Parable of the Talents, Matthew 25, Blessings require work

Parable of the Talents

I’ve been thinking about the Parable of the Talents from Matthew 25:14-30, and I have started to see layers in it I hadn’t before. Though the talents in this parable are money, since this is a parable, we could consider them as anything that could increase or diminish in value or quantity. With this in mind, I want to refer to them as we think of talents now—natural aptitudes or skills.

In my various roles as mom, wife, teacher, friend – you name it – I frequently hear, and say, things like, “I can’t write, cook, reach this person, understand, take it, etc. […].” I have a lot of students especially who want things to be easy and come naturally to them. They don’t want to put in the work required to do something.

But according to this parable, we must work. The only guy who didn’t do anything ends up with nothing. Well, I guess I shouldn’t say he did nothing; in fact, he consciously decided to do nothing at all. So, there was some action there.

I’m this guy. A lot. I am afraid or worried or apathetic, but for whatever reason, I choose not to do anything. I bury what was given to me in the first place.

However, we know from Luke 12:48 that, “Unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required […].” According to that, I can’t choose to do nothing and expect to be blessed. In fact, by choosing to accept the gift that is given, I agree that I am up to doing whatever is required of me. However, I also know from many sources that when I do something that the Lord asks me to do, I’ll receive more rewards. (Think about the windows of heaven here or go back to the parable in Matthew.)

Accountability

So, what am I onto? Remember that we are thinking of these talents as natural aptitudes or skills. Let’s say that you have been given five natural talents like the talents given to the first man in the parable. You have agreed that you’ll do something with those talents. What’s going to happen?

Now, imagine that the people in the parable are given the type of talents we’re thinking about. They have talents for writing, sewing, listening, communicating, drawing, serving, etc. They have each been given a number of talents and then the story moves forward, and they take the same actions. The man with 10 comes back and reports. Do you think that the talents that he returns with are the same as the talents that he left with? Isn’t it more likely that he returned with his original talents and new talents?

Here’s what I’m thinking: The Lord gives us talents knowing that we will use them and develop other talents. Maybe a person is not a natural at cooking, but she is great at being a hostess. As she chooses to host parties and use her gift, she may develop, over time and with work, a talent for cooking.

Maybe another person is not a great writer, but he is a great salesman. After much work developing his business and communicating in writing, he finds that he can write. We are meant to work, practice, and develop.

We did not come to this life with the only talents that we would ever have, and if we decide to not use our talents, we shut ourselves away and decide to not do something because it is hard or makes us uncomfortable or is too hard, we will be like the third man in the story and end up with nothing.