Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30)
(Bible Study - March 1999)
"To every man according to his several ability"
The use of the word "talent" has become a misnomer in our culture. We speak of someone having talent as if their abilities were an extraordinary gift. By saying they have "talent" we apply the "special gift" concept indiscriminately, whether it be to someone who can hit a high "c" musical note in a grand opera, to someone who can hit a major league fastball 400 feet, or to someone who is a competent Bible expositor. While the word has passed into common English usage, as derived from this parable, the usual appellation misses the mark. There is, in fact, nothing special about "talent" as used in this parable.
A parable about doing
Before going off into a far country a "man" delivers some measure
of talent to all his servants; it is only a question of degree (v.14). A
"talent" was the heaviest unit of weight in the ancient Israelite system
and was originally based on the maximum weight that the average man could carry. It was
especially used to weigh out precious metals in monetary transactions and the margin in
some NIV Bibles notes the current value of a talent would be approximately $1000, which is
a helpful comparison. Note that this parable is particularly aimed at the household of the
Master. We have all been given some measure of his "goods" and are
expected to invest them wisely for gain until he returns. The Apostle Paul tells us that
the Lord has given gifts to all his servants: "But unto every one of us is given
grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ" (Eph. 4:6-8). Some have
been given more than others, but all appear to be given a measure of his grace, some
"five," others "two" and still others "one"
talent. Absolutely none of the servants was left empty-handed.
While the previous parable of the "Ten Maidens" spoke of the need for preparedness, the present story of the "Talents" speaks of the need for "doing;" we are not to be idle while our Lord and Master is away. He expects us to use the gifts we have been given to bring honor and glory to his name. However, the standard of labor is not absolute, the Lord knows the ability of each of his servants and he is realistic in his expectations. In effect, he doesn’t expect every one of us to sing like a star opera singer or to win a major league home run crown.
What is expected?
The parable shows that the servant who had been given five talents earned yet five more, and similarly the servant who had been given two had invested the Lord’s goods and doubled his initial investment. Only the servant who had been given one talent had failed to make gain. Since each had been given goods exactly in proportion to their "several abilities" it should have been equally possible for the last servant to have earned yet another talent above that which had been entrusted to him. This degree of proportional expectations is very critical to the understanding of this parable. Sometimes we see someone with great accomplishments and we are tempted to say that he is especially talented and therefore we could never measure up to him. This may or may not be the case. A great concert pianist was told during an interview how lucky he was to be so "talented." The pianist took umbrage to the comment and said words to the effect that "twelve to fourteen hours a day, seven days a week, of practice at the keyboard didn’t hurt either!" This is a very noteworthy comeback because we only see the final product in a performance and rarely know the perspiration behind it. It is the same thing in virtually any human endeavor, whether it is performance in school, or on the job, or in the work of the Lord. We will not improve in anything unless we are willing to work at it.
All are not the same
The parable also frees us from some potentially very guilty feelings. We cannot all be
as athletically gifted as Babe Ruth, or as intellectually brilliant as Albert Einstein,
but we can improve upon ourselves. We can look at others with far more abilities than
ourselves and get discouraged. Conversely, we can look at others of inferior skills and
become lazy and proud. The apostle Paul told the Galatians: "Let every man prove
his own work." The Living Bible gives this passage a particularly
colorful transliteration: "Let everyone be sure that he is doing his very best,
for then he will have the personal satisfaction of work well done and won’t need to
compare himself with someone else" (Gal. 6:3-4).
Doing the work of the Lord is neither a competitive sport nor a classroom exam! It is instead a question of personal development. Some years back my wife and I were trying to do more aerobic exercise (following doctor’s orders) and decided to take up mountain biking. Having not done any serious exercising for almost 30 years, the first time we went out we rode one and half miles and it nearly killed us! We were determined not to give up, and vowed to try and increase our range each time we went out even if we accomplished only a few hundred yards more. Yes, at first we were tempted to chuck the whole thing and go back to being couch potatoes, but gradually we got better and better at it so that a year later we took a bike trip of nearly 50 miles.
The Apostle Paul used athletics to draw spiritual lessons and makes a very meaningful point on the value of dedicated training (I Cor. 9:24). This too is a fruitful approach to Bible study and to the application of its lessons to the work of the Lord. The teaching is simple: try to do better tomorrow than we have done today. Don’t worry about what anyone else is doing; instead improve the use of your own time, dedication, and knowledge. This philosophy works well for athletics and it generally works well in life.
One danger: if we take the parable entirely too literally we might expect that the Lord requires all of us to improve by 100%. This can seem like such a daunting task that we give up trying. But even the highest mountain is climbed one foot at a time! The trick is to break big tasks into small assignments that can be managed relative to our own skills and then to slowly, but surely, improve on our performance. This is true whether we are trying to manage more time for Bible study, seeking to improve a character trait, or involving ourselves in helping and caring for others.
Not a rush process
The Master who went away to a far country was gone "a long time" and
therefore his servants had sufficient opportunity to multiply his goods (v. 19). There was
no need for panic investments in risky projects to achieve quick gain. It was a question
of long-term trade (v. 16) in ventures patiently developed. So it must be with us; we
should develop our "talent" patiently, one day at a time, knowing it is
a lifetime project (Rom. 2:7; 12:12; I Thess. 5:14).
While we have a lifetime to bring "gain" to the Lord, let us not delay the investing of his goods, for none can guarantee tomorrow. Furthermore, if gain doesn’t come immediately, or if sometimes there are setbacks in progress, let us remain steadfast and be renewed, because as long as there is life there is hope.
Danger of non-involvement
What of the servant who buried the goods of his Lord (v. 16)? This scenario, of
burying valuable material, or hiding something useful, is carried out in other parables.
Recall, for example, that similar themes are mentioned in considering the "light
under a bushel" (Matt. 5:15 KJV Luke 11:33 RSV) and in the pound "laid
up in a napkin" (Luke 19:20 KJV).
The importance of the principle is emphasized by its repetition; the Lord does not expect his servants to be idle. They are not to cloister themselves somewhere secluded from the vicissitudes of life and merely devote themselves to the study of His word. Study and contemplation of the Word of God are useful and certainly merit our fullest attention, but they are not to be an "end" unto themselves. Our Lord expects us to witness to the world, not just teach Sunday school to our own children (John 17:15); and he expects our light to be visible to all men so that His word might be illuminated (Phil. 2:15).
Because the evil in the world can be so pervasive, it has always been tempting to hide away from it all and protect the purity of the individual from contamination. Such motives have fostered religious ideas that created institutions ranging from monasteries and convents to insular communities such as the Shakers and Amish. The rewards in this parable are not, however, given to the servant who hid the goods of his Lord and kept them well preserved and untarnished. Instead it is the servants, who went out into the world trading the Master’s goods, who receive rewards for their efforts.
No work indicated no faith
The motives of the servant who hid his talent are made plain; he had no faith in the
mercy and grace of his Lord to forgive possible failure (v. 24); he was "afraid,"
and finally he is aptly styled as "wicked and slothful" (v. 26). Faith
overcomes "fear," and doing overcomes "wickedness and
slothfulness."
The wicked servant is told that at the very least he could have lent his "talent" to others (money exchangers) and had them invest it for gain. So it is with us, if we do not have the ability to do something we can at least certainly help others in the ecclesia with the work of the Truth. Nothing can be more discouraging in the ecclesial family than to have every project thwarted due to lack of interest (slothfulness) or endless haggling and debating how, when, or where to do it perfectly (fear). Some are never satisfied so they proceed through life with a completely negative attitude to every work of the Truth.
Doing what brings gain
There are several subtle points made in this parable that should not be overlooked.
Notice that the word "gained" is used three times in this parable, as
it is in the very similar parable of the pounds in Luke 19. The Lord expected his servants
to make "gain" with the goods he has given them. It is not enough to
preserve his goods, as if we were collectors of artifacts; nor are we to risk it in
ventures that could incur great loss. As with many things in the scriptures it is a
question of proper balance; a question of wise investments that will be fruitful.
We should surely apply this principle to our work in the Truth. If we see a project not bearing fruit we should invest the ecclesial capital elsewhere. Yet too often we do the same things over and over again simply because we have always done them that way! What prevents us from change? It is just possible that it could be the same motives that prevented the servant who had received one talent from multiplying his goods, namely, fear and laziness. This is not urging change merely for the sake of change, but this parable is a call to achieving "gain" and not for us to merely be content with preservation (cp. I Cor. 9:19-22).
It is curious that the Lord raised the issue of "usury" as a potential way of making gain since under the law of Moses a Jew was forbidden to take such gain from his brother; only in dealing with the Gentiles was it permitted (Deut. 23:19,20). This suggestion of usury would have shocked the Pharisees, but the message here is clearly to the household where the work of the Lord included an injunction to "preach to every creature" for the Lord God is not a respecter of persons (Acts 10:34,35). Thus dealing with the Gentiles in seeking gain was acceptable.
Fearful end of doing nothing
The fearful, slothful servant finally meets his reckoning at the return of his Lord
and the punishment is severe indeed; he is cast out as unprofitable and there is
"weeping and gnashing of teeth." The sentence may seem harsh to us; after
all what wrong did the servant actually do? It is easy to imagine brutal retribution for
cruel acts of hatred, but for merely being lazy and protective of one’s own purity,
why should that servant be rejected? The key, of course, is that the man was a servant,
not an alien, and he knew exactly what to expect from his Lord as the words "thou
knewest" in v. 26 make painfully obvious. The servant could not plead ignorance;
in fact, all the other servants did exactly what their Lord expected, so the wicked one
had not been led astray by others in the ecclesia.
To whom much is given, much is expected; we have a responsibility to be proactive in the work of the Truth and not just sit back and hide in a corner. The words of advice from the Apostle Paul are particularly appropriate in this context: "As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith" (Gal 6:10).
Sometimes we know something is wrong, but we remain silent because we don’t want any trouble or personal difficulty. This lack of action in the face of iniquity is itself sin: I (James 4:17). Once we recognize that we will be judged not only for what we have done, but also for what we may have failed to do, then we can fully appreciate the sentence passed upon the fearful and slothful servant. Let our labor not be in vain: "There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God" (Eccl. 2:24).
John C. Bilello