The Hidden Talent

By Alessandra Velsor

“Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.”—Matthew 25:24–25 (NIV)

Today’s passage is one of Jesus’ most popular parables with a strong rebuke from our Master that begs us to pay close attention to it as believers. You see, the master in the story gives his servants bags of gold, or most commonly referred as talents, as he prepares to leave for a trip. He asks them to invest and reproduce what He has gifted them with one receiving five talents, another receiving three talents, and the last servant receiving a mere talent. Notice this master didn’t have to do this; this was a gift that no servant earned, worked for, or deserved. Also, to give you some perspective, a talent comes from the Greek word “talanton,” which simply means a sum of money.

But don’t feel bad for one-talent guy because it’s estimated that its value at the time was equivalent to 6,000 denarii, which would have taken a laborer two decades to earn that much! We could get into why one got less than the other, but in reality, each servant was given based on their ability to invest, and we’re not provided with any details other than the amount they were each given.

Finally, there was no say on how much they could reproduce. When the master returns from his trip, he learns the first and second servants duplicated their talents, while the third one became afraid and buried it deep into the ground instead. I always root for the underdog and often like to imagine what it would’ve been like if the last servant had come back with five or more even though he was initially given the one talent! Needless to say, I wasn’t the only one who was deeply disappointed.

The master couldn’t believe this servant not only hid the talent while he was away, but also had the nerve to blame him for not doing what he was tasked to do accusing him of being“a hard man, harvesting where [he had] not sown and gathering where [he had] not scattered seed.”This man did what Adam and Eve (and anyone after them) did after they’re confronted with their sin: They blame others, refusing to self-reflect or look inwardly, and instead project it onto others as to why they’ve sinned or failed to act in the first place.

We usually obsess over sins of commission (what we do) over sins of omission (what we don’t do), but when reading the gospels, Jesus actually puts as much weight on the latter. For instance, the rich man who failed to care for his neighbor (Luke 16:19–24), or the five virgins who didn’t have oil in their lamps and were excluded from a wedding party (Matthew 25:3–11), or how about the barren fig tree that didn’t produce fruit and died (Mark 11:20–24)?For additional reading, read the rest of Matthew 25.

Fear of failure or the future often keeps us idle and stops us from fulfilling our calling to be good stewards of the resources God has gifted us. The end of this story is a solemn reminder of the judgment we could receive if we choose to go down the path of the “wicked, lazy servant.”We’re not being judged by how much we’ve been given, but by how we invest what we’ve been given into the kingdom of heaven.

Pause: Read Matthew 25:14–30 for context. Is there a talent you’re currently hiding? If so, reflect on why you are. Is it fear? Is it greed? Lack of trust? If not, thank Him for His abundant generosity and ask Him for guidance on stewardship.

Practice: Be on the lookout for opportunities to donate your time or money this week.

Pray: Lord, thank You for being such a generous Father and for blessing me with gifts. You didn’t have to, but You did because Your desire is to bless Your children so we can be a blessing to those around us. Help me be a better steward of the time, money, and resources You’ve gifted me. I’m so sorry for the times I doubt You and choose not to do what I know You’ve called me to do. Give me the courage to act in faith and honor You with my talents. Amen.