“For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money. After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou has not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Matthew 25:14-30
My Summary & Reflection
In this parable, the kingdom of heaven is compared to a man who, prior to travelling away for a long journey, left three servants with the responsibility of handling his affairs while he was to be away. A talent was a unit of value, like money, during this time. He had assessed his servants’ abilities and gave them talents in accordance with the abilities each had to be responsible for them. To one servant, the most able, he provided five talents; to another servant two; and to the last servant he provided one talent. He then left on his journey.
The most able servant, after receiving the five talents put them to work and received from his investments an additional five talents. Likewise, the servant who had received two talents also was able to generate an additional two talents by using the resources entrusted to him. However, the servant who had received the one talent hid it by burying it underground.
After being gone for a long while, the homeowner returned from his trip and requested an accounting of his affairs from his three servants. The most able servant told the homeowner how he had doubled the talents entrusted to him and provided those ten talents to the homeowner. Similarly, the servant who had received the two talents had doubled them, he also provided the now four talents to the homeowner. The servant who had received the one talent began to tell the homeowner how much feared him and as a result had hidden the talent that had been entrusted to him. He returned only the one talent to the homeowner.
To the two most able servants, who had doubled what had been entrusted to them, the homeowner expressed his appreciation for all that they had done. Because they had shown themselves to be good stewards of his resources, they both were made rulers of many things. To the fearful servant, who had hidden the talent and returned it to the homeowner, he called him lazy and evil. He took the one talent that had been returned, and gave it to the most able servant, leaving the fearful servant with nothing.
How do we use the gifts that have been entrusted to us? This parable seems to tell us that God expects us to use what we have been given and to be productive stewards. We all aren’t given the same gifts or the same number of gifts, but no matter how much or how little we are given He doesn’t want us to squander those gifts in idleness. A big component of the issue with the servant provided the one talent is fearfulness. Fearfulness can prevent us from achieving all that God sees for us. Fearfulness caused the servant to hide the homeowner’s talent away, lest he should lose it or it be taken away from him. In the same way, fearfulness can cause us to not use the gifts that have been entrusted to us. Whether the fear surrounds losing the gift, or not being accepted by others, or not being as good as we hoped, it’s all fear and can lead to allowing our gifts to be taken away from us because we refuse to use them.
In the story, the talents do not belong to the servants, but to the homeowner. In the same way, this story may be letting us know that the gifts that we have here are not ours, but belong to God. A day will come when we have to make an accounting for how we used those gifts, whether they be physical, mental, tangible, or intangible. What became of them, did we grow them or did we bury them?
Your Reflection
- What gifts (physical, mental, tangible, or intangible) have been entrusted to you?
- What fears prevent you from using those gifts?
- What are you growing those gifts into?