By Olubunmi Adebayo
*Can you guess what was the greatest challenge of the unfruitful servant who went ahead to bury his talent?*
*Read the story in some details please :*
*Matthew 25: [14] “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.*
*[15]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.*
*[16]Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents.*
*[17]And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two.*
*[18]But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money”.*
*_His greatest challenge was that he underestimated what he was given_.*
*His action was no doubt fueled by envy and comparison.*
*One can unequivocally say that the narrative became negative for the man when he was agitated that others were given much more talents, while he was given much less.*
*Listen to what he said :*
*Matthew 25: [24] “Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:*
*[25]And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.”*
*He forgot the fact that the Word of God is forever settled, both in heaven and on the earth that :*
*2 Corinthians 10:[12] “For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise”.*
*The man would have counted among the greatest characters of the Bible if he had taken his mind and eyes from what was given to others, and focused on doing something tangible with what he was given.*
*And his comeback story might have ended like this :*
*Luke 19:[12] “He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.*
*[13]And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.*
*[15]And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.*
*[16]Then came the first, saying, Lord, _thy pound hath gained ten pounds”_.*
*Yes, it is no fable, there was indeed someone who turned JUST ONE TALENT to 10! It is possible as demonstrated in Luke 19 above. And this was where the unfruitful servant missed it all.*
*LESSON :*
*Focus on yourself and the assignment that has been given to you.*
*Yes, a man can turn just one talent into 10 or 5 or 2, depending on the individual in question :*
*Luke 19: [18] “And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds”.*
*Please don’t be like this unfruitful servant.*
*Note it for real, with just one talent, you can do much more than you could ever imagine if you are determined to work hard with what you have been given by God, and if you are ready to maximize opportunities as they come your way.*
*The question is : “What do you do in a situation where you are indeed given lesser talents than what you were expecting”?*
*We shall look into this tomorrow, God willing.*
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©️ Olubunmi S Adebayo.
