What are you doing with your talents? – Rev. Grace Reyes
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. 15 And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. 16 Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. 17 And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. 18 But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money. 19 After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.
20 “So, he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ 21 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter the joy of your lord.’ 22 He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’ 23 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’
24 “Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 And I was afraid and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’
26 “But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed. 27 So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has ten talents.
29 ‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
The Greek Talan ton is just a sum of money that is equal to 6k denarii. So that means that if a talent were worth 6k denarii then is would be the equivalent of a day laborer having to work for 20 yrs to earn as much.
It seems in this passage talents are seen as life resources such as time, money, abilities and authority.
Each of those who had received talents from their master did with them as they saw fit. Two of them traded with their talents and earned more talents (made another five talents… gained two more also).
“Went” and traded implies direct action “The point is that the good servants felt the responsibility of their assignment and went to work without delay.
We can say many good things about the work of the first two servants:
They did their work promptly.
They did their work with perseverance.
They did their work with success.
They were ready to give an account to their master.
He who had received one hid the one in the ground this servant did nothing with his master’s money. He took some care that it would not be lost (by hiding it), but he did nothing positive with his master’s money, in contrast to the first two servants.
(19-23) The first two servants are judged.
After a long time, the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. So, he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.
He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.
Well done, good and faithful servant: This shows that the master looked for goodness and faithfulness in His servants. Whatever financial success these servants enjoyed came because they were good and faithful. The master looked first for these character qualities, not for a specific amount of money.
Enter into the joy of your lord: This has the echo of heaven in it. The idea is that there is a place of joy belonging to the master of these servants, and they are invited to join the master in that place. There is a sense of heaven about this destiny for the two faithful servants.
We can say of the reward for the first two servants:
They received praise from their master.
They received a promise of future blessing.
They received glory, “the joy of your lord.”
We can say in the third servant’s favor that at least he still understood that what he had been given belonged to his master. He said, “you have what is yours.” Many modern servants of God think that when God gives them something, it no longer belongs to God; it belongs to them, and they can do with it as they please.
Yet “albeit this man was doing nothing for his master, he did not think himself an unprofitable servant. He exhibited no self-depreciation, no humbling, no contrition. He was as bold as brass, and said unblushingly, ‘Lo, there thou hast that is thine.’” (Spurgeon)
We can say of the work of the third servant:
He didn’t think.
He didn’t work.
He didn’t even try.
He made excuses.
(26-30) The third servant is judged
“But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed. So, you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. Therefore, take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”
“You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown”: The condemnation of this third servant – here called a wicked and lazy servant – was strong. The sovereignty of the master never excused the laziness of the servant. It condemned that laziness even more.
Those who don’t work for the Lord, or pray, or don’t evangelize because God is sovereign condemn themselves by their laziness. By their actions (or lack of action) they show that they are like the wicked servant in the parable.
They do not know their Master’s heart at all. “The lord of the unprofitable servant tells him, that the fault lay in his own sloth and wickedness, and his dread of his lord’s security was but a mere frivolous pretense and unreasonable excuse.” (Poole)
The charge against this servant who merely buried his talent was that he was wicked and lazy. We rarely see laziness as a real sin, something that must be repented of before the Lord. If laziness were a calling or a spiritual gift, this man would have been excellent.
We might say that this servant did not have a proper fear of his master, but an unfitting fear of risk and failure.
So, you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest: This man could have done something with what he had. Even if it had not doubled, it would have gained some interest for the master’s money.
If we cannot trade directly and personally on our Lord’s account, if we have not the skill nor the tact to manage a society or an enterprise for him, we may at least contribute to what others are doing, and join our capital to theirs, so that, by some means, our Master may have the interest to which he is entitled.” (Spurgeon)
For to everyone who has, more will be given… but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away: There are those who have things (like the servant with one talent) but hold them in such a way that it is as if they have nothing. These ones will find what they had taken away. Those who hold what they have received as faithful men and women, to them more will be given.
Just as there was a sense of heaven in the destiny for the two faithful servants, there is a strong sense of hell in the destiny for the wicked and lazy servant.
In the larger context of Matthew 25, the main point of this parable is clear: our readiness for Jesus’ return is determined by our stewardship of the resources that He has given us.
Some think that readiness for Jesus’ return is a very spiritual and abstract thing. It really isn’t – it is a matter of being about our business for the Lord. Considering this parable, we must ask ourselves:
What have we done with our knowledge? Our time? Our money? Our abilities? The sins of omission [what we don’t do] may ultimately be more dangerous than the sins of commission [what we do].
When the Son of Man comes in His glory: This is not really a parable; it is a description of a future scene of judgment after the glorious second coming of Jesus (described in Matthew 24:30).
Are you preparing your alters, swept and newly lit with fresh kindling? Or are you waiting for the perfect time, opportunity, when you are versed in His word enough, or when you have more time to dedicate. The time is now, just where you are, just how you are, he will prepare, transform, correct and teach what you need to have to do His work. He does not require that we be completely Holy to work in His kingdom, but He does require preparation, prayer, fasting, consecration, and obedience.
When you cannot always give of your time, help those in the trenches with your resources, you know what resources the Lord has given to you, use them for His Glory!