Matthew 25:13-30 (King James Version)
13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
14 For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.
15 And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.
16 Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents.
17 And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two.
18 But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money.
19 After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.
20 And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.
21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
22 He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.
23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
24 Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:
25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:
27 Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.
28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.
29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.
30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
How are you using your time, talent and treasure?
Just as with spiritual gifts, God wants us to use our talents and skills for the benefit of others.
Jesus gives us two commandments:
- Matt. 22 Verses 37; “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. [38] This is the first and great commandment.
- [39] And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the alaw and the prophets.
Colossians 3:23-24 (Amplified Bible)
23 Whatever you do [whatever your task may be], work from the soul [that is, put in your very best effort], as [something done] for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing [with all certainty] that it is from the Lord [not from men] that you will receive the inheritance which is your [greatest] reward. It is the Lord Christ whom you [actually] serve.
In 1 Peter 4:10, we’re called to use our gifts to serve others as faithful stewards of God’s grace.
When we steward our talents to honor God and to bless others, we’re glorifying His Name. We have all been given a certain amount of time, talent, and treasure, not for our own use, but to use to benefit others.
God will one day ask us all how we used each of these three gifts. Let us look at the concept that Jesus used in Matthew 25, The master left his three servants with an amount of money and came back a time later to see how they used it. Two of the servants invested what they had been given and doubled their portion. The third servant buried his portion and had exactly as much as he started out with when the master returned.
This parable of the Talents teaches us that we are put on Earth to work. This is evident not only in this particular parable, but in several other Bible stories. God rewards those who put considerable effort into bettering their lives and the lives of those in their community.
God gives us time, talents, and treasures that are not supposed to be used only for ourselves but to be a blessing to others. We all have the responsibility of using our gifts unselfishly, and God simply wants to know that we used them as best we could to further His kingdom.
Traditionally, the parable of the talents has been seen as an exhortation to Jesus’ disciples to use their God-given gifts in the service of God. These gifts have been seen to include personal abilities (“talents” in the everyday sense), as well as personal wealth.
Jesus has entrusted his servants with:
- Spreading the gospel (Matthew 28:16-20).
- Forgiving those who have wronged them (Matthew 6:14-15).
- Loving others (John 13:34-35).
- Caring for his church (John 21:17).
- Being an example to the world (Matthew 14:13-16).
- Feeding the hungry and thirsty (Matthew 25:25).
- Caring for the poor, the prisoner, and the sick (Matthew 25:36).
- Being hospitable to foreigners and outsiders (Matthew 25:35).
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