Parables of the Talents
Matthew 25:14-29
“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. 15 To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. 17 So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. 18 But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’
21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
22 “The man with the two talents also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.’
23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
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. 25 So 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? 27 Well 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. 29 For 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.
I have been trying to figure out where I am supposed to be and work and what to do… pretty much I am trying to figure out life. This parable really stood out to me because it emphasizes the fact that we each have different talents, skills, abilities, and interests. This is an absolutely beautiful thing when we embrace it- but is really destructive when we don’t.
God, as the master, has given us each our own talents, skills, abilities, interests, likes, dislikes, etc. I love the response of the first servant- he IMMEDIATELY put his money to work. People who are like the first man know what their gifts are, and they use them. They don’t sit around in fear of making the wrong choice, or debating if this is what other people would do. They know their gifts and they use them to serve.
While the second servant only received two talents, he too knew his skills and had a 100% return, just like the first servant. The master was pleased with him as well- and it was not on the basis of the quantity of talents he had gained, but on the basis that he used them and got a return.
The third servant however was afraid of messing up and losing the master’s talent- so he hides it away instead of using it or even investing it for interest… with this the master was not pleased at all. The servants were not compared to each other to say “one made so much more than the other”- they were only judged on the basis of how they used what they were given.
Because each servant had different skills and abilities, how and where they invested their talents could be completely different. The point for us as servants is to know what our skills are and how and where we are called to invest them. If the first servant had tried to invest in the same ways as the second servant, his yield would have been completely different. And if the second servant tried to mimick the first servant’s strategy instead of one that used his own skills, the outcome of his investment would have been less as well.
We are not meant to try and copy other people’s skills, but to know and grow our own, and figure out how we can best be using them to further God’s kingdom. God gave everyone different skills and passions for a reason- not that we all act the same, but that through everyone’s strengths and weaknesses working together He would be glorified. That we would not all do the same things and that there would be variety and creativity. This has been a challenge for me as I am trying to figure out what direction to be moving… to really hone in on the skills God has given me and wants me to use- and to be faithful in figuring out where to use them. It has really convicted me to stop looking at what other’s are doing and given me the freedom to be able to rejoice in their work, and be at peace that my steps will most likely look very different from theirs. God has put some talents in my hands… here we go!
