Do you remember the parable of the ten talents? It’s found in Matthew 25: 14-29 in the King
James version of the Holy Bible, and
goes like this:
For the kingdom
of heaven is as a man traveling into a far country, who called his own
servants, and delivered unto them his goods.
And unto one he
gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according
to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.
Then he that
had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them
other five talents.
And likewise he
that had received two, he also gained other two,
But he that had
received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money.
After a long
time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.
And so he that
had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord,
thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five
talents more.
His lord said
unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful
over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things; enter thou into the
joy of thy lord.
He also that
had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two
talents; behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.
His lord said
unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a
few things, I will make thee ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of
thy lord.
Then he which
had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an
hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not
strawed;
And I was
afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is
thine.
His lord
answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that
I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed;
Thou oughtest
therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I
should have received mine own with usury.
Take therefore
the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.
For unto every
one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that
hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.
Jesus taught in parables for the messages that can be easily
gleaned from them; as well as be personalized to each person’s time period in
which they are living throughout history, location, and circumstance. I understand that talents were a form of money in Biblical times. One analogy for this parable, or another
representation for the talent, is
that it represents actual God-given aptitudes in areas such as music, art,
dance, sewing, cooking, gardening, education, medicine, psychology, or business. Or spiritual gifts like wisdom, intuition,
heightened spiritual senses, discernment, speech, compassion, integrity, and
interpretation.
Have you ever wondered what talents or gifts you’ve been
given? Have you discovered all there is
to know about who you are and what you have to offer your family, community,
and the world? Have you found that place
where you fit?
What if we could see each other for the talents and gifts
that we possess on the inside rather than only seeing what we see with our
physical eyes of a person on the outside?
What truths would we discover? What
could we learn and share?
Do you suppose that we actually have a duty, obligation, or
responsibility to share what we’ve been given?
Even if it involves stepping outside our comfort zone and overcoming our
greatest fears? And what happens if we
never overcome those fears? What happens
to those who we were supposed to inspire or motivate with what we’ve been
given? I’m sure they move on . . . find
other ways to learn and share what they need to learn and share . . . but do
we? Or is something precious lost
forever?
