwing them around in the water, again, another favorite.  One young woman won the prize for the most creative approach to getting our son out of bed in the morning.  She won our constant praise. 

We didn’t expect each person to treat our kids the same, nor in the exact way we would handle them.  We did expect our children to be kept safe and to be fed; if homework was completed and rooms cleaned, it was a double-whammy win. The truth is we trusted someone else to care for our kids to the best of their ability.

Trust & the Capable

Trust & Knowing

The master/owner didn’t entrust his wealth to someone else who was also wealthy, neither did we always leave our children with someone who was already a parent. Just like we chose people to care for our children who had been in our home, who were familiar with our children’s personalities and had seen our style of parenting, the master/owner chose people who had been around him, who were familiar with how he approached life and how he handled his livelihood.

Trust & Relationship

There was a relationship between the master/owner and the servants.  The master/owner not only felt they knew him well, but he also knew them well enough to know their individual abilities. The master/owner believed each servant to be capable of caring for a portion of his possessions.  Not one of the servants was considered less than.  Instead, the owner evaluated their unique strengths and treated them accordingly.

Trust & Instructions

I have always found it interesting that the master/owner gave no specific instructions and left no check off list.  We always had a list concerning our children, their schedule of commitments, friends in the neighborhood and quirks of our home. We even leave a list for first-time caretakers of our dog.

The master/owner exhibited complete trust in his servants to care for what was his. Whether he felt his own pattern of behavior was overtly obvious or trusted them explicitly the parable doesn’t clarify. His instructions were simple, and he released control.

Day of Reckoning

The parable doesn’t mention the master/owner’s expectations, but when he returned, he met with his servants to settle accounts. The money he entrusted to his servants was his own, and when his journey was complete, he laid claim to what was his.  We always came home and laid claim to our children, it just seemed the appropriate thing to do!

The caretakers we selected over the years were very aware of our return date.  I’m convinced one or two had the date circled in bright red. Our friends knew our two sweet angels were not their children, nor would they ever be able to claim them as their own.

The parable doesn’t say much about the servants and their expectations concerning the master/owners return.  The third servant seemed to be acutely aware the money was never his, he was just managing those resources for a time, and he would have to give an account of what happened to the master/owner’s money. The truth is whenever someone is entrusted with something there comes a day of reckoning. 

Perception & Assumption

I was struck during my study of the parable, that the two servants who multiplied what was given them did not refer to the owner in any derogatory way.  Only the third servant, the one filled with fear, describes his master as harsh.  He states to the master/owner, “I know you.” 

It has me wondering, why did the third servant believe the master/owner to be harsh? After his statement, he gives this reason: “. . .reaping where you haven’t sown and gathering where you haven’t scattered seed.” That doesn’t sound harsh, that sounds like the master/owner had the “golden touch!”

Making assumptions is a part of life.  Many times, we don’t have every piece of information we might like before making a decision. Often, we take what we know, and through logic, experience, and our perceptions, we create an assumption. 

The problem comes when we believe our assumption to be truth. 

Nancy Brewer

Assumptions & Truth

The third servant saw his assumption of the master/owner being harsh as truth.  His belief led him to act out of fear, instead of accepting the idea the master/owner viewed him as capable, since he was entrusted with a portion of the master/owner’s wealth. It seems the servant couldn’t grasp the idea that the master/owner believed in him.

God & His Kingdom

The Bible says this parable is about the Kingdom of God. I’ve always seen this parable as being about the three servants and the choices they made. I thought it was teaching us to use our “talents” for the Kingdom.  Looking at it this time, I would say it is more about our view of God and our place in His Kingdom.

First, God chooses to entrust His Kingdom to us; He chooses to believe in us.  God is so very aware of our limitations, and still, He puts the building of His Kingdom in our small hands.  We perceive God has uniquely gifted some of us to share the gospel, or disciple others, or bring His Word alive.  He doesn’t entrust the Kingdom to just those servants.  He chooses all of us. All of us are given the responsibility to multiply the Kingdom.

Second, God doesn’t lay out extreme multiplication expectations for us. There are lists to be found in scripture that we too often see as the Perfect Christian’s Checklists. Jesus gave us two commands: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.” And “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mark 12:30-31). To help us out, Jesus perfectly modeled how to be a Kingdom person. He expects us to follow His example, and live life like He did.

Third, problems arise when we see life, and the call of the Kingdom, from our limited perception and not God’s view.  Too often, our perceptions skew the truth, and we stop seeing ourselves and the life God has given us through His eyes of love and hope and grace. We begin to live in fear, just like the third servant in the parable.  We label God as harsh because we think being Kingdom focused is too hard, and we aren’t capable.

God Chooses to Trust Us

This parable shows that God keeps choosing us for His mission. God believes in us, sees us as capable, even when we are afraid to step out in faith. The parable doesn’t tell us if the first two servants were ever nervous or afraid in handling the master/owner’s money. The story does say that the master/owner labels both servants as good and faithful, not perfect. And the master/owner invites both to “share in [their] master’s joy.” (Matthew 25:21 & 23)

I don’t think God is looking for us to do everything right; He is expecting us to do our best to delight Him and experience His joy with Him.

Nancy Brewer

We may identify ourselves as a servant with just one talent, and that’s okay.  We also need to claim the status of chosen. The King believes in each of us.  Jesus graciously lived a great example of an obedient Kingdom life; we can follow His lead.  God is not harsh, there is no need to fear. He is a King, who is a good, good Father, and we are to just do the best we can, seeking to delight Him.

I’m praying for you.

Trust Photo by Joshua Hoehne on Unsplash