Common Sense Commentary: An unused arm becomes atrophied and worse than useless. It becomes a hindrance, a liability, an offence. Its owner would be better off if it were gone, removed and buried. God is our owner.
A God given talent gift, if not invested for the Lord, has the potential for an equal but opposite form of misuse and abuse. The gift of music, if not used for God's glory, can become used for obscene music or worldly glory. Kindness can become cruelty, the unused gift of teaching truth can become teaching error. The unused gift of giving can become greed or stealing. The gift of exhortation (encouraging, motivating), if unused, can become habitual criticism. "He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings...." 1 Tim. 6:4. I suspect this is the reason some people seem always to have something negative and destructive to say about almost everyone, especially those who are most spiritual, upstanding, people of integrity and even those more successful than they. A case in point ... A crowd of unbelievers accused Jesus of being "devil possessed" (John 10:20) and another time accused Him of being a "gluttonous drunkard" (Matt.11:19). Jesus did absolutely nothing to cause them to say such things about Him. He was totally without sin .. of any kind (Heb.4:15). Why would these people, mostly very religious, cast aspersions upon the very Son of God? Because He contradicted their dead faith by His living faith. Because He challenged their religious hypocrisy. He was pure and they were not. He was kind and they were cruel. He had peace and they had fear. He had faith and they had doubt. So they called him names and hated Him.
Similarly, the Apostle Paul was accused, in court, by the king, of being insane (Acts 26:24). Why would King Agrippa accuse Paul of being "mad"? Because Paul had a faith, a vibrancy, a certainty, a fearlessness, a peace that even the King did not have, and it scared him that Paul might be right.
Roman Emperor Nero accused the Christians in Rome of burning down the city, which, of course, they did not. But why did he blame the Christians for something he himself did? Because he hated them. So why did he hate Christians? Because they had something he did not have ... faith, hope, peace and love. If you do not use your talent gift for good, you may lose it or misuse it. Use your talents and gifts for God's glory which simply means .... live for Him.
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