The Parable of the Talents…are you hiding yours?
Posted by preparedcitizens on August 19, 2008
When I asked myself this question recently I found some answers that have eluded me for a very long time. This breath of fresh air that has entered my soul I wanted to share in case others find themselves not able to use their own talents for similar reasons to mine.
The Parable of the Talents
“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’
His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
The man with the two talents also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.’
His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
Then the man who had received the one talent came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’
His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
‘Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”
So much of my life’s hurts and troubles kept me in a state of constantly burying my talents. The “wilderness” I have wandered in has allowed me to work through so many of these issues. But there comes a time when all this self absorption and examination becomes a stumbling block. There is a point in time in our sanctification that we must put all the hurt and pain aside and see it as our old worn out clothing. If we do not put on the new we will keep ourselves in bondage and will not realize the fullness of our own “talents”. The parable does not address the motivations of the servants. There are no excuses afforded. There is no defense for not using what God has freely given us.
Knowing our own contribution to our own stumbling is useful but constantly examining why someone else stumbled and hurt us in the process is not really edifying except when we realize that our own stumbling has a detrimental impact on others and all of it comes down to forgiving others for their shortcomings – even the most egregious ones.
Abundance? Oh my yes! A cup overflowing? It pours and pours without ceasing.
A pandemic, the return of plagues and pestilence of even a Biblical proportion is what motivates me to act but it is my love for my Saviour that allows me to empathize. A loving God provides us an escape, even if it is not always a physical one. Healing is a lot like that too.
I have empathized over the years with others in pain over losing their children to illness or disease. If I have a talent to give or use that will ease this pain….
I have felt the pain of the passing of my own loved ones…how much can we use our talents to love others in need?
I know that we cannot prevent what will be. I do know that we can use our God given talents as the Holy Spirit leads in order to awaken others and help them prepare for all that is ahead.
….the leap of faith.
