“For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his servants and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. After a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy servant; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy servant; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’” Matthew 25:14-23
Ever felt someone else’s joy? As I sit here meditating on this Gospel, I think of ‘entering’ into the joy of another. You know the feeling, you do a good job at something and the other person, maybe the boss, smiles and says, “thank you for doing so well.” Simple, not a pay raise, but wow the sensation. I tease my wife sometimes when I cook dinner or do some other thing for her. She’ll reply with a smile and word of thanks. Maybe saying, “wow that was good.” The tease I give is that she only says that so I’ll do it again in the future. But, maybe it isn’t a tease. It truly does come down to the simple fact that my actions made her happy, and through her smile and words, I entered into her joy. And, simply put, I want to be in that joy always. They say, “happy wife, happy life.” So true, for a spouse who lives in their spouse’s joy, finds joy.
Imagine then entering into the joy of God. God gives us each talents. We have gifts and skills for which we excel. I’m sure that like me, you had to learn your skills. I’m an introvert, so being a people leader and manager wasn’t in the top 1,000 choices as I grew. But, through the years, experiences and classes, I’ve learned that this is one of my great talents. Actually, this introvert leads about 100 people at work and has led a great group of men and women in Emmaus. Go figure. All this credit goes to God, of course. But, in realizing where He wants me and the talents God has given to me, I enter into His Joy. And, ‘seeing’ His smile makes me want to experience this joy more often.
Find your God given talent, then invest it into God’s Kingdom. The return will be much more than the 19 talents of the combined servants.
PS. Giving is better than receiving and you can never out give God