I thought this was an excellent article about this parable, as I have been having a rough time. I really hope this will reach others as well and encourage others as it has me.
What Is the Parable of the Talents?
This is a weird article. It's starts with a question as to why Jesus often used parables:
"
Stories are memorable. They are relatable. They are easier to recall and share with others. For this reason, very few stories ever end with “the end.” A great story stays with you, and in the case of Jesus’ parables, many of his listeners were still contemplating their application well beyond their initial telling, often arriving at the meaning of the message on their own, as opposed to simply being told. The Parable of the Talents is one of those stories."
Wha? This isn't the reason Jesus gave for why he used parables. He said it was because the people were stubborn and likely not to appreciate a straightforward answer. Matthew 13:10-16. He used parables because it was a way of discerning who was sincere and who was not. Jesus often phrased his teachings in a way that allowed people to see what they wanted to see. Here's an example:
"Give to Caesar what belongs to him and give to God what belongs to him." This was the answer Jesus gave when the pharisees tried to trick him into speaking against the government. They believed that he would say only God is worthy of our time and resources and as a result, the soldiers standing by would have cause to arrest him for sedition against the government.
Look closely at the answer. Most professing Christians see only the first part; "hey look at that, Jesus said it's okay to give our time to working for Caesar. Hooray"! This is why the soldiers didn't arrest him; to their dull-of-hearing ears, he had supported the government. That's all they cared about.
On the other hand,
sincere people will see the second half; after we've given to God what belongs to him, what is left for Caesar? Jesus was using the same language as them, but they couldn't hear it because they don't care about God. Their god is the government. The brilliance of Jesus' answer is that it allowed the people to hear what they wanted to here, whether for good or bad.
This same thing happens with parables; people hear what they
want to hear. In the case of the talents, the person who wrote this article wanted to hear a pleasant story promoting the accumulation of riches. Perhaps the most succinct paragraph was this:
"
A wise and faithful steward will be faithful with his master’s money and take care of what he’s been given because he knows the master will eventually return. They know that they are only borrowing the car or temporarily managing their master’s business. But more than just protecting their master’s wealth or possessions, a good steward will also find ways to grow and improve it."
It's all about making more money and using God to justify it. But, a sincere person will see that this parable isn't about making money at all. Jesus used money as a literary device because he was dealing with people who believed that chasing after money was important. It was an attempt to use their understanding as means of communicating value. In other words, in the same way that money has value to them, so too does hard work and faithfulness have value in the kingdom of Heaven. In the same way a person works full time to get more money in this worldly system, so too should those who serve in God's Kingdom be prepared to work hard to bear much fruit.
The whole chapter of John 15 talks about bearing much fruit. Go ahead and read it now and ask yourself if you really believe that chapter is all about just making more money. It would be blasphemous to come to that conclusion in the same way that it would be blasphemous to believe that Paul's reference to the fruit of the spirit included squeezing one another for a profit. Simon the sorcerer was punished for believing that he could buy the fruits of the spirit. Why? Wasn't he just trying to be a good steward of riches like the parable tells us to do?
It would be like visiting a lost tribe on an island somewhere where they don't use the same kind of money we do. Instead, they use shells and you're having a hard time getting them to understand, so you tell a story involving the shells to help them bridge that gap in their understanding. You're not trying to reinforce the importance of the shells; you're just using them as a means to convey importance regarding a concept that they're struggling to understand.
That's how it is with the parable of the talents. It's not about making more money. That completely misses the point and yet, Jesus indicated he knew that many people would miss the point in this way. In fact, he said that's precisely why he used parables. He said the people were dull of hearing. The parables probably saved himself a lot of arguing with them. He could do his job by exposing them to the message and let them sort it out for themselves.
