Parable of the Talents

(The following is from Rachel W.)

Jesus shares an interesting parable in Matthew 25 called, “The Parable of the Talents.” Many Christians are familiar with this story which says that Jesus gave five talents (a talent was a monetary unit worth about twenty years’ wages for a laborer) to a man, two talents to another man, and one talent to a third man. The men who are given five talents and two talents use the gifts wisely and earn more talents than they had before. But the man who received only one talent did not earn anything more, but instead kept his talent hidden. Jesus has some extremely harsh words to say about this in Matthew 25:26, calling him “wicked and slothful.” This is so striking because he could have likely condemned him for a number of things, but what he chooses to focus on is that fact that he was slothful or lazy. I wholeheartedly believe Jesus has also given each of us a number of talents. Just as this parable says, one day He is going to return and He will want to know what kind of return He is going to receive for His investment. The “talents” Jesus references in this parable could apply to a number of different
things He has given to us such as: money, resources, capacity, spiritual gifts, time, etc. Jesus gifted each of us in a different way so that our gifts could be used to build up His body and accomplish His mission.

Romans 12:6a states, “Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them”

We also see this in 1 Peter 4:10, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.”

I once overheard a mentor and sister in Christ explain the talents this way:
“Sometimes we feel really good about the talents we are using. We are doing things and using the talents God has given us and we are proud of that. All the while, we do not realize that we are only using two of the five talents God has given us, and one day we will be held responsible for the other three talents we wasted.” – Susie Walther

This word slothful can also mean an “undisciplined person.” There are plenty of areas in our life where we can choose to be disciplined or undisciplined, but our disciplines that help us grow closer to Jesus are the most crucial disciplines in our life. These disciplines are the most important because they carry eternal value and they bring us closer to the one whom we will spend eternity with – Jesus. There are a vast number of spiritual disciplines we can work towards perfecting such as: hiding God’s Word in our hearts, quiet time, prayer, Bible study, fasting, practicing the Sabbath, and tithing, just to name a few. The word disciple literally means, “disciplined learner.” It is impossible to practice, remain consistent, or teach spiritual disciplines if we are lazy. Jesus’ teachings are countercultural, and our culture today does not condemn laziness, but instead they praise it. Laziness is binge watching seven episodes of our favorite show, over sleeping, cheating when we don’t want to put the work in, scrolling through Instagram or Facebook for hours, and a million other things our culture says are perfectly okay.

Ephesians 5:16 tells us to, “make the best use of our time, because the days are evil.”

My challenge today is this: Are there areas of your walk with Christ in which you are being lazy? Maybe it looks like slacking in your quiet times, skipping the rich fellowship available to you, or not serving your neighbor in need because you would rather stay home. How can you invest your “talents,” instead of hiding them, for the Kingdom of God? My hope and my prayer today is that you will consider the talents he Has given you and use them to glorify Him and further His Kingdom.

By: Rachel W.
S.E.A.R.C.H. Ministries, Ohio