The Last Servant and the Character of God

One more thought about the parable of the talents...
Here is a selection from Matthew 25 that focuses on the third servant.

The Parable of the Talents

 ¹⁴"Again, [the Kingdom of Heaven] will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. ¹⁵To one he gave five talents^[a] of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey.
... ¹⁸But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.... ²⁴"Then the man who had received the one talent came. 'Master,' he said, 'I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. ²⁵So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.'
 ²⁶"His master replied, 'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? ²⁷Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
 ²⁸" 'Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. ²⁹For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. ³⁰And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

Now as long as I have known this parable it has disturbed me. I have long thought about what the third servant said about his master and it always troubled me greatly. But today, I think I have stumbled upon an answer.
You see, this parable is about the Kingdom of God and I know that the master is suppose to be God (or Jesus). And I know their character - they are good, loving, patient, honest, just, and all those other things that are of value. Everywhere the Word confirms this. But here, the master is said to be a hard man and unjust. And then he throws the servant out "into the darkness where there will be a weeping and gnashing of teeth," thereby seeming to confirm what the servant thought of him. And I've always stuttered at that thinking, "Wait, is the master really God?" and almost asking, "What is God really like?"
But then I realized that the words of the last servant are not really reflecting the character of God but the character and faithfulness of the third servant. You see, all three servants acted in accordance to their understanding of their master's character. The first two servants were full of faith and trust, believing that their master was good and just and would reward them for their efforts. They believed that what and who they were working for was worthwhile. They believed that when He returned, they would be honored for their work.
But the last servant... He lacked faith and did not trust in the good character of his master. He did not believe that His master was worth working for. He did not even know his master. And his claims as to who his master was were just excuses for his laziness, un-productivity, and disobedience.
Now think about an unbeliever in this situation. Those who do not believe in Jesus do not have faith or trust in the good character of God. They do not believe that He is worth working for. They don't even know God and think that He is unjust and hard-hearted. And when Jesus returns and we must give an account for what we have done, what will they say? They may say what they think they know about God as an excuse for why they haven't done what He said to. They might even say to his face, "But I didn't think that you were real." And what will God do? God will call them out as they are. And whether they are complete unbelievers or they are people who call themselves Christian but do not really know Jesus Christ, they will find his judgment just but lacking in the mercy that God offers to those who know and believe in Jesus Christ. He will then throw them out where there is a weeping and gnashing of teeth (which I think is a reference to hell/eternal separation from God - it's mentioned with the fiery furnace in several places in the gospels and that makes me think of the lake of fire mentioned in revelations).

It's so good to have peace about this verse. It's so good to know that my God is still who he says he is. That he is just and loving and that he has a soft heart for his children. That truth just brings such rest to my soul.