If You Want To Get Something Give it To A Man - The Parable of the Talents Matthew 25:14-30

 The Parable of the Bags of Gold

14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. 15 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. 16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. 17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’ 21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ 22 “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’ 23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ 24 “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. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ 26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. 28 “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. 29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Jesus begins with "again it will be".  He is referring again to "what the kingdom of heaven is like".  And remember it is in the context of his teaching on the end times.  The focus in this parable is on what it means to be a "good and faithful servant".  At the end times there will be a time when we are accountable for what we have done with what we have been given.  This parable gives us the principles behind how God views our faithfulness to Him. 

In the parable, the man's servants are each entrusted with a certain number of bags of gold or "talents".  The man entrusted his wealth to his servants.  He trusted his servants were worthy enough to give them his savings, and he gave them differing amounts according to their ability.  A talent today would be worth a significant amount of money.  Some say it would be roughly equal to 20 years of wages.  So the point is the man entrusted a large amount of money to his servants showing how much he believed in them. 

Despite the fact that they were all entrusted with the man's wealth, two of them did something with the money and one didn't.  In fact. the first man went out at once and doubled the money he was given. and the second servant did the same.  They put the money to work quickly and effectively and were ready to be accountable to their boss.  The third servant however effectively did nothing with the amount he was entrusted with and hid the money in fear of losing it. 

The man took his time coming back home, which might have given the servants the false impression that they would not be accountable for what they were given.  When the first two men showed their boss what they had done with what he had entrusted, he was very pleased.  He commends them for their faithfulness by saying, "Well done good and faithful servant". Then, He rewards them with much more responsibility.  And finally, he invites them to share in his own happiness.  Another verses says 'joy".  

"This has the echo of heaven in it. The idea is that there is a place of joy belonging to the master of these servants, and they are invited to join the master in that place. There is a sense of heaven about this destiny for the two faithful servants." (Guzik)

Finally, the lazy servant comes in to justify what he did with the money.  He did nothing with what he had been given and gives the excuse that he was afraid he would lose the master's money and so he hid it.  Then, he says that he knew the master would be taken care of even if he didn't do anything with the money. He in effect portrays his master as omnipotent, almost as if he were God.  It reminds us that we often rationalize our own laziness by saying, "Well God is going to get done what He has in mind, so why I do need to worry about it?"  

This parable dispels that notion in its entirety.  The man made a very bad assumption.  The master still wants this money, which was so poorly managed by the lazy servant, to do some good, so he gives it to the servant who had been given the most but also made the most.  It reminds me of the saying, "If you want to get something done give it to a busy person!" 

The parable ends with an ominous tone.  The lazy servant not only loses what he hoarded but also is thrown out in the darkness, where there was weeping and gnashing of teeth.  This description is often used for what hell looks like.  

"Just as there was a sense of heaven in the destiny for the two faithful servants, there is a strong sense of hell in the destiny for the wicked and lazy servant." (Guzik)

So what does this mean for us?

1. Since the context of the last two chapters is the end times, it makes sense that part of the judgment when Jesus comes back has to do with what we have done with what he has entrusted us with? 
2. "What have we done with our knowledge? Our time? Our money? Our abilities? The sins of omission [what we don’t do] may ultimately be more dangerous than the sins of commission [what we do]." (Guzik)
3. Which servant are you? It is never too late to change! What can you do with the gifts and talents God has given you so that you may receive the commendation, "Well done good and faithful servant!"?