The Parable of The Talents
Discovering Your Natural Gifts And The Wealth Inside of You
One of the things that I’m truly grateful for in my life is that I was able to discover my natural gifts and talents. Because I took the time to develop myself in my areas of gifting, I was able to discover my purpose for living and I’m currently on the path of designing the life that I want for myself and my family.
Everyone of us was given talents and natural abilities at birth, but very few of us develop our talents to a high level of quality where we can generate wealth by using our super powers. Your gift was given to you for a purpose. It is within fulfilling that purpose that true success can be obtained. The bible says in proverbs 18:16 that “A person’s gift will make room for them in the world.” Your gift will make a way for you in life.
I recall reading in the bible the scripture about “The parable of the talents.” I’ve read it many times before but I started seeing it in a different perspective recently. If you are not familiar with this parable it is one of the teachings about the kingdom of heaven that Jesus taught his disciples. Let us take a closer look at the parable as I break it down into five parts.
“The Parable of The Talents” Based on Matthew 25:14–30
Part 1
“The Kingdom of Heaven is as a man traveling into a far country, who called his own servants and delivered unto them his goods. To one servant he gave five talents, and to another servant he gave two talents, and to another servant he gave one talent. He gave to every servant according to their several abilities; and he went on his journey.”
In this parable, Jesus is describing the kingdom of heaven by using an illustration of a man traveling that gives his servants some of his talents to manage. I used to look at the talents simply as money because that is what they were in the olden times. But I started looking at talents as actual gifts and talents that we all have.
When you think about the kingdom of Heaven you must think of it as a physical manifestation of the invisible kingdom of God. The bible teaches us that the kingdom of God dwells within us (Luke 17:21). And so when we use our gifts according to God’s will, we are manifesting the kingdom of Heaven in our lives and in the world.
The Man who is traveling can be seen as God or the Son of God, and the servants can be seen as mankind. When God created Man, he gave us each talents according to our natural abilities. Some people were given more than others. These talents were given to us to be used and managed appropriately.
Part 2
“The servant that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made five more talents, and made five more talents. And likewise the servant who received two talents, also gained two more. But the servant that had received one talent, went and dug up the earth, and hid the talent that he received from his Lord.”
God entrusted a super power or powers to everyone in order that they may increase the wealth that was given to them. The two servants who increased their talents did so by trading with them. A trade is normally defined as the action of buying and selling goods and services. But it also means a craft or a skilled job.
When you use your talents, you are developing them and increasing your skills. By using your talents, you are able to produce more talents and generate wealth. Your gifts were given to you to trade and do business with. The wealth comes from trading, because people normally pay you for the value of your gifts.
Notice that two out of the three servants used their talents and they received more talents then what they started with. But the other servant, instead of using the talent that was given to them, was buried. I believe that one of the reasons why there is so much poverty in the world is because many people aren’t using their God given gifts. When you don’t use the gifts that were given to you it’s like you are burying it and wasting the wealth that is within you.
Part 3
“After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The servant who received five talents brought five more. The master said ‘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 in my happiness!’”
The servant with the two talents also came and presented two more. And the master said the same to him as he said to the first servant.
We all will have to give an account of what we did with what we were given. This is what judgment is all about. When you think of judgment, it’s not just about God looking to see if you were “naughty or nice” to others in the world. It’s also about God judging how you used your time, your talents, and your abilities. God is a rewarder of those who properly manage the things that they have and he gives them more.
We all were born with a mind, body and spirit. All three of these have their own sets of abilities. The bible teaches us that “The body is the temple of the Holy Spirit” and that God dwells within the hearts of those who believe. It was God who fashioned us from the beginning and gave us his image and his likeness. And because of that we all must give an account of what we did with what we were given.
Part 4
“Then the servant who received one talent came to the master. He said ‘Master, 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 and lazy servant! So you know that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then you should have put my talent with the exchangers and then at my coming I should have received my own talent with interest.’”
When a manufacturer creates a product, there is an expectation that the product must fulfill a particular purpose or that product will be seen as a failure. The same can be seen for us. Our Creator made us for a reason. That reason is our purpose in life. Success is built into you fulfilling your purpose. It’s as simple as that. That is why you shouldn’t seek success or money. You should seek to become a person of purpose.
The last servant can be seen as someone who didn’t fulfill the purpose that they were given. Instead of using their God given talent, some people just let their gifts stay dormant and unused, because they aren’t willing to put in the work for themselves. Laziness is definitely a negative character trait. Keep in mind that God considers a lazy person as being wicked. But what I found really distasteful about the third servant is that he tried to place the blame on his master as the reason why he didn’t use the talent that was given to him. That’s just wrong in my opinion.
Part 5
“The master continues and says ‘Take the talent from him and give it to him which has 10 talents. To everyone that has shall be given more, and they shall have an abundance. But from those who have not shall be taken away even that which they have. And cast the unprofitable servant into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”
What was very intriguing about this part is how the master decided to take the one talent that the servant had and he gave it to the other servant who increased his talents to 10. This part of the parable helped me understand two principles that God established in creation. One is the principle of management. If you manage well what you have then more will be given to you, however if you don’t manage what you have well then you will eventually lose it and it will be given to someone else. The other is the principle of abundance. If you are a good steward of what God has given you and you put in the work, you will eventually have an abundance of wealth in life.
Conclusion
God expects all of us to be productive and profitable in our lives. We all were given the ability to do this but most of us lack in the area of our character and that causes us to fall short. Being successful and wealthy in life can be very simple but it does require some hard work. I like to look at it as you get out what you put in it. So if you are using your talents and increasing your skills you will increase your value as an individual. But if you are lazy and you procrastinate then you will not not.
Best Regards,
Hans Fleurimont
theartoflevelingup.com | LinkedIn
