The Parable of the Talents
14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants[c] and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents,[d] to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.
16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. 19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them.
20 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.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.[e] You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 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.’ 23 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.’ 24 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, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ 26 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? 27 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. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents.
29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Definition of Talent
Talent-G5007-τάλαντονtálanton, tal'-an-ton; neuter of a presumed derivative of the original form of τλάω tláō (to bear; equivalent to G5342); a balance (as supporting weights), i.e. (by implication) a certain weight (and thence a coin or rather sum of money) or "talent":—talent.
Biblical Outline of Usage of G5007
the scale of a balance a balance, a pair of scales
that which is weighed, a talent
a weight varying in different places and times
a sum of money weighing a talent and Varying in different states and according to the changes in the laws regulating currency
the Attic talent was equal to 60 Attic minae or 6000 drachmae
a talent of silver in Israel weighed about 100 pounds (45 kg)
a talent of gold in Israel weighed about 200 pounds (91 kg)
It's important to look at G5342 as talent G5007 is equivalent to G5342. We know Abba Yah is not concerned about money or riches but used this parable to illustrate a point about our talents and What He Has Given Us.
G5342-φέρωphérō, fer'-o; a primary verb (for which other, and apparently not cognate ones are used in certain tenses only; namely, οἴω oíō oy'-o; and ἐνέγκω enénkō en-eng'-ko; to "bear" or carry (in a very wide application, literally and figuratively, as follows):—be, bear, bring (forth), carry, come, + let her drive, be driven, endure, go on, lay, lead, move, reach, rushing, uphold.
Biblical Outline of Usage of G5342
to carry
to carry some burden
to bear with one's self
to move by bearing; move or, to be conveyed or borne, with the suggestion of force or speed
of persons borne in a ship over the sea
of a gust of wind, to rush
of the mind, to be moved inwardly, prompted
to bear up i.e. uphold (keep from falling)
of Christ, the preserver of the universe
to bear, i.e. endure, to endure the rigour of a thing, to bear patiently one's conduct, or spare one (abstain from punishing or destroying)
3. to bring, bring to, bring forward
to move to, apply
to bring in by announcing, to announce
to bear i.e. bring forth, produce; to bring forward in a speech to lead, conduct
The 6 Lessons The Parable Teaches Us
1. The Man with 5 talents doubled it.
Matthew 25:20-21
20 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.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.[e] You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’
This shows us that success is the product of our work. When we use the talents we have been given in life, we can chose to be like the man with 5 talents and build upon our skills or we can chose to be like the man who hid his talents and do nothing. When we chose to do nothing, we are wasting our time, our purpose and our life. We are choosing to accept the things in life that We Can Change. Abba Yah doesn't give us more than we can bare. He gives us balance but He requires us to work on ourselves so that we can be better and prosperous.
2. The Parable teaches us that Abba Yah gives us everything we need to do what He has called us to do.
Matthew 25:16-19
16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. 19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them
To Give a person more than they can handle is a snare and Abba Yah does Not Set Snares in our path. We must use our gifts Abba Yah has given to us rather than burring them in our depression, anxiety, strife, anger, confusion...Abba Yah doesn't give us more than we can bare. He doesn't ask more of us than we are capable of doing. Everything we need has been given and if we Lack, We need to Ask Him for Understanding, We Need to Ask Him to Discern Situations, We just need to Ask Him when we are unclear. Doing Nothing gets us caught up. Our problems don't go away when we chose to do nothing. When we chose to run away from issues, we tend to create bigger problems than if we would have taken care of the problem head on.
3. The Parable teaches us that we Are Not All Created Equal
Matthew 25:14-15
14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants[c] and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents,[d] to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.
The phrase "use it or lose it" is popular in nursing, this phrase applies to everything. If we don't use our motor skills, we cannot walk or feed ourselves. If we stop learning we don't keep our minds sharp so we forget more. By remaining Idol, we lose our ability to function as we were created to.
We all have a job to do and a reason for living the life we have been given (1 Corinthians 12:12-20 talks about the Body of Yah and how we each have a place in life and a different function). Each of us hold a valuable place on Earth. We all have different abilities and therefore we are different.
Some of us can bare heavier burdens than others, each of us according to our ability. But when the burdens become to heavy to bear what do we do? Matthew 11:28 says to cast our burdens to Abba Yah. Romans 15:1 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
We need to learn to ask for help when we need it. Maybe the servant who had 1 talent didn't know how to invest the money or use what was given to him. Sometimes when we are told to figure it out on our own, we make mistakes and don't do as we should. It can be assumed that the servant didn't ask for help or ask for forgiveness in the end...
4. The Parable teaches us That We Work For Abba Yah and not Our Own Selfish Purposes
The parable teaches us that the Servants are Only Stewards of the Master's Investments and it is the quality of their Stewardship that the master seeks to measure.
Stewardship is a theological belief that humans are responsible for the world, and should take care and look after it. ... In Jewish, Christian and Muslim traditions, stewardship refers to the way time, talents, material possessions, or wealth are used or given for the service of God.
1 Peter 4:10
As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace:
Are you a good steward of Abba Yah's Talents He Has Given You?
5. The Parable of the Talents shows us that we will be held accountable for our actions or lack of action
Our whole life should be about helping others and building the life we envision for ourselves and our Families According to Abba Yah's Will. We are responsible for how we treat people, what we say, how we present ourselves and so on. We will all be held accountable in the end.
6. Verse 30 tells us that we will be cast out of Abba Yah's Kingdom if we:
Don't obey what Abba Yah is Requesting of Us.
He has asked us All to be kind, to love our neighbor, to stop willful sinning, to change our morals values and ethics so that Everyone can benefit from Happier and Healthier communities because when the people are happier and healthier there is abundance for all.
Do Not Utilize our Gifts.
Would it be appropriate for your math teacher to withhold information that would make solving quadratic equations easier, when you are struggling to understand? Would it be appropriate for a Dr. to withhold his/her skills when diagnosing a disease? Would it be appropriate for someone to withhold their Testimony on How Abba Yah delivered them from the Deepest Darkest Abyss and into His Marvelous Light, when the world around them is in total chaos and falling apart and people are seeking answers and ones mouth is shut watching destruction?
None of these would be appropriate. Our gifts are unique to us and All Abba Yah looks for is how We Put What He Gave Us to use. Do we use our gifts or do we horde them for our own gain and need?
When we Respect Only Our Will and Self
When only Respect ourselves and our will for our own life we are literally saying we Do Not Need Abba Yah. We disregard His Will for our Life. We over look everyone else. We decide that the only person who matters is us and so we continue down the road of self, leaving those who could use our Help our Talents behind. When we only focus on self and what we want, we tend to do anything and everything we can to achieve our goal, and normally that means people get hurt along the way.
By Respecting others and Helping others, we are Utilizing our Gifts. If all you can do in life is respect the next person, Then You are Fulfilling your purpose. If all you can do is tell jokes and make people laugh, then you are Fulfilling your purpose: Laughter is Great for the Soul. We All Have A Role in Life to play according to Abba Yah's Will and His Dream for Us. And Yes, The Lord God Almighty Has Huge Dreams and Plans that Cannot Compare to ours.
Do Not Plant Seeds or Spread The Truth.
Planting seeds and telling the Truth about How Abba Yah has changed your life is Vital. People need to hear the Truth. The Truth Shall Set You Free and You will Be Free Indeed with the Truth. Now the Truth at times sucks and can leave a hole in you life. But Abba Yah says we are to Fill up this Hole with His Light; otherwise bitterness and envy, hate and malice will seep in and take root. We have to understand that we can Change and It Is A Choice to Change. The Truth no matter what is still the Truth, what one chooses to do with the truth is again, their choice, Only Abba Yah can Save... we just plant seeds and Pray they take root.
Your Talent is Abba Yah's Gift to you. What you do with your gifts is Your Gift Back to Abba Yah.
How you Use your Gift is totally up to you. Remember, we are All held accountable for the way we use our gifts, yes even if we chose to let them fall to the wayside and perish.
Comments