Written by Jimmie Burroughs
The parable of the talents is a great teaching of Jesus on morals. It was offered as a call to his disciples. In the parable each servant was given a different sum of money based mostly on their qualifications to manage it. While a gift in Greek is a measure of weight, it is interesting to apply the parable to the English word talent or ability. Different folks are gifted with different talents. Some are much more presented than others but the signification brought out by the teaching of Jesus is the way in which the talents were used and not on how much the final gain was. For those who had the best talents more was anticipated. "For everybody to whom much is given, of him shall much more be required." "Luke 12:48
Here is the story:
Matthew 25:14-30(KJV)
For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his very own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.
And unto one he gave five talents, to another 2, and to another one; to every person according to his several capability; and straightway took his journey.
Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other 5 talents.
And similarly 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 cash.
After a considerable time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.
And so he that had received 5 talents came and brought other 5 talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.
His lord asserted unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a couple of things, thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the excitement of thy lord.
He also that had received 2 talents came and expounded, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me 2 talents: behold, I have gained 2 other talents beside them.
His lord declared unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a couple of things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the excitement 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 terrified, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
His lord answered and recounted unto him, Thou cruel and slothful servant, thou knewest that I harvest where I sowed not, and gather where I can't say I have strawed:
Thou oughtest therefore to have put my cash to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.
Take thus the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath 10 talents.
For unto each 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.
And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and chomping of teeth.
The Application:
At the time Jesus taught this parable, a gift was approximately the value of twenty years of work by an average person making average salary. So if the average family income today is around $50,000 that meant that a talent could have been around a $1,000,000 in the present day's money. So the master's total wealth was $8,000,000. Those who attended this massive estate were known as slaves, but were more than what we would think of as a slave. They were intellectual qualified chiefs who were entrusted to manage a huge quantity of wealth.
Traditionally, the parable of the talents is understood as an exhortation to the followers of Jesus to use their God-given gifts in the service of the Kingdom of Our Lord God, and to be pleased to take the necessary hazards for Kingdom's sake.
It is to be noted that the master trusted different amounts to be managed according to the different abilities. One received 5 talents, one received 2 talents, and one received just one. Talent. The master then left his fortune in the hands of these 3 chiefs and traveled far away, likely searching for other business ventures. After some time he returns to receive an accounting from his financial chiefs. The 1st boss had doubled the amount entrusted him from 5 talents to 10 talents; the second manager had also doubled the amount from 2 talents to 4 talents; the 3rd manager had buried his talent out of fear and had no gain.
The first 2 were feted and rewarded for their good management while the 3rd was reprimanded and punished. What's the moral of the tale? It is first to be recognised that everything in the story is symbolical of something else. The word talent in the parable had to do with weight, about 80 pounds in the current day's measure. The word talent in English appertains to capability. The best interpretation I believe will be to consider it as being symbological of that which was valuable to the master.
It wasn't seemingly the amount of the gain, since the person who gained 5 talents and the one gained two, both received the same recognition. It is apparently not the gaining of money that pleased the master but the faithfulness of his servants that impressed him. The moral then is based on the features of the servants. I see 7 exceptional attributes as exhibited by the first 2. They were:
1. Diligent
2. Fearless
3. Trustworthy
4. Steadfast
5. Faithful
6. Giving
7. Content
They were Diligent:
Diligence is the opposite of laziness. The 1st two servants did not waste time, but went instantly and invested the money and in time doubled its value. Diligence is one of the great tenants of personal development. It is taking intuitive to do something, counting the risks though not being intimidated by them. The omission to take acceptable action is one of the greatest enemies to success as well as personal development.
They were Fearless:
I suppose there is no one completely without fear but the point isn't letting fear control one's life, their choices, or their actions. There is always a probability of losing when you invest (not just money but in any sort of way in your life) but this did not hold the good servants back. They were willing to take the hazards because they knew that they had to act if that which was desired was to be gained.
They were Trustworthy:
It is obvious that all three of these men had won the confidence of their master; he was content to trust them with a huge quantity of his cash. How many people do you know that you would be willing to turn over 5 million bucks to take care of for you while you were away, or possibly a million greenbacks? Many of us would probably say, not anybody. These were indeed men that had accomplished a good deal in establishing themselves to be people of private personality; or they never would have held the high position in their master's estate.
They were Unswerving:
"Lack of fidelity is one of the major reasons for failure in each area of life " Napoleon Hill. Loyalty is an absolute precept. If there weren't any fixed points, it would be void and useless but since there are absolutes, it is one of the top benefits of personal development, from whence all others are derived. Josiah Royce in his 1908 book"The Philosophy of Commitment" said, "Loyalty is the center of all the virtues, the central duty amongst all of the duties". Faithfulness goes outside one's self and its concern is for others and their wants.
They were Faithful:
It was the servant's faithfulness that brought the praise of the master in the parable. It can be concluded that faith alone is the resources to success where the final result is not to be the determining factor. Jesus never gave the example in the parable of the result if there had been a loss rather than a gain, but it appears that the praise would be the same since it was given on faithfulness alone. So it seems from the parable that when a person faithfully uses their talents to the best of their ability, it mostly ends up in success. There is one consideration but and that's that God's view of success isn't man's view of success.
They were Giving:
The servants in the parable were not working for themselves; they were working for their master to extend his wealth. A secret that is good to learn is when you are able to increase the wealth of others you are also going to increase your own.
Eventually they were Happy:
The first 2 servants joined into the joy of their master because they'd been faithful to him. Most today have the opposite concept of what happiness is. To most it is in receiving; however in fact it is in giving. "It is more blessed to give than to receive." -Acts 20 35. Our happiness goes forward in what we do to help. Others. I appreciate the way Steve Paulina puts it, "Happiness is something you breathe out, not something you inhale ."
Conclusion:
This parable of Jesus under-girds the teachings of many of the qualified teachers on private development today, and that's that private character is the quintessence of all success. At the root of all true success is a concern for the security of others. It is the only success that brings the type of gratification and happiness experienced by the faithful servants of the parable.
The parable of the talents is a great teaching of Jesus on morals. It was offered as a call to his disciples. In the parable each servant was given a different sum of money based mostly on their qualifications to manage it. While a gift in Greek is a measure of weight, it is interesting to apply the parable to the English word talent or ability. Different folks are gifted with different talents. Some are much more presented than others but the signification brought out by the teaching of Jesus is the way in which the talents were used and not on how much the final gain was. For those who had the best talents more was anticipated. "For everybody to whom much is given, of him shall much more be required." "Luke 12:48
Here is the story:
Matthew 25:14-30(KJV)
For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his very own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.
And unto one he gave five talents, to another 2, and to another one; to every person according to his several capability; and straightway took his journey.
Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other 5 talents.
And similarly 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 cash.
After a considerable time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.
And so he that had received 5 talents came and brought other 5 talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.
His lord asserted unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a couple of things, thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the excitement of thy lord.
He also that had received 2 talents came and expounded, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me 2 talents: behold, I have gained 2 other talents beside them.
His lord declared unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a couple of things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the excitement 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 terrified, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
His lord answered and recounted unto him, Thou cruel and slothful servant, thou knewest that I harvest where I sowed not, and gather where I can't say I have strawed:
Thou oughtest therefore to have put my cash to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.
Take thus the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath 10 talents.
For unto each 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.
And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and chomping of teeth.
The Application:
At the time Jesus taught this parable, a gift was approximately the value of twenty years of work by an average person making average salary. So if the average family income today is around $50,000 that meant that a talent could have been around a $1,000,000 in the present day's money. So the master's total wealth was $8,000,000. Those who attended this massive estate were known as slaves, but were more than what we would think of as a slave. They were intellectual qualified chiefs who were entrusted to manage a huge quantity of wealth.
Traditionally, the parable of the talents is understood as an exhortation to the followers of Jesus to use their God-given gifts in the service of the Kingdom of Our Lord God, and to be pleased to take the necessary hazards for Kingdom's sake.
It is to be noted that the master trusted different amounts to be managed according to the different abilities. One received 5 talents, one received 2 talents, and one received just one. Talent. The master then left his fortune in the hands of these 3 chiefs and traveled far away, likely searching for other business ventures. After some time he returns to receive an accounting from his financial chiefs. The 1st boss had doubled the amount entrusted him from 5 talents to 10 talents; the second manager had also doubled the amount from 2 talents to 4 talents; the 3rd manager had buried his talent out of fear and had no gain.
The first 2 were feted and rewarded for their good management while the 3rd was reprimanded and punished. What's the moral of the tale? It is first to be recognised that everything in the story is symbolical of something else. The word talent in the parable had to do with weight, about 80 pounds in the current day's measure. The word talent in English appertains to capability. The best interpretation I believe will be to consider it as being symbological of that which was valuable to the master.
It wasn't seemingly the amount of the gain, since the person who gained 5 talents and the one gained two, both received the same recognition. It is apparently not the gaining of money that pleased the master but the faithfulness of his servants that impressed him. The moral then is based on the features of the servants. I see 7 exceptional attributes as exhibited by the first 2. They were:
1. Diligent
2. Fearless
3. Trustworthy
4. Steadfast
5. Faithful
6. Giving
7. Content
They were Diligent:
Diligence is the opposite of laziness. The 1st two servants did not waste time, but went instantly and invested the money and in time doubled its value. Diligence is one of the great tenants of personal development. It is taking intuitive to do something, counting the risks though not being intimidated by them. The omission to take acceptable action is one of the greatest enemies to success as well as personal development.
They were Fearless:
I suppose there is no one completely without fear but the point isn't letting fear control one's life, their choices, or their actions. There is always a probability of losing when you invest (not just money but in any sort of way in your life) but this did not hold the good servants back. They were willing to take the hazards because they knew that they had to act if that which was desired was to be gained.
They were Trustworthy:
It is obvious that all three of these men had won the confidence of their master; he was content to trust them with a huge quantity of his cash. How many people do you know that you would be willing to turn over 5 million bucks to take care of for you while you were away, or possibly a million greenbacks? Many of us would probably say, not anybody. These were indeed men that had accomplished a good deal in establishing themselves to be people of private personality; or they never would have held the high position in their master's estate.
They were Unswerving:
"Lack of fidelity is one of the major reasons for failure in each area of life " Napoleon Hill. Loyalty is an absolute precept. If there weren't any fixed points, it would be void and useless but since there are absolutes, it is one of the top benefits of personal development, from whence all others are derived. Josiah Royce in his 1908 book"The Philosophy of Commitment" said, "Loyalty is the center of all the virtues, the central duty amongst all of the duties". Faithfulness goes outside one's self and its concern is for others and their wants.
They were Faithful:
It was the servant's faithfulness that brought the praise of the master in the parable. It can be concluded that faith alone is the resources to success where the final result is not to be the determining factor. Jesus never gave the example in the parable of the result if there had been a loss rather than a gain, but it appears that the praise would be the same since it was given on faithfulness alone. So it seems from the parable that when a person faithfully uses their talents to the best of their ability, it mostly ends up in success. There is one consideration but and that's that God's view of success isn't man's view of success.
They were Giving:
The servants in the parable were not working for themselves; they were working for their master to extend his wealth. A secret that is good to learn is when you are able to increase the wealth of others you are also going to increase your own.
Eventually they were Happy:
The first 2 servants joined into the joy of their master because they'd been faithful to him. Most today have the opposite concept of what happiness is. To most it is in receiving; however in fact it is in giving. "It is more blessed to give than to receive." -Acts 20 35. Our happiness goes forward in what we do to help. Others. I appreciate the way Steve Paulina puts it, "Happiness is something you breathe out, not something you inhale ."
Conclusion:
This parable of Jesus under-girds the teachings of many of the qualified teachers on private development today, and that's that private character is the quintessence of all success. At the root of all true success is a concern for the security of others. It is the only success that brings the type of gratification and happiness experienced by the faithful servants of the parable.
About the Author:
About the author: Jimmie Burroughs is an inspiring speaker and author who has been concerned in teaching Christian Personal Development for over 30 years. He's a dedicated disciple of Jesus Christ, and considers helping others to become their absolute best through personal expansion is his first focus in life. His web site contains over 600 articles on preparing yourself for success thru private development and the things that accompany private development. His writing centers on the truth rather than fluff that just teases the ears.
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