WHERE DID THE ONE TALENT GUY GO WRONG?

MATTHEW 25:24-29 NKJ 
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. 

OBSERVATION: 

The parable of the talents is fairly well known in biblical circles. Maybe because it is one of the most straightforward of Jesus' parables. Its message is clear.   

And yet there is a side to this parable that is easy to overlook. Why did the one talent guy make such a premeditated error? 

It wasn't that he was cheated. A talent represented a large amount of money in that day. One talent was, by some measures, over 200k. So this guy did not get handed a dollar.   

It wasn't because he was not capable of handling this amount of money. The master gave each one according to his ability. And at the very least, he could have deposited the money in the bank.   

No, the one talent guy had a perception problem. He said that he knew the master to be a hard man. That the master took from others and, in essence, was a thief. As a result of his perception of his lord, the one talent guy was afraid and took the path of least resistance.   

In the parable, the lord called the one talent guy wicked and lazy. And he wound up losing what he had been given.   

This one talent guy had a heart flaw that caused him to perceive his lord in a totally wrong way. With the other two men who had been given talents, each was praised and rewarded for their efforts. Praise and reward are not typically the actions of a hard thief but rather a good master.   

APPLICATION: 

How we see the Lord is so important. If we perceive our Master as kind and good and looking to reward us, then our actions will be marked by an absence of fear.   

In Hebrews 11:6, we are to believe that God is real; He exists. And that He is a rewarder to those who seek Him. If we 'see' our Lord as harsh and hard, as one who takes from our life, then we'll have a difficult time serving Him.   

So, let's be like the 5 and 2 talent guys and invest what God has given us for His service and glory. Then we will hear well done and enter into our reward.   

PRAYER: 

Help me, Lord to see You for who You truly are. You are gracious, kind, and good.