A “Sharecropper” is a farmer who works the land for a “share” of the harvest. The landowner receives a percentage or portion from the top of the harvest. My dad (pictured on his combine) was a sharecropper. He was responsible for the labor, equipment and the cost of planting and the harvest.

After harvest, at the end of the year, was when he settled with everyone (landowner, banker, and other creditors). After that, dad set aside enough to get next year’s crop in the ground, and we lived on what was left until the next year’s harvest.

While I don’t know the particulars, I do know we never went without. Mom and dad put my brother & I through college, we both had cars, and I never missed a meal. Not only was he a great farmer, but he was also an incredibly disciplined steward of what he had to work with.

Several years ago, we studied Matthew in Bible Study Fellowship. The story of the owner distributing talents to his 3 servants before he left town spoke to my heart. The story is not about the talents or how many talents each received…but how the harvest reveals our choice.

We pick up the story with one servant getting 5 talents, another receiving 2 talents and the third getting one talent. After receiving their talents, the owner left town for an undetermined amount of time. Later the owner came back to check on what had been done. The servants entrusted with 5 & 2 talents doubled what they had received. The master was delighted & pleased.

This reminded me of the day the owner came to check on how things were going with dad. The owner had several farms, some in South America, but he truly enjoyed being with dad. On one particular hot summer day I was sitting in the back seat of his car. We rode from dusty field to dusty field in his new Cadillac equipped with air conditioning. I remember the owner and dad in the front seat enjoying what they saw. He was delighted. And I enjoyed the cold air conditioning.

But the story does not end well for the servant who chose to do nothing. The master said, “So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’” Matthew 25:28-30.

The talents could have been anything, but I think of them as seed. The purpose of the seed is to be planted, not squandered or eaten. I also recognized from how the owner rewarded both good servants the same. He said “‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’” (Matthew 25:23). The core issue Jesus is pointing to is, “The condition of the heart matters” For we know from Proverbs 23:7 “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he”.  

God gave my dad the gift to grow things. I can still remember him driving from field to field to walk out across each field, stopping to examine the plants as if they were his children. This was his home. He took joy using God’s Gift…and it showed.

But the servant who did nothing in our study resonated in my heart. I remember saying to myself, “I can’t look at Jesus on that day and hand Him back my gifts (seed) unused, unplanted and say, “I was too busy” or “I didn’t want to do that!” or “I don’t like those people!” So, like my dad, I plant the seed He gave me (Encouragement & Exhortation) by sending out Today’s Good News and inviting men to join Bible Study Fellowship. The harvest I am looking for is to hear those words… “Well done, good and faithful servant!” “Come and share your master’s happiness!”

Ponder this Promise, “For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for well-being and not for trouble, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11) Every follower of Christ receives at least one gift. No matter the conditions, there is still time to plant your seed. Remember it’s about the harvest.