Parable of Bag of Golds – Matthew 25:14 – 29
14 “For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; 15 to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. 17 In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. 18 But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20 Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’22 And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’26 But his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. 29 For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.
What does it say?
Parables are a method of storytelling Jesus used to make a point to his disciples. The parable of the Talents might be one of the most well-known parables of Jesus. A master takes on an ‘extended trip and delegates responsibilities to his three servants’ (Matthew 25:15 The Message). To each of them, he gives five, two, and one talent. The servant with the five and two went to work and doubled the money they received, but the servant with one talent dug a hole in the ground and covered up the talent he received.
The master comes back from his journey and receives the report of how his money were used. Their Master praises the two who took the risk, but the one who dug a hole ‘played it safe’ had his one talent taken away from him, and was kicked out of the presence of his master.
What does it mean to us (me)?
When we read this story, have ever wondered why the master didn’t give an equal amount of talents to each servent? If the Master gave one Talent to all servants, what would have happened? Would it have changed the result of that story?
We can’t dwell on the why. It is God’s decision. But at the same time, we need to think about the implications.
In front of God, how many ddin’t matter. 5,2,1 they were all few in God’s perspective. That is why he says, “Good and faithful servant, you have been trustworthy in a few things.” to both of them. In God’s eyes, they are all few and all the same.
The servant who only received one Talent, compared himself to other, and even blamed his Master of his decision not to utilize and leverage the money he received. He was the one who limit himself, and dug a hole and buried his purpose.
I recently came back from a gathering of 40,000+ college students. The lead pastor of this movement called Passion, started this great conference, 19 years ago. During that time, there was a moment I began to compare myself and ministry to what he was doing? In 19 years, will I be able to do great things like he is doing? In his age, will I be able to lead a gathering more than this? And I started to see myself envying him and comparing myself to him.
Then I got to realize, in God’s eyes, all ministries are all the same. We are there for a reason to fulfill God’s will, and shouldn’t envy nor dig a hole of our unique gift.I learned how God wanted me to be faith to the ministry I am serving.
God is asking for our faithfulness, not asking us to compare.
By any chance, are we comparing ourselves to others and forget to utilize the unique gift our Lord gave us?
How does this passage speak to you?
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