Jesus spoke a parable about talents. “For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.” Matthew 25:14–15

The servant who received five talents traded with them and made another five talents. Also, he that received two talents gained another two. “Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou has not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knowest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.” Matthew 25:24–28

“And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Matthew 25:30

The outer darkness is the eternal destruction that awaits the unprofitable servants. How many Christians have neglected to use their talents in the cause of God? If you have five talents, and you use only four of them, it is a sin. Sister White has written 550 testimonies about talents, how to use them, and of the danger of neglecting to use them. It is our duty to use every talent that God has given us. Satan tries to make our lives so busy that we have no time to use our talents for missionary work.

Our money is a talent that God has given us; we can use it wisely and it will be a blessing to us. But, if we use it only for our own benefit it will be a curse to us.

“God calls us servants, which implies that we are employed by Him to do a certain work and bear certain responsibilities. He has lent us capital for investment. It is not our property, and we displease God if we hoard up our Lord’s goods or spend them as we please. We are responsible for the use or abuse of that which God has thus lent us. If this capital which the Lord has placed in our hands lies dormant, or we bury it in the earth, even if it is only one talent, we shall be called to an account by the Master. He requires, not ours, but His own with usury.

“Every talent which returns to the Master will be scrutinized. The doings and trusts of God’s servants will not be considered an unimportant matter. Every individual will be dealt with personally and will be required to give an account of the talents entrusted to him, whether he has improved or abused them. The reward bestowed will be proportionate to the improvement of the talents. The punishment awarded will be according as the talents have been abused.

“The inquiry of each one should be: What have I of my Lord’s, and how shall I use it to His glory? ‘Occupy,’ says Christ, ‘till I come.’ The heavenly Master is on His journey. Our gracious opportunity is now. The talents are in our hands. Shall we use them to God’s glory, or shall we abuse them? We may trade with them today, but tomorrow our probation may end and our account be forever fixed.

“If our talents are invested for the salvation of our fellow men, God will be glorified. Pride and position are made apologies for extravagance, vain show, ambition, and profligate selfishness. The Lord’s talents, lent to man as a precious blessing, will, if abused, reflect upon him a terrible curse.” –Testimonies for the Church, vol. 2, p. 668

God is our example on how we should use our talents. “Therefore take no thought, saying, what shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; And all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:31–33

God takes care of us, and gives us all the things that we need. This is how we need to care for needy persons. “Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.” Matthew 18:23–24

“The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.” Matthew 18:26–27

We, as the children of God, must follow the example of our heavenly Father, and have compassion, and help, and forgive even those who have offended us.

Jesus said, “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” Luke 6:38

This is a clear message to us. Give and it shall be given unto you. The more we give the more we will receive. Sister White writes on how to use our talent of money. “God also entrusts men with means. He gives them power to get wealth. He waters the earth with the dews of heaven and with the showers of refreshing rain. He gives the sunlight, which warms the earth, awakening to life the things of nature and causing them to flourish and bear fruit. And He asks for a return of His own.

“Our money has not been given us that we might honour and glorify ourselves. As faithful stewards we are to use it for the honour and glory of God. Some think that only a portion of their means is the Lord’s. When they have set apart a portion for religious and charitable purposes, they regard the remainder as their own, to be used as they see fit. But in this they mistake. All we possess is the Lord’s, and we are accountable to Him for the use we make of it. In the use of every penny, it will be seen whether we love God supremely and our neighbour as ourselves.

“Money has great value, because it can do great good. In the hands of God’s children it is food for the hungry, drink for the thirsty, and clothing for the naked. It is a defense for the oppressed, and a means of help to the sick. But money is of no more value than sand, only as it is put to use in providing for the necessities of life, in blessing others, and advancing the cause of Christ.” –Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 351

We are to use our talents to gain souls into the church, and every soul gained adds talents into the church. A new member in the church will then put his labours into the work of saving more souls.

We are living in the last days of this world and the last message of mercy is to be proclaimed to the world before the end. Who is responsible to do this work? It is the church of God—you and me.

Members who have talents are to do this work; they must take time out from their regular work and contribute time and effort to win a few more souls to the flock of Jesus. One day in heaven they will come to you to thank you for saving them.

“God bestows various talents and gifts upon men, not that they may lie useless, nor that they may be employed in amusements or selfish gratification, but that they may be a blessing to others by enabling men to do earnest, self-sacrificing missionary work.” –Evangelism, p. 266

“The solemn, sacred truth—the testing message given us of God to communicate to the world—lays every one of us under the strongest obligation to so transform our daily life and character that the power of the truth may be well represented. We should have a continual sense of the shortness of time and of the fearful events which prophecy has declared must speedily take place. It is because these truths are not made a reality that the life is so inconsistent with the truth which we profess. Many hide in the earth talents which should be invested where they will be accumulating to be returned to God when He shall say: ‘Give an account of thy stewardship.’ Moses became great because he used his talents to do the work of God, and an increase of talents was then given him. He became eloquent, patient, self-reliant, and competent to do the greatest work ever entrusted to mortal man. This is the effect upon character whenever men give themselves to God with the whole soul, and listen for His commands that they may obey them.” –Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4, p. 612–613

If we do not use our talents in the work of God, we will lose them. The man with the one talent lost his talent and he was cast into outer darkness and he lost his salvation. Millions of unconverted Christians will be lost for not using their talents. The apostle Paul gave up his job, and started working in winning souls to Christ. Can we do the same? Is eternal life so important? May God bless us to make a right decision in our lives. AMEN.

Timo Martin