Certain passages of Scripture have become too familiar.
We hear these stories quoted in sermons, we reference them in Bible studies, and after enough years, they become part of our Christian vocabulary. The problem is, in our familiarity with these lessons, we can sometimes forget what they actually mean.
The Parable of the Talents is one of those passages.
If you had asked me years ago what this parable was about, I probably would have given the same answer that most Christians give–namely, “God has given each of us different talents and abilities. He expects us to use those gifts for His kingdom.”
One person can sing. Another can teach. Another can play sports, run a business, or create works of art. You get the idea.
We have all heard that translation of this parable before, and while there is certainly wisdom in using God’s gifts, that is not the core message that Jesus was sending.
The word talent has gotten us off track.
Not Just a Natural Ability
The irony here is almost humorous. Today, we use the word “talent” to describe someone’s natural abilities, but we only do so because of this parable. Unfortunately, our modern use of this word has quietly led us away from the original message of that time.
When Jesus told this parable, a “talent” was not an ability at all. A talent was simply a unit of weight. If someone possessed a talent of gold, then it weighed exactly a talent. If they possessed a talent of silver, then it weighed the exact same amount.
As a mental exercise, let’s imagine that Jesus had used a different word altogether–tons.
Imagine, instead, that Jesus told the “parable of the tons”.
In today’s units, a ton is a measurement of 2,000 pounds. If the master in the parable entrusted one servant with five tons, another with two tons, and another with one ton, then that would equate to 10,000 pounds, 5,000 pounds, and 2,000 pounds, respectively.
The word “ton” here is no different in concept than the first century “talent”. It is merely a measure of weight.
Once I began thinking about the story that way, I found myself reading the entire parable differently.
The Master’s Investment
If the talent that Jesus was speaking about was not related to natural abilities, then what was Jesus actually talking about?
He was talking about our faith.
I’ve often heard people reference His words from this parable: “For to the one who has, more will be given … but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” (Matthew 25:29)
If we’re talking about natural abilities, that statement feels strange. Does the best basketball player always become better? Does the worst basketball player have their measly talents removed from them entirely? That doesn’t seem to make sense in the case of abilities.
But if Jesus is speaking about faith, everything begins to fall into place.
When a believer walks by faith, that faith grows stronger. As he trusts the Lord, his faith bears more fruit. Faith begets faith; faith begets faith.
The servant who is unfaithful, however, will have his faith–little as it may be–taken away from him entirely. Unfaithfulness removes faith; unfaithfulness removes faith.
That is what makes the ending of this parable so sobering. The stakes are far higher than just using our natural abilities. Jesus is asking a much deeper question:
What has become of the faith that God gave you?
Maybe your measure of faith–be it measured in talents or tons–does not look like everyone else’s. Maybe it is less than. That is okay. Remember, the servant who was given two talents was not expected to return with five. The master never asked his servants to compare themselves with each other. He simply expected each servant to be faithful with what had been placed into his hands.
The question, then, isn’t whether your faith looks impressive compared to someone else’s.
The question is whether it is growing.
Blessings,
