I heard an interesting take on the Parable of Talents that gave me a new perspective and dimension. I hope it inspires you as it has me!
The Parable of Talents
“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone. He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last – dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip. The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more. The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more. But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master’s money.
“After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money. The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, ‘Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more.’ The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’
“The servant who had received the two bags of silver came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest, and I have earned two more.’ The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’
“Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.’ But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate, why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’
“Then he ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”
-Matthew 25:14-30
Talents
So we are probably familiar with this parable, right? We’ve heard how two of the servants doubled the money and one of them just hid it away to keep it safe. Let’s dig deeper into this story. Talents were a form of currency, but keep in mind, parables always have deeper meanings. So what if we also considered the talents as just that – talents – as in skills, abilities, strengths, etc.
Consider the story again, two of the servants used their God-given skills – the opportunities God placed right in front of them – and one didn’t. He hid his proverbial light under a bushel. Now think what Christ called that last servant: wicked and lazy. Ouch. Talk about calling it like it is.
What can we learn from this? Those who gave their all, who risked everything to serve their master were praised and blessed. They weren’t just blessed with the doubling of their portion. They were also blessed with their masters praise, greater opportunities, and a celebration! It is a big deal when we serve, give, and do our work to the best of our ability, not holding back!
Here’s the thing, God knows our heart. We can’t simply do the work to keep up appearances, we have to do it entirely and sincerely. That’s where the wicked and lazy servant faltered. Maybe he thought he’d keep up appearances by being sure to not lose what he was given. But he certainly didn’t work to do all he could with it. And notice he wasn’t just called wicked, but also lazy. He was trying to do bare minimum with what he was given.
Now how often is that you and me? We’re given a job, a duty, and it doesn’t exactly strike our fancy so we just do what we have to do to get by. As little as possible. That way we can check the box or mark it done in our minds. But in reality, we didn’t give it our all.
Applying the Parable to Everyday Life
I personally find that God has far greater confidence in my abilities and in my scope of work than I do. I want to hone in, focus on what I’m doing and get it done. But I declare, the more I try to keep my work or my efforts inside a particular parameter, the more I really believe He takes delight in helping me stretch and grow! And I confess it’s hard! These aren’t all things I would necessarily choose, given the choice. But isn’t that the point, to surrender to self and lean in to what God has for us, confident that He knows a million times better than us?!
And that’s what I want to present you with today: really consider your life and lean in to where He is directing you and let go of where He no longer has you. I promise you this, He will take each of us so much further if we will work in harmony with Him versus fighting Him every step of the way! He will accomplish what He will accomplish, and He will find people to use. I want it to be me, because there is no greater work than that touched by the hand of God!
Until Next Time!
Hope.
PS. Keep reading: https://www.theamericanlady.com/2024/04/17/dont-give-up/