In Matthew 25:14-30, Jesus tells the familiar “Parable of the Talents.” In a nutshell, a man is planning a trip and, before he leaves, he entrusts some property to his servants. He gives one servant five talents, one two talents, and a third received one talent.
Some footnotes say: “a talent was worth more than a thousand dollars.” This, technically, is correct. However, scholars say that a talent was the largest unit of weight, equaling about seventy-five pounds. Others say this would be the equivalent of 6,000 denarii. A denarius was the daily wage of a laborer. So, a talent was worth, roughly, 16 1/2 years wages—and that does not allow for any time off, not even weekends.
Of course, in the parable, the five and two talent servants double their master’s money. The master is pleased with these two servants. The one talent servant buries the money because he was afraid of losing it. The master is not pleased with this servant and takes his one talent, gives it to the one with ten talents and throws “the worthless servant” out where there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
At times, we try to sympathize with the one talent servant. He was only given one talent while the other two were given more talents. Perhaps we fail to understand that it was not just “chump change” the one talent servant was given. That one talent had enormous value: 6,000 days’ pay!
The Master has given each of us “talents” according to our abilities. Just because I can do things you cannot do does not mean you are any less valuable than me. Just because you can do something I cannot do does not make me any less valuable than you.
We all are blessed by God. God expects us to use those blessings to bring Him glory. You may have been blessed with much; you may have been blessed with little . . . but you have been blessed with something.
Are you using those blessings so that the Master who gave them to you will say, “Well done, good and faithful servant . . .”?