This pastor's blog post draws directly from Charles Scheffe's sermon “This is Us: Week 4- Radical Generosity-” so you can keep engaging with the message all week. Read, reflect, and share it with your small group or friends.
From Fear to Faith: Stewarding What God Has Entrusted to Us
Have you ever had your trust broken? Years ago, when my wife Stephanie and I were newly married, we had what I'd call a "formative banking experience." We closed our account at one bank and opened a new one across the street. Simple, right? Except the first bank left $1 in the account, keeping it active without our knowledge. When automatic payments tried to process through the old account, we ended up with angry creditors and a pile of overdraft fees.
It wasn't just about the money—it was about broken trust. I remember declaring, "I will never bank with that company again." Trust may be harder to come by than actual dollars in our world. That's why we value it so much.
Trust, Talents, and Intentionality
In Matthew 25, Jesus tells a powerful story about trust. He begins, "For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property." This parable comes near the end of Jesus' earthly ministry as He's preparing His disciples for His departure and eventual return.
Jesus is the master in this story, and He's helping His disciples understand what faithfulness looks like when He's no longer physically present with them—the same in-between time we're living in today.
The master gives his servants different amounts: "To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability." Before you start comparing and asking why some got more than others, notice Jesus isn't inviting us into comparison. This story isn't about equal distribution—it's about faithful response and responsibility.
A talent wasn't a small amount—it represented 15-20 years of wages for the average person, roughly equivalent to a million dollars today. So even the servant who received "just one talent" was entrusted with something incredibly valuable.
Two Very Different Responses
What happens next reveals everything about these servants' hearts:
"He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money." (Matthew 25:16-18)
Two very different reactions: one of faith and one of fear. Faith moves forward while fear digs holes.
The first two servants immediately put what they received to work. They didn't delay or overthink—they acted with intentionality. The third servant, however, buried his talent in the ground. He chose preservation over participation, paralysis over purpose.
When the master returned, look at his response to the first two servants:
"Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master." (Matthew 25:21, 23)
Notice he says the exact same thing to both servants, regardless of how much they started with or produced. The master wasn't measuring outcomes—he was rewarding faithfulness and intentionality.
When Fear Reshapes Us
The third servant's explanation reveals what had been shaping him all along: "Master, I knew you to be a hard man...so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground."
Fear doesn't just stop movement—it reshapes us. Fear shrinks our capacity. Instead of growing into a faithful steward, this servant became a fragile one. He buried what he'd been given and called that wisdom.
The master's response is telling: "You wicked and slothful servant...you ought to have invested my money with the bankers." He doesn't say the servant should have doubled the money—he just wanted him to do something. Putting it in the bank would have been the minimum step of faith.
Moving Up the Generosity Ladder
Faithfulness isn't about heroic leaps—it's about taking intentional steps. In our church, we talk about the "generosity ladder" with five levels:
- Let's Try It - The first rung, just getting off the ground
- Every Now and Then - Occasional, emotional giving
- VIP (Very Intentional Person) - Consistent, planned generosity
- Exemplary - Biblical example of disciplined giving (typically 10%)
- Legacy - Generational thinking that outlives you
The issue with the third servant wasn't that he didn't do enough—it's that he didn't do anything. The bank would have been that first rung, getting his talent off the ground.
Faith multiplies with every intentional action we take. When I'm intentionally praying, reading my Bible, or participating in community, my faith grows. Intentionality doesn't just grow our faith—it multiplies it like compounding interest.
From Belief to Action
Faith is not just what we believe—it's what we do about our beliefs. James reminds us that "faith without works is dead" (James 2:26). It simply doesn't work.
While expanding God's kingdom and making disciples is our mission, generosity is the engine that fuels that mission. Generosity is that intentional step that moves belief into action, where trust takes a step.
What do you need to do to move from fear to faith? What action will make you more intentional? What has God given you to steward?
Faithful waiting isn't passive—it's intentional. It's choosing to walk instead of bury, movement over paralysis, trust over fear. The question isn't how much have you been given, but are you walking out your faith with what God has entrusted to you?
None of us will grow if our treasures stay buried.
Ready to take your next step?
- If you're ready to serve with your time and talents, visit our Go Table after service
- If you want to be more intentional with your giving, our team at the Grow Table can help
- If you're struggling with fear, our prayer team is waiting at the cross to pray with you
"Well done, good and faithful servant...enter into the joy of your master." (Matthew 25:21)
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