We Have Been Entrusted with Much

A parable from Luke’s Gospel tells us that we have been entrusted with God’s grace, which is represented by ten servants all being entrusted with one gold coin each. Two servants obeyed the Master, representing God, who commanded them to “engage in trade with these [coins] until I return” (Lk 19:13). One disobeyed: having accepted the gold coin he did not engage in trade but kept the coin hidden. We are told that the two servants that traded with the coins entrusted to them gained differing amounts and were rewarded by the Master in proportion to the profits they had obtained. The one who failed to trade with the Master’s coin was declared wicked and was condemned by the Master.

All three of the servants that came before the Master to report their efforts certainly believed that the Master would return. Two obeyed the Master with the objective of giving the Master more back than they were entrusted with. But the third servant, believing that the Master would return, nevertheless did nothing with the gold coin entrusted to him. He knew his Master’s will and knew that he would be held accountable upon the Master’s return, but failed to act on that knowledge. Had he done little more than depositing his coin in the bank to gain interest, he might have been chastised for not doing more, but it seems that the Master would have accepted such a meager effort. He would have been a profitable servant, but just barely.

But what if he had traded with the Master’s coin and lost money in the process? The answer lies in what the Master was looking for from the ten servants. Was he looking to be richer than he was before he entrusted the ten men with the ten coins? If so, unsuccessful trading would have been certainly punished. If the Master was not looking to become more affluent, if he was looking for obedience from the ten servants as opposed to successful trading, then the third man losing money would not have been the issue. A famous quote from Mother Theresa would apply in this case: ‘God does not require that we be successful only that we be faithful.’

But what about the other seven servants who did not appear before the Master upon his return? We are given no information on why they did not go before the Master or what the Master did with them. It is probably safe to say, however, that these seven were not rewarded, that they were not ignored, and that they did not fare well with the Master in the end. Did they engage in trade? Did they gain or lose money? It is likely that these seven did not believe that the Master would return or they simply did not care if he did come back. We do know that those who opposed the Master were judged quite harshly; “Now as for those enemies of mine who did not want me as their king, bring them here and slay them before me” (Lk 19:27). These were enemies of the Master, not his servants.

Thus, four types of people are mentioned in this parable. Two productive servants, one unproductive servant, seven faithless servants that did not present themselves to the Master on his return, and the Master’s declared enemies. Only the productive servants are blessed while the rest are condemned. Was the unproductive servant better off in terms of punishment than the seven faithless servants that also got gold coins? Were the enemies of the Master worse off than the servants?

Besides the two obedient servants, eight servants were entrusted with the Master’s gold coin. They were in a relationship with the Master but that relationship did not profit them. It might be argued that the one unprofitable servant would be punished less than the other seven since all ten servants were told the Master’s will and all ten were entrusted with the Master’s coins. He was less disobedient than the other seven. The enemies of the Master seem to be the worst of the lot. But did they know the Master’s will? Were they entrusted with anything by the Master? Humanly speaking, we would expect the Master’s enemies to be punished far more severely than the disobedient servants. In light of Jesus teaching “Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more” (Lk 12:48), it can be argued that the Master’s enemies are less culpable than the servants that failed to be profitable.

—Fr Booth