City Life Starter

Written by Megan Meier

The Word

For it is just like a man who was about to take a journey, and he called his servants together and entrusted them with his possessions. To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and then he went on his journey. The one who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he [made a profit and] gained five more. Likewise the one who had two [made a profit and] gained two more. But the one who had received the one went and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. Now after a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. And the one who had received the five talents came and brought him five more, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted to me five talents. See, I have [made a profit and] gained five more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful and trustworthy over a little, I will put you in charge of many things; share in the joy of your master.’ Also the one who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have [made a profit and] gained two more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful and trustworthy over a little, I will put you in charge of many things; share in the joy of your master.’

Matthew 25:14-23 (AWP)

Reflection

How did Five Talents and Two Talents start? I imagined the dialogue of Five Talents and Two Talents at the beginning of their investment journey:

Two: (grinning from ear to ear) Can you believe it?! This is more than a lifetime’s salary!

Five: (smiling, he is surprised as well) Our boss is extremely generous. 

Two: What will we do with the talents he has given us? 

Five: He gave them to us to do something with them, we should put them to work. 

Two: How? 

Five:  Research talent investment, consult those who are wiser than us in these matters, put the plan into action, evaluate what went right and what went wrong and change the plan if need be. And remember to not be afraid.  

Two: Sounds good. (Notices someone missing) Hey, what about One?

Five: (Sadly) He buried his talent.

Two: Why? I’ll tell him to at least put it in the bank (begins to run off)

Five: (stops Two) I already told him that, but he doesn’t care. 

Two: Seriously?

Five: I’m afraid so. Maybe when he sees our talent investment, he’ll become inspired. 

Two: That could help. When do we get started? 

Five: Today. Right here, right now.

I don’t know how the word “talent” came to be known as both a form of currency and an aptitude for a skill, but I wonder if God intended for it to be that way so when we read the parable, we would invest in our skills.

Application

Investing in God’s kingdom, whether with money or skills, requires excellence of character. What does that look like to you? Overcoming stage fright to sing? Looking into ways to increase your income and increase your giving? Going out of your way to listen to someone who is hurting? Don’t worry about perfection (leave that to Jesus), Zig Ziglar once said, “You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.”

Prayer

Dear Jesus, thank You so much for Your generosity. Please help me to use what You have given me in an excellent way. In Your Name I pray, amen.