Talents
Stories
Lectionary Tales For The Pulpit
Series VI, Cycle A
Object:
Three servants. One received five talents with which to trade (by the way, talents were significant amounts of money -- the equivalent of fifteen years' wages for a laborer). The first fellow followed the market closely, knew the prospects of the crops, anticipated the arrival of the caravans from Damascus, and marked the movement of the Roman legions. On the information he gleaned, he invested his five talents shrewdly -- he made a profit of 100% on his transactions. Not bad.
Another servant was entrusted with two talents. Here was a blunt and honest man, probably a down-to-earth fellow who believed in getting money the old-fashioned way: earn it. I can envision him as a farmer, driving his oxen hard, tending his vineyards carefully, and laboring from sunup to sundown. By the sheer faithfulness of day-to-day work, he made his two talents yield another two -- a total of four.
The third servant was different. He hid his one talent in the ground. The action, as judged by the standards of that day, was not lazy. To hide money in the ground was the traditional way of saving. He was scrupulous with what he had been given -- too scrupulous. That was his downfall. He would have been a better servant had he planned and risked and lost.
It is hard to escape the conviction that the story was told mainly for the one-talent fellow's benefit. There are far more one-talent men and women in this world than five-talent people. Only a very few have the literary capabilities of a Shakespeare or a Hemingway; only a few have the inventive abilities of a Thomas Edison; only a few have the musical abilities of a Bach or a Beethoven or even the Beatles; only a few can preach like Billy Graham. The temptation for the one-talent person is to say, "I don't have much, so don't expect anything of me. What can I do?" But the real reason for the one-talent fellow's failure (and in Jesus' mind, the big danger that faces all one-talent people) is fear -- the man said, "I did not use what I was given because I was afraid." He had paralysis from analysis.
This story has given an important word to our language -- talents. No longer do we think of a talent as a sum of money, but rather an ability or collection of abilities that allow individuals to excel. Any assumption that "all men (or all women) are created equal" (despite what the Declaration of Independence might say) or any demand for such equality is foolishness. Jesus knew and clearly taught that people differ in talents.
What is your talent? It should be noted that the story does not indicate that anyone received no talent. No one was left empty-handed. Everyone is in some regard "talented," and remember, the talent is no small sum. Don't lose it! Use it!
Edward Everett Hale once said, "I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do."
Another servant was entrusted with two talents. Here was a blunt and honest man, probably a down-to-earth fellow who believed in getting money the old-fashioned way: earn it. I can envision him as a farmer, driving his oxen hard, tending his vineyards carefully, and laboring from sunup to sundown. By the sheer faithfulness of day-to-day work, he made his two talents yield another two -- a total of four.
The third servant was different. He hid his one talent in the ground. The action, as judged by the standards of that day, was not lazy. To hide money in the ground was the traditional way of saving. He was scrupulous with what he had been given -- too scrupulous. That was his downfall. He would have been a better servant had he planned and risked and lost.
It is hard to escape the conviction that the story was told mainly for the one-talent fellow's benefit. There are far more one-talent men and women in this world than five-talent people. Only a very few have the literary capabilities of a Shakespeare or a Hemingway; only a few have the inventive abilities of a Thomas Edison; only a few have the musical abilities of a Bach or a Beethoven or even the Beatles; only a few can preach like Billy Graham. The temptation for the one-talent person is to say, "I don't have much, so don't expect anything of me. What can I do?" But the real reason for the one-talent fellow's failure (and in Jesus' mind, the big danger that faces all one-talent people) is fear -- the man said, "I did not use what I was given because I was afraid." He had paralysis from analysis.
This story has given an important word to our language -- talents. No longer do we think of a talent as a sum of money, but rather an ability or collection of abilities that allow individuals to excel. Any assumption that "all men (or all women) are created equal" (despite what the Declaration of Independence might say) or any demand for such equality is foolishness. Jesus knew and clearly taught that people differ in talents.
What is your talent? It should be noted that the story does not indicate that anyone received no talent. No one was left empty-handed. Everyone is in some regard "talented," and remember, the talent is no small sum. Don't lose it! Use it!
Edward Everett Hale once said, "I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do."
