TEN (10) TALENTS

1. What is the story of 10 talents?

a) 11The crowd was listening to everything Jesus said. And because he was nearing Jerusalem, he told them a story to correct the impression that the Kingdom of God would begin right away. 12He said,

i) "A nobleman was called away to a distant empire to be crowned king and then return. 13Before he left, he called together ten of his servants and divided among them ten pounds of silver, saying, ‘Invest this for me while I am gone.’ 14But his people hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We do not want him to be our king.’ 15"After he was crowned king, he returned and called in the servants to whom he had given the money. He wanted to find out what their profits were.

16The first servant reported, ‘Master, I invested your money and made ten times the original amount!’ “‘Well done!’ the king exclaimed. ‘You are a good servant. You have been faithful with the little I entrusted to you, so you will be governor of ten cities as your reward.’

18"The next servant reported, ‘Master, I invested your money and made five times the original amount.’ 19"Well done!’ the king said. ‘You will be governor over five cities.’

20"But the third servant brought back only the original amount of money and said, ‘Master, I hid your money and kept it safe. 21I was afraid because you are a hard man to deal with, taking what isn’t yours and harvesting crops you didn’t plant.’

22“‘You wicked servant!’ the king roared. ‘Your own words condemn you. If you knew that I’m a hard man who takes what isn’t mine and harvests crops I didn’t plant, 23why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’

24“Then, turning to the others standing nearby, the king ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one who has ten pounds.’ 25"‘But, master,’ they said, ‘he already has ten pounds!’ 26"‘Yes,’ the king replied, ‘and to those who use well what they are given, even more will be given. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. 27And as for these enemies of mine who didn’t want me to be their king—bring them in and execute them right here in front of me.’” (Luke 19:11-27 NLT)

2. How can this story apply to us?

a) First, we’re all given a different starting position. Some of us are born into abundance (five talents). Others are born into scarcity (one talent). But what matters isn’t what we’re given — it’s what we do with it that matters. So Jesus acknowledges the unfairness of life, but he also suggests that our starting conditions are irrelevant. One person earns five talents, another earns only two, but both are congratulated equally because both achieved a 100% gain.

b) This is also a good lesson on how to deal with other human beings. Deal with other people based on their starting positions, and evaluate ourselves by our own starting position. If we happen to be one of those who receives five talents, don’t pat ourselves on the back that we are already above average. If we have abundant talents, we should expect even more from ourselves. Similarly, there may be times in our lives where we only have one talent and do the best we can with it, and even though our gains appear small from an external standard, by Jesus’ standard we have still made a notable accomplishment.

c) Another interesting aspect of the story is that our talents are entrusted to us, like a master putting money into the care of his servants. We are stewards of our wealth.

d) What would have happened if one of the servants who invested the money realized a loss instead of a gain? There’s a clue to how Jesus would have answered this because of how the master addressed the third servant: ”You wicked, lazy servant!” Later the master refers to that servant as “worthless” and has him physically thrown out.

e) Another clue is how the first two servants are praised. The master praises them for being “faithful.” Very interesting. It would have been different if the master praised them for being shrewd or effective or profitable. But the praise is given for their faith, not for their results.

f) Another notable quality of the story is the lack of competition. The servants aren’t competing with each other for their master’s favor. The first two servants both contribute something of value to their master’s estate.

h) What’s the ultimate reward for the faithful servants? Although Jesus doesn’t explicitly say it, it seems obvious they don’t get to keep the money. The two successful servants aren’t even working for their own increase. It’s not their money. They’re working for the increase of their master, and they share in the increase to his estate. Their true reward is to share in their master’s happiness. So happiness is the reward, and happiness comes from serving others.

3. Prayer focus

a) Pray that whatever good gifts (inherent or otherwise) we have, we ought to put them in good use so that God can further multiply them for his kingdom's sake.