The Parable of the Talents
In Matthew 25:14-21 the parable of the talents is delivered by Christ. A parable is a short story with a hidden meaning, and a talent is a unit of money in that era. In this story, a man calls upon his servants and gives five talents to one, two talents to another, and one talent to another. He gave them this money "according to [their] several ability" (v.15) for each man to use this money to get more. The man that got five talents traded his money and eventually ended up with ten talents. The man with two talents did the same and got four talents. The man with one talent feared his master and hid his money. Eventually the master comes back and has his servants come before him. He is very pleased with the first two servants and makes them "ruler over many things" because they have "been faithful over a few things" (v.21). The man who hid his talent sorrily came before his lord and was rebuked as a "wicked and slothful servant" (v.26). He received no gain and his money was taken from him.
I think it is no coincidence that the money given to each servant was recorded in talents. According to dictionary.com, the definition of talent is "a capacity for achievement or success." The servants in this parable were endowed with a capacity for success by their master. He gave them the necessary money to start and then they were on their own to gain more money. To do so, one would have to make investments and risky pursuits. The end result may not always be clear.
In our own lives, we have been given many talents. We all have the natural ability to do some things very well, and we also have the ability to acquire new talents through practice or training. This life is the time for us to use our talents for the bettering of ourselves and others. If we are like the lazy servant, we may squander away our time or fear of using our talents. We must avoid either of these situations. The fact of the matter is that we have a purpose to fulfill. When our lives are through, we should be able to look back and be satisfied with what we've done. In these pivotal years of 16 or 17 years-old, the work ethics we establish and duties that we accomplish will affect the rest of our lives. Doing the things that we are able to do now lays a clear roadmap for our lives ahead.
Don't waste your time. Do what makes you happy. Accomplish something that betters the world around us. To close, ponder this scripture from the Book of Mormon.
"Be wise in the days of your probation; strip yourselves of all uncleanness... yield to no temptation, but that ye will serve the true and living God." (Mormon 9:27-28)
I think it is no coincidence that the money given to each servant was recorded in talents. According to dictionary.com, the definition of talent is "a capacity for achievement or success." The servants in this parable were endowed with a capacity for success by their master. He gave them the necessary money to start and then they were on their own to gain more money. To do so, one would have to make investments and risky pursuits. The end result may not always be clear.
In our own lives, we have been given many talents. We all have the natural ability to do some things very well, and we also have the ability to acquire new talents through practice or training. This life is the time for us to use our talents for the bettering of ourselves and others. If we are like the lazy servant, we may squander away our time or fear of using our talents. We must avoid either of these situations. The fact of the matter is that we have a purpose to fulfill. When our lives are through, we should be able to look back and be satisfied with what we've done. In these pivotal years of 16 or 17 years-old, the work ethics we establish and duties that we accomplish will affect the rest of our lives. Doing the things that we are able to do now lays a clear roadmap for our lives ahead.
Don't waste your time. Do what makes you happy. Accomplish something that betters the world around us. To close, ponder this scripture from the Book of Mormon.
"Be wise in the days of your probation; strip yourselves of all uncleanness... yield to no temptation, but that ye will serve the true and living God." (Mormon 9:27-28)
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