DOES GOD PLAY FAVORITES?

“To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey.”  Matthew 25:15

DOES GOD PLAY FAVORITES?

By Rev. Dr. Brett Snowden

"Does God Play Favorites?"  “Is God fair in dealing with His creation?”  I believe this is a loaded question and filled with intrigue.  Who among us has never asked themselves or shared verbally with others their regret that life appears to be unequal, unfair or God has dealt them an uneven hand?  A subtle glimpse around our environment should move one to beg for an answer to this question.

The Bible reveals God as the Creator possessing the ability to take nothing and make not only something, but everything in the universe.  In the Bible God says, “I’m all powerful.”  He says, “I know all things.”  “I am everywhere at once; I am love; I am grace; I am mercy; I am holy.”  Look at the distribution of the talents in Matthew 25, to one he gave five; and to another, two and to the third, one.  That is unfair or unequal distribution. 

In the world there is the presence of rich and poor, the healthy and those challenged physically and emotionally, women who are able to bear children and those who are barren, those who live a long and prosperous life and others who are cut down in their youth.  ARE THESE INDICATIONS THAT GOD PLAYS FAVORITES?  Was God playing favorites when he chose Abel's sacrifice over Cain's, when he chose Noah’s family to board the Ark, in choosing Israel to be his pride and joy, when he shows more favor to his servant Job?

At first glance the scripture would suggest that God does play favorites.  Most of us have been taught and reminded all our lives that, “all persons are created equal,” and that God is not a respecter of persons.  Yet, in this parable we see an inequality of human endowment.  How is it that Shakespeare has five talents in literature, Michelangelo five in art, Edison five in invention, Dr. Gardner C. Taylor five in preaching when the vast majority of people have two talents in any particular field?

Across the years the timeless argument has been that God does not give us more than we can handle or bear.  However, if we were standing in line somewhere and the person next to us received five talents, another person, two and God gave us one, many of us would immediately ask God, “Why are you playing favorites?”  “How come I don’t rank to receive five?”

Jesus never offers an apology in the text, nor does he ever answer the question of why he unequally distributes.  However, he does say that each person must acknowledge and accept what has been given to them.  Everyone does not own the same gift or the same ability.  We all have an equal chance to prove ourselves to God.  To the measure to which a person is gifted, to that same measure are they accountable.  The King/landowner did not expect the servant who was given one talent to produce five or two, but simply to produce one additional talent.  The issue is not how many talents we possess, but what we do with the talents once we receive them.

Many march through an existence that gets duller by the minute, simply because we keep thinking of life as a possession and not an investment.  All persons have been blessed by God with some unique talent or spiritual gift.  Yet, how often do we spend our time whining over what we lack, instead of making use of what we have?  Our home, our friends, our brains are not like someone else's ‑‑‑ they are ours!  The person who counts up his liabilities and leaves out his assets is ready to go out of business as soon as he lays down his pen.  The kingdom of God is our business!

My parents taught me (and yours as well) that if you take one step, God will take two.  The theological interpretation of this means that if you make some effort to change your circumstance rather than complaining and blaming, God will invade your circumstance and make a way out of no way. 

We must quit being afraid, as the spies were when Moses sent them into the Land of Promise.  When they returned all but two of them said, "the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great...And there we saw giants, the sons of Anak, and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers." Cowardice cost Israel 40 years in the wilderness.  Cowardice will cost us our family, our community and our church life.

Take whatever God has committed to you and press it home!  Never stop halfway, discouraged with what we think are the poor results.  Life and the issues of it must be taken seriously.  Right and wrong make a difference.  We have always struggled with that difference.  We do not live in a universe which is essentially a huge, impersonal machine, where all things come alike to all.  Always remember that you are not resigned to the talent(s) you presently possess.  One must believe by faith that God will   promote us if we seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.