a piece of a painting by Pam Cundiff
THE STORY OF THE TALENTS,
AND HOW TO USE YOURS.
It is an old story. A man who was preparing to leave on a long extended journey entrusted his money to his servants. He distributed his wealth among three men.
To the first he entrusted five talents (a talent was a monetary denomination), to the second two talents, and to the third the master gave one talent. The first two servants quickly set to work with their master’s money. The third servant did not invest his master’s money at all. Instead he dug a hole in the ground and buried it.
When the master returned, the first two men eagerly met their master and told how they had doubled his money. Both were commended as “good and faithful servants”. They both were given more power and responsibility due to their success and faithfulness in handling the talents appropriately.
The third servant came with only the one talent originally entrusted to him. He had not increased his master’s money. The third servant offered an excuse. He said, "Master, I know you are a harsh and cruel man; a man who is demanding, and who expects profit where you have not labored. I was afraid to risk losing your talent so I dug a hole and hid the money. Here it is, I am returning it to you as you gave it to me."
The master was very unhappy with the third servant who was not only lazy, but blamed his behavior on the master himself, saying he was overbearing and evil.
The master replied, "You could have at least put the one talent in a bank so it would have drawn interest." He took the one talent from the third man and gave it to the first. The one who had the most was given more, and the one who had the least was left with nothing except the anger and wrath of his master.
How The Story of The Talents Affected Me
The above story is a parable told by Jesus. A parable is defined as a short simple story intended to illustrate a moral or religious lesson. You can find it in the New Testament of The Bible, Mathew 25:13-29.
Our pastor preached on the parable of the talents, then he advised us to use our talents to honor God.
When I was alone I thought about my life. Some people are gifted, and others have to work twice as hard to get half as far. I'm in the twice as hard and half as far group . I am a Jill of all trades and a master of none.
When I prayed, I cut through the chase. God already knew everything about me, so I simply said, "Lord, there's only one talent I have, and I'm not that good at it. The only thing I can do is train a stupid dog."
A still, small voice inside my head said, "Then train a stupid dog." I decided, in that moment, to use an insignificant talent to bring glory to My Master. What talent do you have? No matter how small you may think it is, God can use it. I'm not a professional trainer, but so far, whatever the person needed the Service Dog to do, I have been able to train it for that task.
David killed the giant with a rock in a slingshot. Peter told the lame man, "Silver or gold have I none; but what I have I give to you." He then healed the beggar, which was far better than what he was asking. Moses had a staff (long stick) which God used to part the Red Sea. What do you have? Give it to God and He will use whatever it is, even if it is a stupid dog.
DID YOU KNOW:
When a Christian met a stranger in the road in the first centuries after Christ, to distinguish friends from foes, the Christian drew one arc of the simple fish outline in the dirt with a stick or with his sandal as they chatted. If the stranger drew the other arc, both believers knew they were in good company and they could talk freely without fear of the Romans who murdered, beat, or imprisoned Christians for their faith in Jesus Christ.
When a Christian met a stranger in the road in the first centuries after Christ, to distinguish friends from foes, the Christian drew one arc of the simple fish outline in the dirt with a stick or with his sandal as they chatted. If the stranger drew the other arc, both believers knew they were in good company and they could talk freely without fear of the Romans who murdered, beat, or imprisoned Christians for their faith in Jesus Christ.
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