What the Bible says about Motivation for Service
(From Forerunner Commentary)
Since the servants did not know how long their master would be gone, they began trading without delay. The one with five talents increased his by 100%, as did the servant with two talents. In each case, their original assets were doubled. If the servant with one talent had just worked by trading with it, his reward would have been the same.
The motivation for service and producing good fruit should be love for the Master, a virtue the servant with one talent lacked. Sadly, he failed to trade with his talent and multiply it. Fearing his master's severity, he wrapped his lord's asset in a handkerchief and hid it in a hole in the earth. Fear is a sad thing when a person dreads losing something valuable so much that he hoards it instead of putting it to good use. So it is with a spiritual gift also.
While his fellow-servants were actively trading their talents, the third servant was idle. He was neither actively obedient nor disobedient, but passively disobedient. He did not intend to hurt his master's property; he simply failed to improve it. Similar to the foolish virgins suffering because they neglected to prepare, the third servant in this parable suffers because he did nothing with his talent. We must not hide our light under a basket (Matthew 5:14-16). Spiritual talents must be used in service to Christ for the glory of God - for the joy and honor of Him who is the Giver of every good gift (I Corinthians 10:31; James 1:17).
Martin G. Collins
Parable of the Talents (Part Two)
Christ refers to our first love as protos agape. Such love is more than mere affection—it is an action. The good works (or first works) that a Christian performs come from a sincere and zealous desire to serve God by serving man with no thought about selfish desires for reward, recognition, or reciprocal service (Deuteronomy 6:5; Acts 2:41-47; I Corinthians 13:4-7; Romans 13:10; Matthew 22:37-39). By eliminating these desires, a Christian allows for God's nature, rather than his own, to motivate him, helping to ensure that the work accomplished is without pretense and pleasing to both God and the recipient (I John 4:8; Colossians 1:10; Hebrews 6:10; James 3:16-18; I Peter 1:7).
Martin G. Collins
First Love (Part Two)Related Topics: First Works | Good Works | Love is an Action Rather than a Feeling | Motivation for Service | Protos Agape
Christ follows His admonition in Revelation 2:4 with a three-part exhortation for the church at Ephesus, beginning with “remember therefore from where you have fallen” (Revelation 2:5). He prescribes a sincere and thorough self-examination of the Ephesians' spiritual condition (II Corinthians 13:5; Psalm 119:59; Haggai 1:5, 7). He strongly implies their need to compare thoughtfully their current love with their former, or first, love. He implores them to recall the goodness they once experienced and to embrace again their initial, unconditional zeal that they had displayed in their early years (Matthew 3:8; Acts 4:31-33; Lamentations 3:40).
The second and third parts of the exhortation are “repent and do the first works” (Revelation 2:5). Christ wants the Ephesians to recognize and correct the error of their ways by repenting and returning to a better state of mind—a state that most newcomers to the faith experience upon their baptism and initial justification (Acts 2:41-47; Matthew 3:8; Hebrews 10:32). It is here that we receive the gifts of peace from God, which reveal His grace and provide our motivation to serve Him and man (Romans 5:1-5; II Thessalonians 3:16; Colossians 3:15).
Martin G. Collins
First Love (Part Two)