Don't Bury It

Every one of us has been entrusted with something. Time. Gifts. Abilities. Opportunities. Relationships. Faith itself. The question isn't whether you've been given enough. The question is what you'll do with what God has already placed in your hands. In Jesus' Parable of the Talents, one servant invests what he has been given. Another buries it out of fear. The difference isn't how much each received - it is how each responded. This week, we'll discover that God isn't asking us to compare what we've been given with someone else. He's inviting us to faithfully invest what He has entrusted to us for the sake of His Kingdom. Because the greatest tragedy isn't having too little. It's burying what God intended to use to bring life to the world around you.

Matthew 25:14-30

14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Romans 12:4-8

4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

1 Corinthians 12:4-11

4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

1 Peter 4:10-11

10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Romans 10:14-15

14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

Matthew 6:19-21

19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 

For Adult Homes and Groups

Before next Sunday, reread Matthew 25:14–30 and reflect on these questions:

1. What gifts, abilities, relationships, or opportunities has God entrusted to you that you sometimes overlook or take for granted?

2. What fears or excuses are most likely to keep you from using those gifts to serve God and others?

3. In what ways can comparison distract us from faithfully using what God has uniquely entrusted to us?

4. What is one specific way you can invest one of God’s gifts this week to bless someone else and advance His Kingdom?

For Families with Kids

1. Read Matthew 25:14-30 together. In this story, who does the master represent, and who are the servants?

2. How did the first two servants use their talents, and what did the master say when he returned? What did the third servant do with his single talent, and why?

3. What are some gifts, talents, or abilities that God has given you? 

4. Have you ever felt like what you have isn’t as much as what someone else has? How does this parable teach us to be happy with what we’ve been given?

5. Take turns writing down two or three unique things you are good at or blessings your family enjoys. Choose one of those to actively use to bless a neighbor or serve your community this week.