‘Master, I knew you were a demanding person … so out of fear I went off and buried your talent.” When Jesus tells the story of the talents he challenges our notion of God. What is God like and how does God treat us? According to the parable he other two who were given talents knew the master as well as the third. Yet instead of being full of fear they felt they were being given an opportunity. What the “demanding” master asked of them was that they develop and grow. The third person let fear inhibit his actions. He was afraid of making a mistake, he was afraid of doing it wrong, he was afraid what the master would think of him. Instead of seeing the master as encouraging him to spread his wings, he played it safe. We can play it safe by just following the program or we can stretch ourselves to become more accepting, loving and forgiving.
