Dear, The Church Members (God`s kids) support the church. You see all Good things and finances COME from God thru us to his Church, Thus HE does support his own. and they are fully financially independent. They use the tithes to pay the bills. As it should be. And as it is written in the bible. The sacrifices and the 10% percent were given to the LEVI`S. ( MINISTERS) For their use.. We are to be good We are stewards of all things..
The Parable of the Talents is one of the stories Jesus told to teach a moral lesson. Although the word “talents” in the story refers literally to money, you can obviously extend the meaning to other areas.
It is a simple story that our Lord tells here. A man who is preparing to leave on a journey entrusts his possessions to his servants. He distributes his wealth among three servants, apportioned to them on the basis of their abilities. To the first he entrusted five talents, to the second two talents, and to the third one talent. The first two servants quickly set to work with their master’s money. (((Another clue is how the first two servants are praised. The master praises them for being “faithful.” Very interesting.))) It would have been different if the master praised them for being shrewd or effective or profitable. But the praise is given for their faith, not for their results.The third servant did not invest his master’s money at all; he dug a hole in the ground and buried his master’s money. When the master returned, the first two eagerly met their master, apparently delighted in the opportunity to multiply their master’s money. Both were commended as “good and faithful servants”; both were rewarded with increased responsibilities in their master’s service; both were invited to share in their master’s joy.
The master’s dealings with the third servant is a very different matter. This servant came to his master with only the talent his master had originally entrusted to him. He did not increase his master’s money at all. In fact, if this were to take place today, that money would likely be worth less, due to inflation. This servant offered a feeble excuse for his conduct. He told his master that he was a harsh and cruel man, a man who was demanding, and who expected gain where he had not labored. He contended that this is why he was afraid to take a risk with any kind of investment. And so he simply hid the money, and now he returned it, without any gain. The master rebuked this slave for being evil and lazy. He took his talent from him, gave it to the one who earned ten, and cast this fellow into outer darkness, where there was weeping and gnashing of teeth.
We should carefully note the outcome of faithful service, and of unfaithful service, in this parable. Faithful service led to increased responsibilities in the kingdom of heaven, and eternal joy in the presence of the Master, Jesus Christ. Unfaithful service led to condemnation, the removal of one’s stewardship, and an eternity of weeping and gnashing of teeth in outer darkness, away from the presence of our Lord.
One must surely conclude that this parable is not just an interesting story, but a message of eternal significance. Let us listen carefully then, looking to God’s Spirit to enlighten our hearts and minds, and to empower our service, to the glory of God and our eternal good.
I conclude that if one of the servants had invested money and lost some or all of it, they would still have been praised for their faithfulness. However, given that Jesus doesn’t directly address this condition in the parable, he may also be suggesting that faith itself is the path to success — a common theme in his other teachings. So perhaps if you use your talents faithfully, you aren’t really going to lose.
As Jesus implies in The Parable of the Talents, creating abundance requires you to move beyond fear. If you’re too fearful or suspicious or distrustful, you’re going to bury your talents. And this leads to “weeping and gnashing of teeth,” i.e. sorrow and depression.
You might think that fear and suspicion will keep you out of trouble, but really they’ll just cause you suffering and pain. You don’t need fear to avoid being a gullible idiot; for that you just need common sense. To live a life of abundance, you must ultimately move beyond fear and work to create abundance for others. Otherwise you’ll ultimately be cast out as worthless. Jesus doesn’t pull any punches here.
Serve to create increase for others, and happiness is your reward. Bury your talents, and you get “weeping and gnashing of teeth.” The choice is yours.
Peace and blessings from Texas <><