HOW TO ENTER INTO THE JOY OF THE LORD
+Fr. Paul Costopoulos, HOLY TRINITY/HOLY CROSS, Birmingham, AL

“So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents saying,‘Lord you delivered me 5 talents; look I have gained 5 more talents besides them.’ His
lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things,I will make you ruler over many. Enter into the joy of your lord…’” (Matthew 25:20-21)

These words come to us from the Parables of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30). It is
one of Jesus’ many Parables on the Kingdom of Heaven. Its accent is upon the proper use of wealth and talents. The Parables message is a cogent one. It tells us that those
who use their wealth/talents, which are given to us by God, for the betterment of others and the glory of God’s holy name are those who are right with God. Conversely, those who don’t are not.
What is necessary if we are to utilize our talents/wealth in a proper manner? The answer is a simple one. It can be encapsulated in one word. Humility! Humility is a virtue that is unto justification (Luke 18:9-14). To utilize our talents we must humbly recognize from whence they came—from the Lord. And then like faithful servant who
multiplied his talents for “God’s glory”, so also must we by the grace of God attempt to do the same.
Father Alexander Elchaninov (1881-1934) was a famous Russian Orthodox Priest. At various points in his life, he kept a diary. Much of his diary was not so much a daily account of activities as it was an expose on various religious themes. I like what he writes in one of his entries about the need for humility in the utilization of wealth/talents:“Material wealth enslaves us, sharpening our self-interest, corroding our heart, overwhelming us with anxiety and fear…” (Do not his words ring great truth
during this period of economic recession?)“Instead of serving us, it usually makes us serve it. But is it not the same with the treasures of health, strength, beauty, talent? Do not they likewise confirm us in our pride and
imprison the heart, leading it away from God?”
“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Prov. 16:18), the Word of God says. Conversely, it is the humble,Jesus tells us, who are justified and right with God. “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” Jesus says in Matthew 5:3, “for theirs is the
Kingdom of Heaven.” Perhaps this is why many of the spiritual thinkers of the Christian church regard the poor, the hungry, the afflicted,the ugly, the weak as being more blessed than those who are their polar
opposites.
But what are we to do if we are blessed with talent, money, health, strength,beauty, etc? Do we need to “go sell all that we have…” (Matthew 19:24) and divest ourselves of them in order to enter into the
joy of the Lord? No! And again I say, no!We may keep our riches, as Elchaninov says, but not strictly for ourselves.
We must share them…
Tear ourselves away from them…
Be inwardly free from them…
Thank God for them…
Use them for our benefit…
Use them for the benefit of God and
others…
And recognize that in the end we must return them to the Lord and give an accounting of our Stewardship.
Our goal ought to be—it certainly is mine—to one day hear the words that the faithful servant of the parable heard, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were
faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many. Enter into the joy of your lord…”