The Parable of the Lazy Slave

In order to understand this passage of scripture in context you should at least take a look at Matthew 25:14-30 , but here is the essential material I will be focusing on from the HCSB: “For it is just like a man going on a journey. He called his own slaves and turned over his possessions to them.  To one he gave five talents; to another, two; and to another, one—to each according to his own ability. Then he went on a journey. Immediately . . . the man who had received one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money.

After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them . . . Then the man who had received one talent also approached and said, “Master, I know you. You’re a difficult man, reaping where you haven’t sown and gathering where you haven’t scattered seed.  So I was afraid and went off and hid your talent in the ground. Look, you have what is yours.”

But his master replied to him, “You evil, lazy slave! If you knew that I reap where I haven’t sown and gather where I haven’t scattered, then you should have deposited my money with the bankers. And when I returned I would have received my money back with interest.”

I want to focus on one statement that the lazy slave made: “I was afraid.” What was he afraid of? He was afraid of what his master, a stern man, might do if he didn’t produce the expected results. He thought his master to be stern. He had been given a task and was accountable to the master to do it and do it well.

As Christians, we have been given certain responsibilities as well. There are things God expects of us. In the context of this parable, in the parable immediately following, Jesus spells some of these tasks out as meeting the needs of our fellow Christians. Elsewhere we are commanded to love God and one another, be holy, be light and salt in the world, and make disciples wherever we go (among other things). And there are also responsibilities unique to each one of us implied by our spiritual gifts, passions, abilities, personalities and experiences. This may include the education or career we are pursuing and how we are serving in the church or community. What this all boils down to is that we have been given one short life and we are accountable to God to live it well.

I believe the Parable of the Lazy Slave can teach us to live life well. The slave was terrified at the thought of his responsibility. Sadly, we too let the fear of losing our life keep us from living life to the fullest. I would like suggest four reasons: fear of the unknown, fear of failure, fear of inadequacy, and fear of comparison.

First, he is afraid of the unknown. He just doesn’t know what might happen. So he lets his imagination get the better of him. All the what ifs turn into worse case scenarios. He is like the slacker in Proverbs who says, “There’s a lion outside! I’ll be killed in the streets!” (22:13). He is assuming the worst and his fear is keeping him from doing anything at all.

The truth is we may not know what might happen if we take the next step and do what God is calling us to do. But we do know Jesus and His power. And He has promised to be with us until the end of the age. Unlike the master in the parable, He will not give us a task and then disappear on us for months. He is with us every moment. He is already all we need no matter what comes our way. Nothing ever surprises Him.

Not knowing what may happen really isn’t the issue for the slave. For all he knows he could end up doing his job well and without any difficulties. What he’s really afraid of is the possibility of failure. So, instead of risking his energy on a job well done, he begins to spend all his energy on maintaining the status quo. He sticks to what he knows and plays it safe. But nothing ventured, nothing gained. 

The truth is that the responsibilities God gives us are gifts of grace, not impossible burdens. And with each responsibility He gives us equal ability to carry it out. So not only is He there with us as we pursue His best for us, He is helping us as well, giving us the wisdom, strength and resources we need. It’s all by grace!

Unfortunately, we tend to stay in our comfort zones, like the slave. He kept doing what he’d always done because the outcome was predictable and he knew he could handle it. But if he pushed the boundaries of his abilities he was afraid he may be inadequate for the task. He suspected himself to be a loser and figured trying and failing would only confirm that fact for the world to see.

The truth is we were “created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10, TNIV). All that God is calling us to do we were literally made to do! Though we may think at times that we are inadequate, the reality is that no one else is adequate for the task before us but us!

The parable also talks about two other slaves that got entrusted with more responsibility. Even if they lost money in their investments they would likely still have more than the lazy slave had to begin with. One could speculate that in such company the lazy slave was afraid of comparison. He may have thought he could never be as good as the others. He was judging himself by how much he was entrusted with rather the fact that the master believed he could be trusted in the first place.

The truth is we can’t judge a basketball player by how many touchdowns he makes. There are certain standards we are all expected to live up to. But we are not clones! God does not expect me to be you. He expects me to be the best me I can be. That’s what is at issue here: it’s not whether you will be the next so-and-so, but whether you will become all God created you for.

In order to make the most of the life we’ve been give, we will all have to face our fears. As Yoda has said, “Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering.” Our fears can paralyze us and make us angry at ourselves for not trying, for being stuck in a rut. But eventually that gets old and we replace being angry at ourselves with hating God for ever expecting anything from us to begin with. We end up blaming God and making excuses for ourselves. So instead of sharing in the joy of a fulfilling life we are wallowing in the suffering of a wasted life.

If we continue to do nothing with our lives, our fear becomes an excuse for laziness. At first laziness is a choice. But it soon becomes a habit—the result of choosing inaction at every opportunity until it becomes second nature. This predisposition to do nothing is wickedness in God’s eyes because it squanders our life and hinders us from the abundance He has in store for us. 

So what should we do with our fears? There is so much that we may need to do and to work on. But what is God asking you to do now, to do next? Is there something you need to start doing, to do again, to get better at? Maybe you need to repent of the evil of laziness. Whatever it is, the point of this passage is: Do something with your life and do it well!