That verse seems to reflect the parable of the talents shared by Jesus:
14 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. 15 And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. 16 Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. 17 And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. 18 But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money. 19 After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.
20 “So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ 21 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ 22 He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’ 23 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’
24 “Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’
26 “But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. 27 So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.
29 ‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Matthew 25:14-30
Interestingly, the parable begins with the traveling man, who is symbolic of the kingdom of heaven. He gives money to three different servants, and the amount of money given reflects the abilities of the recipients. Do you think it is ironic that the currency used is the talent? God gives each of us talents and abilities. Often, we lose sight of the fact that everything that we are came from Him. If your talent is singing, it wasn’t your hard work or desire to succeed that made you that way. God gave you the gift, and He also gave you the work ethic to improve that gift. Take the greatest athletes in the world and draw the identical conclusions. Because He has a plan for each of us, that plan includes every aspect of our personalities. Are you being faithful in how you are utilizing the gifts He has given you?
Hananiah is the only man in the Bible referred to as faithful:
Then it was, when the wall was built and I had hung the doors, when the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed, 2 that I gave the charge of Jerusalem to my brother Hanani, and Hananiah the leader of the citadel, for he was a faithful man and feared God more than many.
Nehemiah 7:1-2
Certainly, each of us has moments of faithfulness. Faithful is the Greek word pistos (πιστός), and just like it sounds, it is to be filled with faith. According to Easton’s Bible Dictionary, faith is “the persuasion of the mind that a thing is true.” Since there are different amounts of faith, the pinnacle of belief would be blind faith, the act of completely believing without seeing. A common misconception is that “seeing is believing,” but our eyes can be deceived just as easily as any of our other senses. Instead, it is quite the opposite. Believing is seeing! Once you believe that Jesus Christ came to save us from our sins, you can see the meaning of every aspect of life. It all makes sense.
But if we were truly faithful, would we ever have moments of doubt? Certainly not! Sometimes, we are not even aware of the times when the doubt creeps in. It is doubt when we are struggling to pay our bills and we worry if we are going to make it. It is doubt when we worry whether or not we will get the job we applied for, not knowing what we will do without it. It is doubt when we worry about our Christian friend who has made some bad choices. The key word is worry. When we worry, we are forgetting the size of our God, who is big enough to create all that we can see and all that we cannot see. Even with His enormous power, He cares about each hair on our heads.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
Philippians 4:6
When Mother Teresa reminded us that our strength lies in being faithful in small things, it is to see that God exists in the smallest increment of our lives. The gifts that He has given us don’t need to be used in coliseums or stadiums to make an impact. The biggest impacts occur in one-on-one relationships. That’s where it all begins. Who is there in your life desperately needing to hear about Jesus? If your gift is cooking, take that friend a meal and share with them the Bread of life! If your gift is encouragement, tell a friend who is struggling about your God who does miracles. If your gift is hospitality, open up your home to a friend who needs a place to sleep, but don’t forget to tell them about the God who supplies every need. Don’t bury your talent. Let God use it for His glory. It is why He gave it to you! And most importantly, use it with love in your heart!
But remember who really is faithful:
If we are faithless,
He remains faithful;
He cannot deny Himself.
2 Timothy 2:13
22Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions fail not.
23They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:22-23
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