November 18, 2013

What if the Talent is Love?

I've heard the Parable of the Talents explained in several ways over the years, and they have either seemed somewhat incomplete or require a lot more inference than I think is needed. Over the past several days, some personal experiences have led me to an interpretation that seems pretty accurate to me.

14"For [it is] just like a man [about] to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. 15"To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. 16"Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. 17"In the same manner the one who [had received] the two [talents] gained two more. 18"But he who received the one [talent] went away, and dug [a hole] in the ground and hid his master's money. 19"Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20"The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, 'Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.' 21"His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.' 22"Also the one who [had received] the two talents came up and said, 'Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.' 23"His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.' 24"And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, 'Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no [seed]. 25And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.' 26"But his master answered and said to him, 'You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no [seed]. 27Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my [money] back with interest. 28Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.' 29"For to everyone who has, [more] shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. 30"Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
What kind of comparison do we get when we change the talents (money) to love (agape)?



The first two were praised for making investments and increasing the master's money. When we put money into commerce, it's not just about the economic benefit we stand to gain; the person who is receiving the money uses it to his own benefit, as do the people on down the line from him. The entire community profits from the investment. (yes, this is a simplistic explanation, but this parable isn't about the economics of money, remember?)

Since the master left his servants, and for a long period of time, we know that he wasn't going to be providing for their own needs during his absence. It's reasonable to assume that in addition to doubling the master's money, the first two servants were able to provide for their own needs during that time as well from investing the master's gift.

For the third servant, the money didn't benefit anyone at all, even himself. He obviously would have had to do something else during that time to provide his own upkeep.

In investing, there is always risk. The first two servants likely had losses and gains that are common to any investor. But through time, they came out much richer. The third servant took no risk at all, and stayed exactly the same in terms of wealth.

When we take the risk to invest agape love in our fellows, there are ripples that extend much farther than we imagine. In taking that risk, we'll probably experience some hurt, but will always wind up richer if we keep working and investing our love. Not only will we find that we double our Master's gift, but we get what we need for ourselves along the way. And in this kind of commerce, everyone else gains the benefits of that invested love.

What about the third servant? The master told him that he should have at least put the money in the bank so that he could have gained the interest on it. Perhaps this servant didn't even invest love in those closest to him, the ones where there would have been very little risk and gain.


And what could be meant by the master taking the talent from the third servant and giving to the first one? 29"For to everyone who has, [more] shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. 30"Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 

This certainly isn't about taking money from the poor, nor do I see it as a parable about condemning sinners to hell.

When we quit giving out our love, we begin to lose the ability to give it. We wind up in an agonizing isolation and loneliness; indeed a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth. But if we give our love freely, willing to accept the risk, we find that we have love in such abundance that we can give it to more and more people.

As if to drive home the point about the parable being about love, Jesus next explains to the disciples how when we care for the hungry, sick, suffering, imprisoned people around us, we are caring for Him. When we love other people, we love Him. Love spreads, multiplies, and is given to us in abundance.

We find out that we are now in charge of many things concerning love, and we enter into the joy of our Master.

That's just my opinion on it, but I think it works a lot better than explanations about faith or spiritual gifts. What do you think?

1 comment:

  1. Edward Hardwick11/18/2013 05:59:00 PM

    This is awesome. A big Amen from me!

    ReplyDelete