The Parable of the Talents: A Much Misunderstood Passage in the Bible

It is nearly 3:00 am and I have another writing idea, and it is either make copy or not sleep. You know the drill, so here goes nothing.

As I was meditating on the parable of the talents tonight, a little lightbulb when off in my head. I believe that this passage of scripture has been greatly misunderstood in the church world for decades. A lot has been read into these verses that are simply, literally not there.

In the parable the Master gives each man an amount of money, according to his ability to handle it for Him. One gets five talents, another three, and the last man, one. The men with five and three talents doubled their money for the Lord, but the man with one talent buried his in the ground because of his fears, he actually hoarded his share of the money. I maintain that these are sums of money to be invested for the Lord and not abilities; these men already had abilities.

God is going to call us to account for how we handled the money that He entrusts us with. Are we going to waste it on high living like the prodical son (wayward son) did ? He wasted his Father's money on the pleasures of the world, or are we going to use it wisely for His work, or hoard it like the miserly servant in the parable of the talents.

The Bible has a lot to say about money and how we use it because it shows God where our heart is. Jesus said that "where our treasure is, our heart is there also." He also says "a man cannot serve two masters; he cannot serve God and mammon (the prosperity god)." Where is your treasure? Do you give wisely to the poor and to your local church, or are you hoarding your money, and other resources, for the end of the world? And if the end of the world takes place in our lifetime, are you really going to need that stuff? I believe that those who live like misers and bury their money in the ground are actually the poorest people on earth. What good is it if you have a million dollars in the bank if you have buried it and are not spending it wisely, so you can enjoy life in a godly way and have resources with which to give to the work of the Lord when called upon to do so?

Those talents that the Lord is referring to here is not your ability to play the piano, or sing, write or preach, although these things could get us more money, they are sums of money that we need to be ready to give when called upon to do so.

Where is your treasure, and where is your heart?