14 "Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. 15 To one he gave five talents [about $5000] of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. 17 So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. 18 But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.
19 "After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.'
21 "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'
22 "The man with the two talents also came. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.'
23 "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'
24 "Then the man who had received the one talent came. 'Master,' he said, 'I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.'
26 "His master replied, 'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
28 "'Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. 29 For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'"
It's kinda the source for Spiderman: "With great gifts come great responsibility" and all that...
posted
Here's a question: DID the master harvest where he did not sow? Was the servant he poorly favored justified in distrusting and loathing him?
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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Doug Adams (Professor at Pacific School of Religion, NOT the Hitchhiker’s Guide guy) says yes. I heard him give a lecture on that parable once, and I think it’s in one of his books.
Incidentally, he gives that as reason that the “master” in the story should not be assumed to represent God.
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posted
But if that's the case, I find the parable questionable in the extreme. Is it really suggesting that it is incumbent upon someone to labor on behalf of a corrupt master's prosperity, simply because the labor itself has merit? It seems to me that one could use the Parable of the Talents to justify the most menial and degrading of work, on the basis that all work is valuable regardless of its ends or conditions.
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posted
This parable in Matthew is told by Jesus. It comes right after the parable of the ten virgins. The bridegroom in the story is obviously Jesus. Why would he tell a story, turn around, say "Again", and then tell a story about someone else?
Of course it's about God. Of course he harvests where the servant hasn't seen him sow. He invented the seeds and created the birds that spread the seeds. So he did indirectly sow them. Why shouldn't he prosper for it? The guy invented the universe.
I think it has more to do with recognizing everything we have is a gift from God. If we use it wisely, He'll see we're trustworthy and give us more.
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posted
I remember having it explained as a lesson about fear. If a man is so afraid of failure that he never takes a chance then he is wasting the talents and oppertunities God has given him.
If you try abd fail, at least you tried....if you are so afraid of falure that you never do anything to improve your lot, you have failed even worse that if you had lost everything.
I think it was used to preach against lazy people who think that they should accept what God has given them and never seek to improve themselves of the lives of others. We are responsible for our own choices and lives, and if we choose to do nothing for fear of failing then we are refusing to do as we were bid and anything negitive that happens is our own fault.
Also, the "talents" mentioned were the form of money used....I don't think that that is where our word comes from, although that is a feeling I have....I'm not sure one wat or another.
posted
I believe talents WAS originally a currency, but it has grown from a 'saying' ("Don't bury your talents!") into an actual word in the language. Wouldn't be surpirsed at all if our current definition of 'talent' was based on the parable.
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