Fear makes me stupid…stupid, irrational and insane.  That is obviously what happened to the man with one talent.  The man clearly states that he knows what the Master wants and then acts in a manner totally contrary to it. That happens to me, too. 
 
I know I cannot take what I have been given and simply try to hang on to it.  I know in the rational part of my brain that even if my buried talent doesn't corrode away in the dirt, isn't stolen by thieves, or  mindlessly forgotten and lost, that my Master will be angry if I don't at least show up with some interest from the bank from it.  But fear makes me stupid.  I don't think things through and I react like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car–unable to make any rational decision to avoid the deadly disaster that I can see is coming if I do not move.
 
It's all metaphor.  God isn't really a harsh, demanding Master–but Reality is.  And the Lord has come to warn us, to teach us and to give us the Grace to avoid the fate of this poor man, panicked into stupid, irrational behavior.  I must constantly pray and seek the perfect Love that casts out fear otherwise I will panic, ignore the warnings of my conscience and of those the Lord sends to teach and help me and begin making stupid, self destructive choices.
 
This is not at all to excuse stupid choices.  Dead is dead, whether you panic and stumble, blindly, off the cliff or purposely jump. Excuses don't matter to Reality. But understanding this fear drives me to cling to God "Whenever I am afraid,I will trust in You." Psalms 56:3 NKJV  And this understanding helps me to have compassion on those I see making terrible, stupid and even evil choices, blinded as they are by their fear.  Fear is sin.  It leads to other sins and, like all sin, leads ultimately to death.
 
I am not a brave person.  Apart from the Love and Grace of God I will simply panic and stand motionless waiting for disaster to come upon me, I will take what little I have and bury it, in the irrational hope of hanging on to it.  But by clinging to Him, by coming to Him over and over again seeking His mercy, I am given the courage to open my hand and let go of all that He has given me, to go out into the world and take risks.  Not all my trades will bear an immediate return on my investment.  Some may look like terrible mistakes as I watch the value of the stock I purchased go down, down, down.  But it is only when the Master returns that the true value of my investments will be made known, tallied and judged.