The Third Servant

16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. 17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. (Matthew 25:16-19)

The "Parable of the Talents" which Jesus told to his disciples - recounted by the writer of the book of Matthew immediately after the parable of the ten bridesmaids - is another description of how we are to live in the reality of God's reign even as we await its arrival. In this telling, a wealthy man generously (even a single talent, or bag of gold, was worth more than a year of wages) distributed his wealth to his servants, according to their ability, before going on a long trip. The servants knew that he would return, but they didn't know when. They also understood that they were expected to follow their master's example and manage the wealth they'd been given so well that he would return to find an increase.

While the first two servants doubled what they had been given, the third servant buried the wealth he'd received and had no increase to show the master. The third servant had a vastly different mindset about the master and the responsibility he'd been given. Upon the master's return, the first two servants recognized the value of the master's generosity by stating that they had been "entrusted" with this wealth (verses 20 and 22). But the third servant's negative viewpoint of the master had affected his behavior:

24 Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ (Matthew 25:24-25)

Just as the image of a cruel, miserly master was a figment of his imagining - possibly as a result of painful life circumstances - the darkness in which the third servant eventually found himself was a prison of his own making. Much like the third servant, we sometimes see God through broken hearts and shattered lenses when, in actuality, God has lavished grace, mercy and forgiveness on us. We have been entrusted with the opportunity to share the wealth of those gifts with an impoverished world.

17 I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, 18 so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. (Ephesians 1:17-19)