Abundance and scarcity.

We live in a world of abundance here in the United States. When we need a tool or a piece of hardware, we can run to Home Depot and find whatever we need. In Honduras, on the other hand, there is a world of scarcity. When the Midlife Men and I went looking for hardware on our mission trip, we had a hard time finding what we needed.

There’s not a lot of selection at a Honduran hardware store, called a ferreteria. They don’t even have ferrets.

You’ll hear a lot more about our mission trip in worship next week, when the Midlife Men share their insights and experiences. But for our purposes today, I want us to take a look at scarcity and abundance. And to give you a visual aid for scarcity and abundance, I want you to picture a cat.

Not a ferret. A cat.

The cat has a raised head at one end of its body, and then a long slope downward, one that extends to the end of its tail. The cat is a metaphor … an image … an illustration of a financial reality. In the publishing industry, the head of the cat is full of bestsellers. Authors like John Grisham and Dan Brown have books at the head of the industry, because they sell millions of copies.

But as you move away from the head, down the long slope of the cat’s back, you find that the industry also includes a long tail of less popular books, written by obscure authors on unusual topics. Warren Smith’s book on ancient mysteries of the Mayan pyramids, for example. In the past, people had a hard time getting their hands on these books, because bookstores couldn’t stock them – they didn’t have room.

The world has changed, however. Now we have online retailers, and an amazing thing is happening -- more and more people are buying from "the long tail" of the cat. If you want an obscure book – or an odd DVD or CD – you don’t have to worry about it being on the shelf at your local store. You can simply order in online.

When we focus on the head of the cat, we are living in a world of scarcity. Most bookstores, music stores, and video shops have room only for bestsellers. But when we focus on the long tail, we are living in a world of abundance.

That’s precisely where our Lord wants us to live.

In today’s Scripture lesson, Jesus tells the story of a man who goes on a journey, and before embarking on his trip he distributes his property among his slaves. To one he gives five talents, to another two talents, and to another one talent. When we are speaking of talents here, we’re not talking about the ability to paint a picture or play the electric guitar – no, a “talent” is a unit of money worth more than fifteen years of wages for an average laborer. So a talent is serious cash – something that would be, today, in the neighborhood of $200,000.

The one who is given five talents goes off at once and trades with them, making five more talents. He turns his one million dollars into two million dollars.

The one with two talents makes two more talents, turning $400,000 into $800,000.

But the slave with one talent goes off and digs a hole in the ground and hides his money. He is afraid that his harsh master will punish him for losing the talent, so he takes the most cautious and conservative course possible, and simply preserves the $200,000 by hiding it in the ground (Matthew 25:14-18).

This one-talent slave is living in a world of scarcity. He has been given a precious gift, and for once in his life he is living at the head of the cat. Fearful of taking any chances that might cause him to lose what he has, he holds tightly to his treasure. He is like a bookstore that chooses to fill all its shelves with best-selling John Grisham novels.

The five-talent slave is willing to move out onto the long tail, however. He looks around and sees a world of abundance, one that can multiply his holdings if he is willing to take a few chances. He trades his talents, like an online book service that is willing to offer less popular publications, written by obscure authors on unusual topics. This is risky business, for sure, but it ends up being very profitable for the slave who is willing to embrace the long tail.

So where are we living – at the head of the cat, or on the long tail?

It’s time for us to move to the tail, and embrace the world of abundance. This means that we trust God enough to make use of the gifts and abilities we have been given, whether our particular passion is for teaching children or cooking meals or repairing homes or programming computers. We do not have to claw our way to the head of the cat, trying to mimic celebrities and national leaders and VIPs. Our Lord wants us to be the unique individuals he has created us to be, people who have unusual but valuable abilities.

On the long tail, we find nurses who take great pride in keeping their patients clean and comfortable, carpenters who gain enormous satisfaction from building quality homes, teachers who find joy in the discoveries of the classroom, attorneys who keep the goal of justice at the center of their practices, artists who are committed to bringing beauty into day-to-day life, and store clerks who place good service at the heart of their own personal mission statements. Most of us who work in these jobs will never achieve national recognition like the authors of best-selling books, but we will make a lasting impact on the world by our willingness to invest the talents we have been given.

The media tells us that we have to be big-shots to have an impact, but this message is a lie. The truth is that most of the good in this world is accomplished in small ways, by people like us, on the long tail of the cat.

It is so important for the church to be like the servant with the five talents who goes out and aggressively invests his resources. Within our community of faith, we have a great storehouse of talents, and God calls us to live in a world of abundance by taking risks and being generous. This means that we are willing to try new things, by sharing our abilities in creative worship and innovative educational events. It means that we look outward to a world in need, and do what we can to feed hungry children, house homeless adults, and welcome the strangers and immigrants in our midst. It means that we make a significant pledge to the church budget, trusting that God will grow our investment through beneficial activities both here and around the world. God does not want us to live in a world of scarcity and conserve what we have; instead, he wants us to invest our time and talents and treasures in ways that multiply our effectiveness as servants of Christ.

When we move onto the long tail, we make the bold assumption that there is going to be a demand for every one of our talents. We step out, with confidence, believing that every God-given gift we have been given is going to be exceedingly useful and fruitful!

I’m talking about your gifts. And my gifts. They are precious. And abundant!

Think back to the first days of creation described in Genesis, when our generous God blessed the earth with plants and animals, and then urged them to “be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:22). Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggeman claims that this opening act of the biblical drama is nothing less than “a liturgy of abundance.”

But what happens soon after that? By the end of the book of Genesis, the image of scarcity is introduced. Pharaoh dreams there will be a famine, and with a fearful spirit he takes steps to ensure than he and his people will have the stored-up provisions they need.

Abundance versus scarcity. Life on the head versus life on the long tail. Which approach are we going to embrace, and on what part of the cat do we want to live our lives?

Jesus couldn’t be any clearer in today’s passage of Scripture. He says that when the master returns, the slaves who invested their talents are described as “good” and “faithful,” and they are given additional gifts. But the servant who buried his single talent is not only negligent, he is described as “wicked” and “lazy” and “worthless” (vv. 26, 30). Jesus wants us to embrace the world of abundance, and to live on the long tail by investing our talents in the work of the kingdom.

The challenge for us is to live by faith, and to trust that our Lord will give us what we need for an abundant life. Every one of us has an opportunity to hear his message, and respond with faithfulness by investing our gifts. Of course, some of you will respond, and some will not. Some will be like the servant with five talents, and some will be like the slave with one. Some will take risks and be generous, and some will remain cautious and close-fisted. Some will accept the idea of abundance, and some will hold to the myth of scarcity. Some will sit on the head of the cat, and some will venture onto the long tail.

The only question that matters this morning is this: What will you do?

Those who have faith in a Lord of abundance will be rewarded. That’s the clear and compelling message of the parable of the talents. By putting our talents to use in a grateful, glad and generous way, we’ll find ourselves enriched by the God who is the giver of every good and perfect gift.

So don’t hold back. Activate your unusual but precious abilities. Make the most of the unique set of talents that the Lord has given you.

Grab the long tail! Amen.