"Anyone wishing to renounce the difficult yet noble task of improving the lot of man in his totality and of all people, with the excuse that the struggle is difficult and that constant effort is required, or simply because of the experience of defeat and the need to begin again, that person would be betraying the will of God the Creator....
Indeed, the Lord Jesus himself, in the parable of the talents, emphasizes the severe treatment given to the man who dared to hide the gift received:
You wicked slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sowed and gather where I have not winnowed?...So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has the ten talents (Mt 25:26-28)
It falls to us, who receive the gifts of God in order to make them fruitful, to "sow" and "reap". If we do not, even what we have will be taken from us.
A deeper study of these harsh words will make us commit ourselves more resolutely to the duty, which is urgent for everyone today, to work together for the full development of others: "development of the whole human being and of all people."
John Paul The Great
