In the past month, two Nigerians I know, one 40, the other 73, died suddenly in America, maybe from a heart attack. I was sad and in sorrow with their immediate families. But I thought if they died in Nigeria, the cynics would have shouted, “Nigeria has happened to them.”
The cynics and do-nothing-preachers who mock those who step forward to act, hopeful of a better tomorrow, came to my mind when we read Mattew 25: 14-30 today. The parable of the talent – the “smart” act of cynicism, the ultimate do-nothing person.
Below is vs 24 -30….the punishment that awaits those who celebrate their cynicism. May it not be your portion. I am hopeful.
24 Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, “Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed;
25 So I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.”
26 But his master replied, “You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter?
27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest.
28 So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents.
29 For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.
30 As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Osita Chidoka
19 November 2023
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