City Life Starter

Written by Megan Meier

The Word

“‘For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest.’’’

Matthew 25:14-27 (ESV)

Megan’s Musings

In first century Palestine, a talent was a unit of measuring weight, usually for gold or silver. Late in the 13^th century, the term “talent” came to mean a gift or skill (it originated from this parable). One talent was 75 to 100 lbs, or 6,000 denarii (a day’s labor was typically one denarius), in today’s dollars it would be about $1,400,000! The boss entrusted his property, three very generous fortunes, to his employees. BUT he did not give this to his servants to hoard, and certainly not to blow on themselves, he gave it to them so they could multiply it. From here on out, I‘ll refer to the servants as Five, Two, and One according to the talents they received.

Five didn’t go to the bar to celebrate his good fortune, he put his resources to work “at once” (v. 16). He researched investment opportunities, assessed his own strengths and weaknesses (if MBTI and Enneagram tests existed back then he would have taken those), consulted those wiser and more experienced than he, then he took the calculated risk with his master’s money and multiplied it. Two followed in Five’s footsteps. Five and Two put themselves out there, risking loss of not only money, but of pride, and ended up making double what they were given. One didn’t even try, he didn’t even look inside the bag or put it in a bank, he was too afraid of losing what he had and of disappointing the master (v. 25 AMP and MSG), so he just buried his talent and likely forgot about it, unwittingly creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. 

When the master came back and settled accounts with his servants, Jesus is telling the audience that our actions will be held accountable. It is interesting the master in the parable calls ten talents and four talents ($14,000,000 and $5,600,000 in today’s currency) “a little”. Keep in mind, God is loaded, a million dollars to Him is like one dollar to us. Five and Two were trustworthy with what they were given, so they were given more and were invited to a celebration. What was going through One’s mind when it was his turn? Did he expect a participation trophy? Or a compliment for not blowing it on himself? Why did he call the master hard when he had given him a fortune, what was considered a lifetime’s earnings to most of Jesus’ audience? Why did he not even put it in the bank? In his failure to understand his master’s heart, he broke it. 

Jesus’ parable isn’t about the stock market or compound interest (if you need help financially, I highly recommended Financial Peace University). It is about generously ministering to others and investing gifts for God’s church, whether it’s finances or time or skills.  

Application

Sometimes, generosity involves risk. Five and Two took a risk and put themselves out there, while One was too afraid to try. Five and Two were more excited about the opportunities than afraid of failure, but One was more afraid of failure than excited about opportunities. Five and Two were generous and wise in their provision of talents, therefore multiplying them. 

Generosity with our gifts, whether spiritual or financial, tends to multiply (I’m not trying to promote the prosperity gospel, it is not THE Gospel). What are your talents? Do you need to unearth it? Dig your talent out, dust off the dirt, and study it. Put yourself out there, go bake those cupcakes, build that house, write that novel, sing that song. Give yourself permission to be a beginner. Be generous with your talents, and risk losing your pride, God will not be disappointed if you don’t succeed the first time, but He is disappointed with any unwillingness to try. 

Prayer

            Dear Lord, help me overcome the fear of failure and to put myself out there and be generous and wise with what You have given me. In Jesus’ Name I pray, amen.