Parable of the talents!

I was given this revelation whilst laying in bed after hearing for the umpteenth time someone use this parable to terrify and shame the saints for being lazy. We were listening to a “christian” constitutional lawyer talk about the history of how it was possibly derived, (the constitution); which was quite interesting by the way; until people started calling in and asking what could they do. She was doing good when she told them to pray and ask the Holy Spirit for His help and guidance, but that is when it got ugly. Not only did she use this parable to terrify the grandmother that had called and asked the question; but she brought up the scripture in Ezekiel to drive home the fact that the entire planets blood is on our hands if we do not tell them to speak up about our rights and defend the constitution as Americans. It was absolutely ludicrous, and I must say, I went to bed quite distraught about it. But as my Father does quite often, and I love that about Him, He spoke to me in the quiet dark, and explained the parable to me this way. I pray it touches your heart the same way it did mine beloved. Peace!

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far away country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money. After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you a ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’ But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. Therefore, take the talent from him, and give it to the one who has ten talents. For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” ~ Matt. 25:14-30

At first glance, this beautiful parable appears conditional. Those conditions being  promises of rewards, or threats of being cast into outer darkness for what we do or don’t do for the kingdom. What happens when we look at it that way is a tendency to compare, create wrong motives, and manipulate the saints with fear. So many saints tend to look for rewards in the bible already to motivate them; or are so terrified of His judgment and displeasure  by wrong interpretations, it absolutely breaks my heart. This particular parable should not do that.

When reading a parable of Jesus, is so very important to keep in the forefront of your mind that He was always trying to make a point to those that had ears to hear and eyes to see! How do I know this? Because He said as much many times after saying one. So whereas we can take them as promises or motivations for what we do; it seems that by doing that we miss the point of it.

Putting the actual event into the equation, which is Jesus speaking of His soon departure back to the Father for a time and sending the Helper, and giving gifts to men; you can see that the recipients of the talents did not have any idea what they were going to receive upon the return of their master, but did what they did because he was their master and they loved him or whatever. It is clear that they all three had the same master, yet one of them knew him in a very different light. The point of this parable as I see it is not , ‘You better do something with what I gave you or else!’ It is a very clear snapshot of a God and Father who wants us to know Him as He is.

Using the number of talents the master gave each person, we can see that not everyone has an equal understanding of Him. There are two main factors that we must also try and remember when looking at this story. Jesus told the people when they asked about the works of God that they consisted of believing in the one whom the Father sent; and likewise He said that eternal life was knowing the One true God, and Jesus Christ whom He sent. With these two thing in mind, let’s look at the story again. All of his goods were delivered to the servants, and one has a certain amount of understanding of his lord; and through some time gained double the amount. Same idea with the one who had a bit less. Having all the masters goods at his disposal, the one with the least amount of understanding did not even try and use those resources  that were available to him to see his master in a different light.

In conclusion, I believe what we can draw from this parable is that our Father does not want us to be afraid of Him to the point of not getting to know Him. It is not a do-do or else parable, but an invitation to use even a mustard seed, or one talent of faith to seek a Father who is love and has an incredible desire to see everyone enter into the joy of their Lord!

Grace and peace precious ones…..Lisa

His life is the light of men!