The Parable of the Talents: What Does It Mean?
This story from Matthew’s gospel has always bothered me. A king heads off on a journey, leaving his three servants in charge of his wealth. One guy gets five portions, the second gets two portions, and the third gets only one portion. The text says that the master was aware of each servant’s ability and portioned out his goods accordingly. Now the first two go out and double the money, but the third one buries it to keep it safe. When the king comes back, he praises the two servants who increased the “talents” left with them, but he punishes the third servant harshly.
It always seemed unfair to me that the third servant had the money taken away and was thrown out of the house. He did, after all, return the money to the king, even if he was too scared (or lazy or selfish) to invest it and increase his master’s wealth. And then there’s that verse: “Unto everyone who has shall be given in abundance, but from him who has not, what little he has shall be taken.” How does that jibe with “the last shall be first” and such teachings?
After studying the parable more closely, I have come to the conclusion that the parable refers to believers and unbelievers. Believers are represented by the first two servants; unbelievers by the third servant. The goods represent those blessings which God has apportioned to all mankind, according to each person’s individual abilities. The important point is not the amount of goods—five parts, two parts, or one part—it’s the acceptance of the responsibility for the “treasure.”
The ultimate “treasure” that has been offered to both believers and unbelievers is the grace of God offering forgiveness for transgression against God’s will and God’s law. The believer accepts the gift of grace and the responsibility that attends it. The believer, by taking the gift of grace for himself, in effect tells God that he is willing to accept the responsibility that grace entails: telling others about the possibility, living a life of holiness to illustrate the saving power of that grace, and reciprocal work for God—not in order to earn or be worthy of the grace that was given, but rather to express gratitude at the magnitude of trust that God places in the believer by the bountiful outpouring of grace.
The believer, then, accepts the “talents” and does his utmost to return them with interest as an indication of his gratefulness for the chance to show his ability, his love, and his appreciation.
The unbeliever rejects the “talent.” He buries it away, where no one can find it. He hides it so that it cannot be sullied by failure or the soiling fingers of hopeful investors. He refuses the responsibility that the grace entails, and thereby earns for himself the master’s just wrath.
If I offer you a gift and you take it, you have pleased me and blessed me. If I offer you a gift and you hurl it back at me, I am hurt and displeased. If I offer you a gift and you take it, hide it in a closet, and only take it out when you know I am coming, it doesn’t really hurt me (if I am unaware) but it does make you a smaller person. If I give you a gift and you mistreat it, allow it to be damaged or diminished, then you are showing contempt for me and my kindness to you.
This parable ties in with the verse in 1 Corinthians that says, “Let everyone who builds be very careful how he builds upon the foundation that has been laid. If a person builds gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or stubble, his work will be made known when the fire tries every man’s work. On that day, whatever remains after the fire will earn its builder a reward, but whatever is destroyed by the fire will be lost to its builder.”
The lesson of this parable is that the believer, who has been given much, will be rewarded for his good works—his small righteousnesses—in the Kingdom of God. But the unbeliever, who rejects the initial gift of grace, will be stripped of even his good works and will be exposed for the ungrateful, selfish person that he is.
In other words, good works that grow from the abundance of a grateful heart will endure forever, but good works that are done for personal pleasure or gain will be destroyed.