In the parable of the talents the Lord represented a man as going into a far country and leaving the talents in the care of his stewards. They were entrusted with these goods in a very special way. Thus it is with us. Each of us in entrusted with certain talents. At the time of consecration we gave our all to God. Having given all that we have and are to the Lord, he accepts our offering and appoints us his stewards over these goods-these things that we had. This would include our all-time, influence, various talents for business, music, or what not. All these are the Master’s after we have made consecration. We belong to Christ. He is the head, he ls Lord. But he commits to us as his faithful servants all these talents, to use for him. He says, “Occupy till I come.”

This parable applies to all the church all the way down this age. Each servant is to be diligent in occupying the position of steward until he is released from it. The steward who would use his position merely to glorify himself would not be a faithful steward. The faithful steward would be the one who would desire to use the talents so as to increase the Master’s wealth, the Master’s glory.

The Lord gave an illustration of the faithful and unfaithful stewards at his second presence, before he will deal at all with the subjects of the kingdom-mankind in general. He showed how he will call these servants to whom he has given the talents; for he has promised them that he will make them rulers with him in his kingdom, if they are faithful in the use of their talents. In the parable, the one who received five talents doubled them, and made them ten. The one who had received two talents made them four. The one who had received one talent gave the excuse that he had buried it in the earth, because afraid. He was declared to be an unfaithful steward.

This servant was not sent to eternal torment, but the talent was taken from him. It was of his own volition that he became a steward. Seeing that he had become a steward, he deserved to be punished because he did not use that which his lord had entrusted to him. That talent belonged to his lord.

An unfaithful steward will be punished for his unfaithfulness. Better that we should not enter into the Lord’s service at all than that we should enter and then hold back, neglect our opportunities. If the one who had the five talents had held back, his simply doing nothing would have made him responsible. In showing how he dealt with the one who had the one talent, and Lord is emphasizing the matter the more. These talents represent our opportunities for service according to our several abilities. The one who had less ability was given less opportunity than the one who had more ability.

So with us. Some may have handicaps of various kinds. Some have more talents, or abilities, some have less. We cannot use talents we do not possess. It is required of a man that he be found faithful with what he has. This matter of using all the talents calls up the thought of full, complete loyalty of heart devotion. We should not say I am doing better than somebody else, as the man with five talents might have thought had he used but three or four of them. The one who is using his talents to the full capacity is specially pleasing to the Lord. Those who have two talents and use them faithfully receive the same commendation as the one who has five talents and uses the five.

Two Parables Compared

The parables of the talents and of the pounds are much alike, both representing a great householder, or lord, dealing with his servants. In the parable of the pounds, a certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. This parable is based upon the fact that when an under-king, like King Herod, would hear that a new Emperor had come to the throne of Rome, he would be anxious for a re-appointment to his own kingdom. Knowing that the Emperor had power to reinstate him, he would be desirous to know whether he would receive his kingdom again, or whether someone else would receive the place. So when such under-kings went to Rome, it was with the view of returning with his kingdom, or a commission from the new Emperor.

Our Lord in this picture represents himself as a Nobleman who had been called to a throne, and who was going to a far country, to heaven itself, to receive the investiture of his kingdom. In due time he was to be the great Messiah; and he must first be invested with the authority, and then return and establish his kingdom.

In the parable of the talents, the lord, before leaving, called in his servants and committed unto them his goods, his property. He said, I will make these servants stewards. He gave one talent to one, two talents to another, and five to still another, according to their several ability. They were all remembered. When he returned he called his servants and reckoned with them. The one with two talents came and said, Lord, thou gavest me two talents. Here I make my report. I have gained two other talents. The one with the five talents said, Lord, thou gavest me five talents; lo, I have gained other five! I have doubled the amount and gotten ten! The lord said to each, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant! Enter thou into the joys of thy Lord. Thou has been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things.”

Then came the servant with only one talent. Although he returned it, he had failed to use it. He said, I have not lost a penny; here is thine own. His Lord said unto him, Thou art a slothful and wicked servant! The servant was punished because he was unfaithful.

Opportunity Measures Responsibility

The Lord gave this parable as an illustration of our experiences now. These talents consist of opportunities. We recently had the talent, or opportunity, of speaking the truth to 5,000 people. Therefore we had a responsibility. However, if we do not have such an opportunity, we do not have the responsibility of it. This is what the Lord meant, we understand. One may have more opportunities granted him than another. One person might be a good writer; another a good speaker; another a good exhorter; and another may be good at all three of these things. The one good at all three would have thereby three times as much responsibility as the one with only one ability.

The talent in Bible times represented a certain amount of money. According to the most recent figures available (Am. Bib. Society, 1895), the talent mentioned in the Scriptures was either gold or silver. The value in United States money of the gold talent is $32,689.00, while the silver talent was but $1,563.37. Our Lord, however, used the talent, not to represent gold or silver, but as well representing the opportunities his people have to do God’s will and to serve the brethren, for he says that whoever does good to one of the least of His will receive a blessing.

The lesson taught in the parable of the pounds seems somewhat different. In this the lord gave each of his servants one pound to do what he could with what was given him. One gained five pounds, and one gained ten. The third gained nothing. The pound (mina or maneh) is equivalent, if gold, to $6,637.80; if silver, $312.67.

Significance of One Pound to Each

In this application of the parable, to our understanding, the pound represents the blessing of justification given to each of God’s children. When did he give us the pound? When he accepted us as his servants. When did he accept us as servants? We were not servants when we first turned from sin. To turn from sin is not to become a servant. The first step toward God is to turn away from sin toward righteousness, and to attempt to draw nigh unto God; for God says, “Draw nigh unto me and I will draw nigh unto you.”

This one is walking in the way to justification, but has not gotten it. He is getting nearer and nearer to the right place in his ideas, etc. Finally he comes to the place where he says, Lord, if thou wilt accept me, I will give thee all I have. He offers himself to be God’s servant.

One is not yet a servant of the Lord when he turns from sin. We never had a right to do wrong; and in getting away from sin and wrong, we were not serving God. God has no servants in this age except those begotten of the Holy Spirit. Others may in some sense be used as servants; for God can use even the wrath of man to serve him. In a certain sense the devil may be his servant; for sometimes he does what the Lord wishes to be done. We think the devil was serving God when he got the Jews stirred up to crucify Jesus. Demons often serve the Lord in bringing tribulation upon his people, for these tribulations are like the turning of the grindstone that polishes the jewel. God wishes to use some means at the present time to polish his jewel class.

However, the servants referred to in the parables are the Lord’s consecrated people; for it is only those who have reached the point of full consecration to God that he calls his servants. Those who gave up the service of sin and unrighteousness became their own servants, the servants of self, until they gave up their lives to the Lord. They then said, I have no will but thine. I will serve thee faithfully, even unto death. As the Lord accepts these as his servants, he gives each one a pound.

What is this pound? It is justification to life-a valuable thing. Now, being justified by faith, and being thus accepted as a servant of God, and begotten of the Holy Spirit, each one has the opportunity to do what he is able as a servant of the Lord. He uses whatever talents the Lord gives him. He must do his best with all that is entrusted to his care, as a faithful servant of the King of kings, and Lord of lords. R 5385 (1914)