The Parable of the Talents

Jesus spoke a parable in Matthew 25 that I read last week . . . I can’t stop thinking about it.

In the parable, a landowner entrusts three of his servants with different amounts of “talents” (let’s picture bags of money). One servant got five talents, one got two, and the third got one.

While the landowner was away on his trip, the servants who were given five and two talents doubled the amount of “money” they were given. But the one who received only one talent was afraid of losing the little he had, so rather than put the talent to work, he dug a hole in the ground and hid the money until the landowner returned.

What happened when the landowner returned to settle his accounts?

The two servants who doubled his money were called “good and faithful servants,” the landowner entrusted them with more talents, and they were welcomed into the master’s joy.

The third servant did not have such luck . . . he was called “wicked” and “slothful.” Ouch. But even worse, his one talent was taken away and given to the servant who now had 10 talents. How could the landowner trust him with more when he sat on his hands with so little?

I’ve thought about this parable several times in relation to writing, and I even got to talk with another writer about it at a writer’s retreat I hosted recently.

There’s no doubt in my mind that writing is one of the talents that I am responsible to steward and even “double” while I’m here on Earth. I can’t just sit around and hope that the words I write in secret will somehow impact the world around me if I never share them.

When I got the idea for the first novel I wrote, I knew I had to pursue getting it published. I felt the story was a gift God had entrusted with me and if I never did anything with it, I’d be wasting not only my talent, but his. I didn’t know what the journey would look like when I started writing the novel, I just knew I had to write it.

I think that’s how we have to treat any of the talents we’re given. We may not know exactly what to do with our talents, but that doesn’t mean we sit idly until everything feels clear. I hate to break it to you, but that will rarely happen! Instead, we must take baby steps forward and . . . explore.

At the writer’s retreat I mentioned, I talked with a woman who had a day job in the medical field. She wanted to write a novel, but it felt frivolous and unproductive.

We often feel that way when we’re excited about pursuing something that doesn’t feel inherently “religious,” don’t we? I told her even a non-religious story can take someone on a spiritual journey. But not only that, I believe God gives us desires to pursue all kinds of beautiful art. It’s not frivolous, God created it after all.

I love how C.S. Lewis put it: “The world does not need more Christian literature. What it needs is more Christians writing good literature.”

Pursue excellence wherever you are planted in this season. Whether what you’re pursuing is a “ministry” or not . . . your call is to be faithful, do your best, and “double” your impact.

I hope this week, you’ll think about what talents you’ve been entrusted with . . . they may be more subtle than you realize.