To Risk or Not to Risk

After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. Master, he said, you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more. His master replied, Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!

Matthew 25:19-21

This first man has made 100% return on the opportunities, the talents, given to him. In terms of the application of this to our own lives, it means that here is a man who made full use of his opportunities to risk himself for the Lord's sake. In other words, he put first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. He risked himself. He took the chance that he might never have the prominence or the influence or the power that he could have had, but instead he deliberately invested his life to give God what he wanted — the binding up of the brokenhearted, the healing of the sick, the setting free of those who were bound. As a result, he won five more talents.

What are these talents? Well, if the first talents are opportunities to use natural gifts for Christ's sake, then the second category of talents must likewise be opportunities, but opportunities on a higher level, not on the physical and natural, but on the spiritual level. These are opportunities to use the spiritual gifts given to you as redeemed men and women, given to each and every Christian. It is the use of these gifts which translates your life into impact and power on behalf of Jesus Christ.

What is the final message of this to us? It is not only that we must be honest in grasping that one great opportunity that comes to any who sit under the hearing of the gospel — to invest our life, to risk it for Christ's sake, but he is also saying to us, to those with five talents, or two talents, risk them! Live dangerously! Venture! Put your opportunities to work for my sake. We are facing times that demand this kind of living. The whole fabric of society is deteriorating before our eyes. This means that the church, the salt in a community, is not acting as salt. It is trying to withdraw from life. It is contenting itself with having a way to heaven, and letting the rest of the world go to hell. As a result, life begins to crumble all around. We have reached a time when the necessity of risking, as our Lord sets forth here, is clearly before us all. What do you do with your opportunities?

Commit us, Lord, to this one great cause which demands our time and effort, all the thrust and drive of our lives. May we do so in understanding that it is not our commitment that makes a difference, but your power working through us.