Faith & Finance Fridays
Reflect • Commit • Equip • Apply

Matthew 25:14-30
Faith Isn’t Measured in Numbers

Reflect: Not the Five, Not the One

When most of us read Mathew 25:14-30, our attention goes to the servant who received five talents, or to the servant who received one. Rarely do we consider the servant who received two. As we explore this passage this month, we reflect on the significance of the two-talent servant and how what our resemblance to him means.

First, what exactly is a talent? We can understand from Jesus’ parable that talents had something to do with money. It was, in fact, a unit of weight, used for weighing gold, silver, other precious metals, stones, and herbs. While we no longer use this as a unit of weight, we still use it as a measure of something equally precious: skill. 

Like the man in the parable, God entrusts each of us with abilities: “To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability …” – Matthew 25:15. Should we assume from this that the five-talent servant was more talented—to use the modern definition—than the other two? Not necessarily, no. This was a test for the other servants; one passed, and one failed.

God builds our character by testing us. This story in Matthew isn’t the only example of this in the Bible. We see similar themes elsewhere, especially in places like Genesis when God demands Abraham sacrifice his son, in Exodus when the Israelites have to wander for 40 years, and poor Job who faced test after test. Not even God’s Son is exempt from having His faith tested multiple times.

In the Parable of the Talents, most of us resemble the two-talent servant. We don’t perform at the level of the five-talent servant, not because we don’t have the ability, but because we may lack faith and don’t believe in our talents; because we’re selfish with them and lock them up so others don’t see or use them; or because we’re lazy and make excuses to not use them. Yet, like the two-talent servant, when we’re tested, we rise to the occasion. We do what we’re asked to do and receive God’s blessing.

If we’re the servants multiplying the talents the master—God—gave us, does this mean we’re supposed to be earning money for Him? No. What He’s asking of us is that we be good stewards of our talents for His intended purpose. When we do so, we can more completely follow His two greatest commandments: to love God above all others, and to love our neighbors as ourselves.

What does this mean for us on a financial level? It means using our talents, whether that means money or ability, to serve others through charitable giving. Charitable giving doesn’t always have to mean specifically a charity, either. It can be assistance for a neighbor during a difficult time or volunteering our time somewhere.

God wants us to all be the five-talent servant. He presents us with opportunities to grow our stewardship, and over the next four weeks as we reflect on this parable, we’ll look at more concrete ways we can rise to the occasion and be more like the five-talent servant.

Reflection Question: 

What talents have you been hiding away that you could use to benefit others?

Next Week:

Next week, we’ll continue reflecting on Matthew 25:14-30 and look at what it means to commit to using our talents to fulfill God’s purpose.