A couple of weeks ago, my friends and I were having a discussion around the story of the parable of the talents. Many insights and questions flowed from this conversation but the one that stuck in my mind way after the conversation was over was this one: “Is it possible that the master gave the third servant one talent with the expectation that he, the servant, would multiply it by ten?”
Before we delve into the possible answers around the question, a brief background on this parable. Jesus is speaking with his disciples, giving him insight about the sign of his coming and the end of age. Jesus answer was they must always be ready, remaining faithful as servants in a masters’ house. He uses a couple of parables to illustrate this point, one of which is referred to as the parable of the talents.
In this parable, Jesus speaks of a master who is planning to go on a long journey and in preparation, calls three servants to him and assigns gold (or talents) to them. “To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey.” Matthew 25:15 (NIV)
It is said that the first two servants quickly put the gold to work. However, the third buries his portion. After a long time, it is said that the master returns and calls the servant to account for the gold he had given. He learns that the first two servants doubled theirs but the third one brought back the one that he had been given.
“Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’” Matthew 25:24-25 (NIV)
To say that the master was not pleased is an understatement. I urge you to read the five verses that follow to illustrate what the master said and action he took to express his displeasure. For this article though, I would like us to consider the question asked earlier at this point. “Is it possible that the master gave the third servant one talent with the expectation that he, the servant, would multiply it by ten?”
I have listened to several people speak about this parable and a couple have taken time to illustrate what “according to each servant’s ability” represents. The illustration is the gold or talent given to the servant is equivalent to one year’s wage and the first was given five, the second two and the third one because that would have been what each of the three would have been able to (perhaps) carry. This explanation makes sense because this is how team leaders assign tasks to team members, each team member is given a task based on what they can do well. This is the same way parents will assign chores to their children, the older the child gets more responsibilities like driving, cooking and the younger ones picking up after themselves. Employers also screen potential employees in the same way, by education level, experience and accomplishments they place them in different departments. People select a restaurant based on what purpose the meal will serve; a fancy one for a long leisurely date and a drive-through for an inexpensive quick meal.
However, I think this form of ability might not be what the parable is illustrating. Hear me out. Every time when Jesus has spoken about the kingdom of God, he has introduced a mind shift about how things are in God’s kingdom. For example, he introduced a running God in the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11–32) , God who cares more about one that is lost than 99 (Matthew 18:12-14) and a servant Lord (John 13:1-16). It is possible that in this parable of the talents, this master does not look at ability like we do.
Case in point, if you were to select someone who would be the father of a nation, would you pick a 90-year-old man given all his limitations? Would you select a last born son who was sold into slavery by his kin to end up running a foreign nation and saving those who sold him off? Would you choose a murderer to lead a million people to the land of promise? Would you choose the forgettable shepherd and runt in a family of handsome, tall, military brothers to lead and unite a divided nation? Would you choose an unmarried teen to bear and mother your son who will save the world? Would you choose a group of fishermen, a tax collector and a zealot to continue your legacy? A murderer of your people to spread your gospel? I could cite many more examples in the Bible where God chooses people who, in our eyes, have certain limitations or, in their own eyes, have been dealt a bad hand and these are the people He chooses to do great things for Him.
“But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7 NIV
The parable reminds us that our perception of the heart of God is key to how God wants us to serve in God’s kingdom. This scripture, 1 Samuel 16:7, reminds us that God’s considerations are not the same as ours when he is choosing and assigning responsibilities. God looks at the heart of a person. A heart that is turned towards Him, yielded and obedient to His prompting that He can use to create or save a nation.
God knows what hand you were dealt. He knows others appear to be better placed to succeed in this world than you are. He chooses you. He knows that your impact on this earth is not determined by the worldly resources that you have but on your level of obedience to Him.
I pray that you and I continue to ask Him to continually search us and test our thoughts. That He helps us to continually evaluate how our hearts are postured and that we continue to choose to remain yielded and sensitive to Him. That, in the end, the single talent He gave us will be multiplied by ten not because of our own ability or strength but because we chose to remain faithful and obedient to Him.