An important question to consider in the parable of the talents is how do we define love? We began this series by demonstrating that faithfulness is at the core of the parable. A directly related topic is love. If the servants love the master, they will be faithful. The unfaithful servant loved something else and was counted as unfaithful.
A Rabbi’s words in a Jewish funeral are applicable to our study on the parable of the talents. The Rabbi quoted Deuteronomy 6:4-5, which Jesus repeats in Matthew 22, “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
Then, the Rabbi proceeded to explain that these words from God mean we are to do all the good we can do and leave the world a better place.
At the time, the Rabbi’s words rubbed me the wrong way. Speaking with my father – a long time pastor – about the Rabbi’s words, he said what the Rabbi said was correct. It took me quite awhile to understand and accept what the Rabbi said.
“The traditional Jewish belief is that we have an obligation to leave this world better than we found it. What we give is not so much for our own enjoyment, but to sustain and improve the world for the current as well as the next generation. It is really not a choice, but rather a requirement, to make our entire community a better place for everyone.” https://www.jewishcincinnati.org/news-give/planned-giving/planned-giving-cyjl-newsletter/why-jews-give-two-hebrew-phrases-help-explain-why-jewish-giving-is-so-high
All of this assumes several things:
1. The world is in need of improvement, i.e., either God created it to require constant improvement or sin causes the world to continually degrade which prompts continual human inputs to improve.
2. We must have a standard of measurement to determine that our inputs make the world better. In other words, who gets to define “better”? As Christians, we understand this standard to be Christ.
3. Improving the world is an expectation, the fulfillment of which is righteousness, and the ignoring of which leads to negative consequences. Further, there is a reason why we improve the world and seek after the right. In other words, something or someone compels us to want to improve the world, and something in us responds in agreement. We must acknowledge that it is God who is outside of us compelling us to act.
In Genesis 1:28, we read, “God blessed them; and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’” Our bodies are created by God and life comes from God. An increase is expected through our bodies. Our bodies must work to continuously improve.
God’s law and God’s standard becomes the measurement against which we can determine if we are improving the world. There must also be belief in God, belief in God’s law, and adherence to God’s law.
“[T]ypical of the rabbinic emphasis on doing the will of God, on the deed, love is understood to mean the practice of the precepts and the study of the Torah. This leads to, and in a sense is identified with, the ‘recognition’ of God and attachment to His laws. There are passages in the rabbinic literature which do speak of the love of God as an intense longing for God’s nearness. But the main emphasis in the rabbinic literature is on love expressed in the deed.” https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/loving-and-fearing-god/
The root of love is action or deed. We align our actions by that which we love. A similar concept is belief. We act upon belief. The faithful stewards aligned their actions based upon love for the master and belief in the master’s righteousness. We can only improve something by acting upon it.
The slothful servant did not adhere to the basic rule of leaving the world a better place. He simply dug a hole and buried his only talent in the ground.
Loving God with all of the heart, soul, mind, and strength requires outward action. This action springs from inward belief in God and a desire to meet His standard of measurement. We adhere to and obey this basic command from God by improving the world around us. For Adam and Eve, improvement began simply by procreation, ruling over the animals, and subduing the earth.
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