A Reflection on the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30)

Jesus tells about the parable of the landowner who went away and left various talents with his servants, who then they did different things with those talents. One who possessed five talents of gold or silver was a multimillionaire by today's standards. Some calculate the Hebrew talent to be equivalent to 20 years of wages for the common worker. According to my dictionary, other scholars estimate it more conservatively, valuing between $1,000 to $30,000 US dollars. We are talking of a big amount of money here especially during those times.

Some, when they hear the word “talent” may not think about money right away, but the other definition in my dictionary, a natural capacity or gift like a talent for music or sports.

What is helpful for us in applying this parable is to remember that just as the money that was entrusted to the servants by the landowner, was not theirs to do with what they want it, so too the talents are gifts that God has given to us. They are not our own. In fact, our entire life is something that is entrusted to us for a purpose. We are not here to serve ourselves. We are not the landowner, God is. We are here on earth to serve God and we do that by using our talents and gifts for His honor and glory and not our own.

I’d like to share with you a story: In a highly competitive basketball tournament, the underdog team emerged as one of the finalists after winning one game after another. A few hours before the championship game, a reporter asked the coach, “No one was expecting your team to advance in the championship. What made your team win game after game? The coach replied, “Everyone knew what he had to give. And each one gave more than what was expected from him.”

So brothers and sisters, love does not think in terms of minimum requirements, it always asks what more can I do to show you I love you.