John Calvin Commentary Matthew 25:24

"And he also that had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou didst not sow, and gathering where thou didst not scatter;" — Matthew 25:24 (ASV)

I knew you, that you are a harsh man. This harshness has nothing to do with the substance of the parable; and it is an idle speculation in which those indulge who reason from this passage how severely and rigorously God deals with His own people.

For Christ did not intend to describe such rigor, any more than to applaud usury, when He represents the master of the house as saying that the money ought to have been deposited with a banker, that it might, at least, gain interest. Christ only means that there will be no excuse for the indolence of those who both conceal the gifts of God and waste their time in idleness.

From this we also infer that no manner of life is more praiseworthy in the sight of God than that which yields some advantage to human society.