💰 Matthew 25:21 | A Fortune in the Ground

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Happy Wednesday, {{first_name | everyone}}!

We’re halfway through the work week, and today you’ll learn something we hope you think about every time you hear the parable of the talents.

In today’s email…

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His master said to him, "Well ____, ____ and ________ _______. You have been ________ over a ______; I will ___ you over ____. _____ into the ___ of ____ ______."

Matthew 25:21

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When we hear "talent," we might think of a knack for singing or watercolor painting (my grandmother was a fantastic watercolor artist)!

In Greek, a talanton does not refer to an ability.

It was a unit of weight, and a weight of money.

The modern meaning we assume today (natural gifting), was shaped in part by centuries of Christians reading and reflecting on this parable.

That said, the first hearers had none of that. What came to mind for them was money, and a staggering amount of it.

A talent weighed about seventy or eighty pounds of silver. One talent was worth roughly twenty years' wages for an ordinary laborer.

So the servant who received a single talent was not handed pocket change.

He was trusted with two decades worth of earnings.

That reframes the verse.

When the master says the servant was "faithful over a little," the "little" is only little next to the "much" he promises.

In actual weight, even the smallest share was a fortune.

And look closely at what he praises. "Good and faithful servant."

The word for faithful is pistos, the sibling of pistis (the word for faith).

The servant is not praised for having natural talent or for worldly success. He is praised as “good and faithful” because he proved trustworthy with what his master entrusted to him.

And there’s a second thing worth noting.

In that world, a steward managed his master's property with real authority, and he answered for it personally. So these words are not just a performance review. "Enter into the joy of your master" is a meaningful welcome.

And notice the master does not say "enter into your reward." He says his own joy.

The Greek is chara, and the joy already belongs to the master. Rather than being handed a bonus and sent home, he is welcomed inside, to share in his master's own gladness.

Put those together and the excuse of the third servant collapses. The Master we serve is not the hard man the servant imagined. He generously gave to each servant (and to each of us)

The only question is: what we will do with the fortune already in our hands?

You have been entrusted with more than you think.

🤔 Reflect: Is there a resource — money, time, a relationship — that you’ve effectively buried?

🏃 Act: Take the one buried thing you just named and use it for kingdom benefit. Move it an inch this week. Not even the whole plan, but the first step.

Send the text you have been drafting in your head, or put one hour on the calendar and guard it for prayer. Or maybe say the true thing to the person who needs to hear it, or find someone to bless financially.

Pick the smallest version you can start before Friday, and start it.

🙏 Pray

Father, thank you that you did not leave me empty-handed. Forgive me for burying what you’ve entrusted to me and calling it caution. This week, give me courage to take the first step with the one thing you have brought to mind. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Here are a few resources to help you dig deeper into our memory verse and its themes:

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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."

Matthew 25:21