What Are You Burying? A Sermon on Surrender, Faithfulness, and the Parable of the Talents

Most of us know that God calls us to give. But what if the real issue isn’t generosity? What if it’s ownership? This message from Matthew 25 cuts straight to the heart of what it means to be a faithful follower of Jesus, not just with your money, but with your time, your talents, and your whole life.

What Does the Parable of the Talents Actually Mean?

In Matthew 25:14-30, Jesus tells the story of a master who entrusts His servants with different amounts of money before leaving on a journey. Two of the servants put the money to work and double what they were given. The third buries his talent in the ground out of fear.

When the master returns, the faithful servants hear the words every believer longs to hear. “Well done, good and faithful servant. You were faithful over a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Share in your master’s joy.” (Matthew 25:21, ESV)

The third servant? He is called wicked and lazy, and what little he had is taken away.
This parable is not primarily about money. It is about surrender. It is about what we do with everything God has placed in our hands.

Everything You Have Is Entrusted, Not Owned

Here is the foundational truth of the Christian life that most of us resist: nothing you have actually belongs to you.

The servants in the parable never owned the talents. The money, the opportunity, and the responsibility all belonged to the master. That is the picture of our lives before God.

We say things like “my house,” “my paycheck,” “my kids,” “my career,” and “my time.” But Scripture is clear. Psalm 24:1 says, “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein.”

Your next breath is borrowed. Your family, your influence, your abilities, even your salvation. All of it comes from Him and belongs to Him.

One day, everything you have ever held will belong to someone else. You arrived with nothing, and you will leave with nothing. The question is not how much you own. The question is what you are doing with what God has trusted you with.

Some of us do not have a money problem. We have an ownership problem.

Do You See Giving as an Opportunity or an Obligation?

The first two servants in the parable did not drag their feet. They immediately went to work. They saw what was placed in their hands as an opportunity, not a burden.

Faithful people see opportunity, not obligation.

God has never expected equal results from every person. He asks for equal faithfulness. That should bring you real freedom. If ten dollars is where you are, that is the measure used for you. If you have been given great influence or great wealth, God did that, and He expects you to use it for His glory.

The widow who gave two small coins gave more than the wealthy in Jesus’ eyes, not because of the amount, but because of the heart behind it. We are not comparing dollar amounts. We are talking about faithfulness.

And this goes far beyond money. God has given you time, and time is more valuable than money. He has given you gifts and abilities. Some of you can teach, lead, serve, create, or encourage. And some of you are sitting on those gifts while the work of the kingdom goes undone around you.

The church was never meant to look like a football game where a few people run around doing all the work while everyone else watches from the stands. Every believer is called to be on the field.

What Gifts and Abilities Are You Sitting On?

God has given every believer something to contribute. It might be a skill, a spiritual gift, availability, or simply a willing heart. But many people never use what they have been given.

Consider what it costs the kingdom when gifted people stay on the sidelines. Outreach events go understaffed. Kids ministry goes without volunteers. Youth programs lack support. Neighbors go unserved.

You do not have to be a pastor to serve the kingdom of God. Whether you are a plant manager, a teacher, or someone flipping burgers, you are called to do it for the glory of God. That is the calling on every believer’s life.

The kingdom of God is not built by comparison. It is built by faithfulness. It is not about how much you have been given. It is about what you do with what you have been given.

Why Do We Bury What God Has Given Us?

The third servant buried his talent. His reason? Fear.

2 Timothy 1:7 reminds us, “For God gave us a Spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”

Fear always has convincing excuses. What if I fail? What if it doesn’t work? What if God asks too much? Fear sounds responsible in our minds, but underneath it often reveals a distorted view of God.

The third servant said, “Master, I knew you to be a hard man.” (Matthew 25:24). He misunderstood who the master was. The other servants saw generosity. He saw harshness.

How you see God changes how you live for God. If you believe God is waiting to punish you, you will bury your life. If you know God is a gracious Father, you will risk everything for Him.

As Tim Keller put it, religion says “I obey, therefore I am accepted.” The gospel says “I am accepted, therefore I obey.” We do not surrender to earn God’s love. We surrender because we have already received it.

Jesus Did Not Bury His Life. He Poured It Out.

Jesus did not cling to heaven. He came to earth. He did not protect Himself. He went to a cross. He did not preserve His life. He gave it away.

And because He surrendered everything, we now belong to Him.

Even the philosopher Marcus Aurelius, who was not a Christian, understood something of this truth: “What are you so afraid of losing when nothing in this world belongs to you?”

If a pagan could see that reality, surely those who follow Jesus should be able to see it even more clearly.

What Have You Buried?

Maybe it is generosity. Maybe it is a gift God has placed in you that you have never used. Maybe it is forgiveness that God has called you to extend but you have withheld. Maybe it is a calling you have refused to answer. Maybe it is simply your availability.

The invitation is not about equal gifts or equal sacrifice. It is about a surrendered heart that is faithful to God with whatever He has placed in your hands.

The greatest thing God can do in any season is not paying off a building or launching a new program. It is filling a church with people who stop asking “what do I have to give?” and start asking “Lord, what have You entrusted me with, and how can I faithfully use it for Your glory?”

Life Application

This week, take an honest inventory of what God has placed in your hands. Not just your finances, but your time, your gifts, your availability, and your calling. Identify one specific area where you have been burying what God has entrusted to you, whether that is serving somewhere, giving more intentionally, forgiving someone, or finally saying yes to something God has been nudging you toward. Then take one concrete step to act on it before the week is over.

Ask yourself these questions as you reflect:

• Do I see the things in my life as mine to own, or as gifts from God that I am responsible to steward?
• Am I serving the kingdom of God with my time and abilities, or am I sitting on the bench watching others do the work?
• Is fear keeping me from saying yes to something God has clearly called me to do?
• How do I truly see God? As a hard master waiting for me to fail, or as a gracious Father who has already given me everything in Christ?
• If Jesus poured out everything for me, what is one thing I have been holding back from Him?