17:43.

Matthew 25:25-28 '[The man who had received one talent said,] "I knew you were a hard man... and I was afraid, and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you." His master replied, "You wicked, lazy servant! … You should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest … Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents."' (NIV)

Why did God get so angry at that servant who buried his talent?

That has always confounded me. Was it that bad a reason - "I knew you were a hard man and I was afraid". In modern speak, that would be like "I knew if I screw up, you would be really upset and I may get punished so I was scared to take the risk".

What's so wicked and lazy about that?

I've heard sermons where preachers denounced the third servant 'cause his motivations were "wicked and lazy".

But what are the causes and processes that have to run and exist before we can, in cumination, label someone lazy and wicked? When do you call someone lazy? When the teenager keeps leaving his clothes on the floor, when your co-worker keeps slyly pushing his work to you... when someone doesn't do what he is supposed to.

And then it hit me.

The servant wasn't meant to be afraid of risk, he wasn't meant to be afraid of using what His master deem him capable and worthy enough to have, he wasn't meant to bury his talent and be cowed by fear. And if he did, after burying that talent, go lepak his days away, well, he wasn't born for the purpose to lepak away.

When was the last time you and I didn't do something 'cause we were afraid of the possible consequences?

When was the last time you and I chose the "safe" way and lepak it through?

When was the last time you deny the God-given gifts and abilities inside of you and chose not, never to use them?

Are you burying your talent?