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THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTS
Rev. John L. Odhner
Reading: Matthew 25:14-30
When our Lord Jesus wanted to show His disciples how they could be ready for heaven, He told them the Parable of the Talents. A “talent” in this story is a coin that was worth about a thousand dollars in today’s money. In this parable a man gave each of his servants some money to use. He gave five talents to one servant, two talents to another servant, and one talent to a third servant. The servant with five talents traded with his master’s money, and he got five more talents. He doubled the money he had been given. The servant with two talents traded with them, and he got two more talents. But the servant with one talent just dug a hole in the ground and hid the money.
The talents in this parable are like another kind of talent. The Lord gives talents to each of you the same way that the master gave talents to his servants. Can you think of what your talents might be? Maybe you are very good at arithmetic. Or maybe you can make friends easily. Maybe you can play the piano, or you know how to help your mother and father around the house. The Lord gives each of us different talents. Some of us have more talents, and some of us have less. It’s not important how many things you can do, or how much you know, or how many talents you have. But it is important how you use your talents.
You might think that the servant who had five talents was richer than the servant who had two talents. But he wasn’t any richer, because they weren’t his talents. They belonged to his master. You might think that you are better than your brother or sister because you can play ball better or get better grades. But the Lord doesn’t want you to think that you are better than other people just because He has given you more talents. The Lord doesn’t want you to boast about your talents. He wants you to use them.
Sometimes you might think, “I’m not good at anything. I don’t have many talents.” The servant who had only one talent hid his talent away instead of using it. You might feel like hiding your talents away. You might think, “I’m not very good at making friends or singing or anything else. I’ll let other people do those things.” So you don’t try to do things.
The servant with five talents and the servant with two talents got more money by using the talents they already had. Would you like to have more talents than you have now? You can, if you use the talents you have to help make other people happy. The more you use your talents, the more talents the Lord will give you. Perhaps you know how to play an instrument. You can use that talent by practicing and playing for people. Then your talent will grow. Or perhaps you know how to play baseball well. If you use that talent to help other people learn how to play and have fun, then the Lord will give you a new talent. He will show you how to make other people happy.
Do you remember what the master said to the servants who used their talents? He said, “Well done, good and faithful servant…. Enter into the joy of your Lord!” The Lord’s joy is to help other people. If you use your talents to help other people, then you can share the Lord’s happiness. You can enter into His joy. Then the Lord can say to you, too, “Well done, good and faithful servant.… Enter into the joy of your Lord!”
Amen.
