How Your Talents Provide a Return on God’s Investment
Today’s world is filled with hustle. We see it all the time about how we have to grind our way to the top. Work 7 days a week if you want to build an empire. Go, go, go! We’re told that we have to work our butts off, or we’ll never amount to anything. And in a world where the cost of living is largely outpacing wages, it’s tempting to believe the lie.
There is, however, a better way. To learn what it is, we’ll take a tip from the Master himself as he talks about the parable of the talents.
The Parable of the Talents
First, let’s hear what Jesus has to say about being wise and diligent with what you have:
14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents, 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. 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. Matthew 25:14-29 ESV
Let’s break this down. I’m sure you’ve wondered about this passage the same way I have. How do we fully understand it, and how do we apply it to our lives?
Invest Boldly and Don’t Bury Your Talents or Gifts
Starting off we see that each of the servants is given some talents (in this context a talent is worth about 20 years wage, but we can start to think of it in the modern usage as well; a skill that was developed).
The first was given five talents, and he invested wisely, developed some business ideas, and doubled his money.
The second was given two talents, and he invested wisely, developed some business ideas, and doubled his money.
The third was given one talent, and he did not invest wisely. Instead, he shoved it aside and hoped nobody would steal it.
When they all give a report of what they accomplished, the master praises the first two, but condemns the third calling him wicked and slothful. His talent is stripped from him, and given to the first. We’ll come back to that here in a minute, because that’s a part that always confused me.
The first two were bold. They took a calculated risk, and it worked out well for them. This doesn’t mean they just pumped their money into some high-risk stocks and hoped for a big return. Instead, they pumped their money into business ventures, and worked really hard to hone those skills.
In our lives today, we can look at this as talents and skills (not necessarily money). The more we exercise and use our talents and skills, the more we will grow with them.
Use What You Have for a Greater Purpose
There are, of course, some conditions we should follow. 1 Peter 4:10 ESV explains, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:” Meaning if we have skills and talents, we have to use them in the right way. In a way that if we desire a blessing and a reward, we have to serve God with what we are able to do.
As you develop those talents, you’ll find them increasing. For example, as a writer, if I continue to exercise my writing and research abilities, I find them increasing. I get better and better at writing. Then, when people come to me for guidance on how to write a book, I’m in a position to pour out into others.
This is largely because our talents are not our own. Just like the servants weren’t using their own money, we aren’t using our own skills. Our time, energy, income, and network are given to us from God. And when we understand we don’t have anything but what He has allowed us to have, we can refocus our mindset.
Find Joy in Your Calling and Expect Accountability
God has great things in store for you. And when we do what is right, boldly and wisely using the talents we have been given, we are told to “Enter into the joy of your master.”
What’s that mean?
It means when we do as we’re trained to do (use our talents for good, hone them, and increase them) then we’ll find joy in our calling. It means our joy will not only come from an increase (earned wages, interest, more and better skills), but largely from the joy of being faithful in what we’re expected to do.
But we can’t just sit back and hope for the best. Because the third servant had his comeuppance.
What this Passage Doesn’t Mean
And that’s the part that confused me.
Is this passage saying the rich get richer and the poor are stripped of the little they have? Does it really say that God loves the rich more than the poor?
And that’s where we need to re-think the passage as not about money, but about skills and talents. Reframe it like this.
An athlete was skilled in five different sports. He was a peak performer, and he practiced hard, developing his skills, and became even better.
Another athlete was skilled in just one sport. He could have been a peak performer, but he thought that since he wasn’t skilled in more than one, he should just dwell on what he does have. He didn’t work hard, thinking his talent would suffice.
When it came time for tryouts, the athlete that already had skills in five sports easily beat the athlete who didn’t try. The spot on the team for the one sport he was good at was stripped from him, and given to the athlete that already had many other spots.
It’s not about the rich getting richer; but a warning that if you don’t exercise (for the proper reasons), you’ll end up losing what little you do have.
How to Put the Parable of Talents into Practice
How’s this work out for the modern-day entrepreneur or business owner?
Often, life can be seen as an uphill battle. You work and work and work for what appears to be very little gain. In reality, you’re working hard, because the master isn’t back yet.
Eventually, when we put our skills and talents to work for the right reasons, we’ll get noticed. When that happens, we’ll find opportunities coming our way that would have gone to someone else… if they weren’t a “slothful servant.”
Where are you at? Perhaps the way to get noticed is to write your book. If you’re on the fence, let’s talk about it and see how writing a book can move you into the next level in your career. Sign up for a free 30-minute discovery call today.