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“For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ But his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

 

In this Parable of the Talents, Jesus tells of a man preparing to travel to a distant country. Before departing, he gives talents — a unit of currency — to his servants. The first servant, who receives five talents,  works to grow them into five more.  The second servant, who receives two talents, doubles their value as well. But the third servant, who receives one talent, buries it in the ground. When the master returns, he praises the first and second servant, but he takes the one talent from the third servant and gives it to the one of the other servants. And then he punishes the guy because he proved a bad steward of the talent he had been given. 

 

Though the talents in this story refer to money, the lesson is applicable to the “real” talents — or gifts — that we are all blessed with. These gifts are different, according to the grace given to each of us (see Romans 12:6). The gifts are not given to us for our own use, but are given to us for the enrichment of the lives of others. Peter confirms this. In his first epistle he writes: “As each has received a gift, employ it for one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.“ (1 Peter 4:10).

 

Some of us don’t see our gifts, because our eyes are focussed on the gifts that others have received. Others among us feel shortchanged. We feel God has given more gifts to others and only a few to us. But God knows what he is doing. He can see how much each of us is able to do and so gives accordingly. The owner gave his third servant only one talent because he probably knew the guy was lazy. And his instincts were justified. The guy didn’t do anything with what he had been given! However, if he had, the owner would certainly have rewarded him with more, just as he rewarded the other two servants.

 

Jesus promises: “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much” (Luke 16:10). Let us not look at what others have received. This way we will not compare the quality or the quantity of the gifts we have. Let us just concentrate on what we have been given and do the best we can with it, trusting the words of Jesus. He said: “For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance.” We can apply this principle to every single blessing we have received and it will work because it is a divine promise. 

 

So, let’s start using our gifts shall we?


Watch  the video of this reflection by Aneel Aranha here: https://youtu.be/WsldQj2bHI0

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