Bible Parables S1E1 -- The Parable Of The Talents

The Parable of the Talents For the kingdom of heaven is like a man travelling to a far country,

Who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them.

And to one he gave five talents,

To another two,

And to another one,

To each according to his own ability.

And immediately he went on a journey.

Then he who had received the five talents,

Went and traded with them,

And made another five talents.

And likewise he who had received two,

Gained two more also.

But he who had received one,

Went and dug a hole in the ground and hid the Lord's money.

After a long time the Lord of the servants came and settled accounts with them.

So he who had received five talents,

Came and brought five more talents,

Saying,

Lord,

You have delivered to me five talents.

Look,

I have gained five talents besides them.

His Lord said to him,

Well done,

Good and faithful servant.

You were faithful over a few things.

I will make you a ruler over many things.

Enter into the joy of your Lord.

He who had received two talents,

Came and said,

Lord,

You delivered to me two talents.

Look,

I have gained two more talents besides them.

His Lord said to him,

Well done,

Good and faithful servant.

You have been faithful over a few things.

I will make you a ruler over many things.

Enter into the joy of your Lord.

Then he who had received that one talent,

Came and said,

Lord,

I knew you to be a hard man reaping where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed.

And I was afraid.

So I went and hid your talent in the ground.

Look,

Here you have what is yours.

But his Lord answered and said to him,

You wicked and lazy servant,

You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed.

So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers.

And at my coming,

I would have received back my own with interest.

Therefore,

Take the talent from him and give it to him who has ten talents.

For to everyone who has,

More will be given,

And he will have abundance.

But from him who does not have,

Even what he has will be taken away.

And he cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness.

There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

So that's the parable.

And on the face of it,

The parable seems to be pretty straightforward.

It's about the master giving his servant some kind of money and then two servants go out and double the money while one does nothing with it.

So when we think about this parable,

Firstly,

We can think about our talents,

What talents we have,

What gifts we have,

And whether we are using them or not.

That's one way to think about it.

I will start now to go into this line by line to see if it becomes a little bit more clearer and a little bit more relatable.

So the parable starts like,

For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country,

Who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them.

And the words,

The kingdom of heaven,

And very specifically relating to this parable.

So what does the kingdom of heaven mean in relation to what's happening in relation to the drama of the whole story?

Now,

The way I see it,

The kingdom of heaven can be interpreted in many ways.

So firstly,

If we look at our life and we look at our different areas of our life,

When we look at our physical health,

The kingdom of heaven could mean having good physical health,

Being free of illnesses.

That could mean the kingdom of heaven to some.

When we look at our relationships,

The kingdom of heaven could mean having harmony in relationships,

Having loving relationships,

Having supportive relationships.

If we look at our careers,

The kingdom of heaven could mean progressing in our careers,

Doing well in the work that we do.

Looking at our leisure and recreational activities,

The kingdom of heaven could mean finding bliss and finding joy and finding serenity doing the things that we love to do.

When we look at our spirituality,

The kingdom of heaven could mean finding that peace in our connection with a divine power.

So the kingdom of heaven could mean different things to different people.

Life essentially is a journey and we are all entrusted with gifts,

We are entrusted with opportunities,

We are entrusted with responsibilities.

And the goods that are spoken about in this parable could represent your talents,

Could represent time,

Could represent energy.

It could also represent your life's purpose.

And the man who was travelling could symbolise your higher self,

Could symbolise the divine.

And for some you could also say that symbolises God.

And the man who is travelling is giving you these gifts expecting you to use them wisely.

So imagine you're starting a new job where you're given the responsibility to manage a project.

The company is now trusting you to use your skills,

To use your judgement to make the project successful.

And similar to a job assignment,

Life gives you talents,

Life gives you opportunities that you're expected to use and to grow.

So the parable goes on to say to one he gave five talents,

To another two and to another one,

Each according to his own ability and he then immediately went out on his journey.

The gifts and talents that we are entrusted with,

The responsibilities that we are entrusted with,

Somehow they match our abilities.

The distribution of talents is not about fairness in quantity but it's about the trust placed in your capacity to handle what is given to you.

Because each person's journey is different.

Each person's journey should be tailored to their strengths,

Should be tailored to their own potential for growth.

Some get five talents,

Some get two talents,

Some get one talent but what matters is what you do with it.

Some people are born into rich families,

Some people are born into poor families,

Some people are born into abusive families.

But what matters is what you do with what you are given.

A good example is two students,

One who is good with math is definitely he will be given advanced projects in mathematics.

If there's another student who excels in art,

They would be encouraged to develop their creativity.

So each of us is given tasks according to our strength.

Similarly in life you might get certain challenges or opportunities based on what you're naturally good at.

So then he who had received five talents went and traded with them and made another five talents.

When you actively engage with your gifts and opportunities,

You create growth and abundance.

Whatever you focus on expands where your effort goes,

Their energy starts to flow.

And this line tells us that action driven by faith in your abilities will lead to multiplication.

Your efforts produce more than you started with.

Someone may have a knack for baking.

Once they realize that they have this knack for baking,

They start off baking initially for friends,

Initially for family.

Then they start selling a few items here and there.

Over the period of time,

They possibly open a small bakery and they put in effort and keep putting the effort in and the bakery starts to grow and they begin to attract more customers.

Their menu expands and eventually the bakery opens up in more locations.

So this person's initial talent for baking has multiplied because they have actively used and nurtured it.

Similarly,

Someone who has a knack for music,

If they put in the time to practice,

To be diligent,

To be disciplined and they keep expanding and keep moving forward with that,

It is just a period of time before they become a good musician if not a great musician and the rewards start coming in.

And the parable goes on to say likewise,

He who had received two gained two more also.

And this is essentially the same as as you keep putting in the effort,

You will automatically get the rewards.

But he who had received one went and dug in the ground and hid the Lord's money.

And sometimes opportunities present themselves,

Challenges present themselves,

But fear,

Doubt,

Inactivity,

Sometimes looking for instant gratification,

All this can lead us towards stagnation.

Instead of doing the work that I need to do,

I spend the whole weekend binge watching on Netflix.

Now that is definitely wasting my talent.

So when you bury your talents,

When you bury your potential,

You are essentially hiding your light from the world.

And in this line,

The main highlight is do not let fear dictate your actions.

Do not let fear dictate your actions.

Someone who wants to write a book,

Someone who dreams of publishing a book,

But never shares their work because they have fear of rejection,

They have fear of judgment.

So they write and they keep their manuscript hidden.

And their fear keeps them from the chance to grow as a writer,

To connect with readers.

Their fear of failure leads them towards missed opportunities.

And the parable goes on to say that after a long time,

The Lord of the servants came and settled accounts with them.

And essentially,

This line talks about accountability.

Because at some point,

We sit and we reflect,

What have I done with my life?

I had all these opportunities and I did not take them.

Now it's too late.

Sometimes we reach that point where we start regretting not having taken action earlier.

If I would have started my master's degree five years ago,

I would have finished today.

If I would have started learning this skill,

I would be adept in that skill today.

So there will come a time when you reflect on how you've used your life's resources,

Settling of accounts.

It's a moment of self-assessment.

You look at the fruits of your actions and inactions.

You can also think of it as a spiritual reckoning where you measure your life against your potential.

At the beginning of the year,

Many of us make our new year resolutions.

We will do this year and we will do,

We will do this this year and we will do that this year and we will achieve this year and we will achieve that this year.

But at the end of the year,

Many people reflect on their achievements and areas for improvement.

Similar to a yearly review at work,

Have you met your goals?

Have you been using your time wisely?

So this sentence talks about accountability,

Taking the time to evaluate whether you've made the most out of your abilities and your opportunities.

So he who had received five talents came and brought another five talents saying,

Lord,

You delivered me five talents.

Look,

I have gained five more talents besides them.

Fully engaging with your gifts,

Living out your life to your potential.

This essentially gives us a sense of fulfillment and purpose.

Generally,

If you are finding yourself at that point in your life where you feel that something's not right or life is not moving smoothly or there seems to be a disconnect with life,

It's possibly because you are not living your life to your potential even though you know what your potential is.

So when you fully engage and with your gifts and you live out your potential,

You experience a sense of fulfillment and purpose.

Joy and satisfaction comes from knowing you've made the most of what you've been given.

Try living each day to master your potential.

Living each day to master the day,

To make the most out of the day,

To not let the day go to waste,

To use the day to move forward towards your goals,

Whatever your goals,

Whatever your aspirations may be.

And the Lord said to him,

Well done,

Good and faithful servant.

You are faithful over a few things.

I will make you a ruler over many things.

Enter into the joy of your Lord.

And essentially,

This is how it goes,

Right?

Faithfulness in small things leads to greater opportunities,

Greater responsibilities.

If you are diligent and faithful in using your gifts,

You are rewarded with more in terms of external opportunities and inner fulfillment.

Let's say you're working in a company and you start with a small role,

But consistently you go above and beyond,

Above and beyond what you are supposed to do.

And it's only a matter of time before this effort starts to get noticed and you get promoted.

Because you have proved yourself,

Because you have proved yourself that you are reliable,

That you are capable,

This dedication to small things leads to greater opportunities.

And the parable goes further to say,

And he who had received one talent came and said,

Lord,

I knew you to be a hard man reaping where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed.

And I was afraid and went and hid your talent in the ground.

Look,

Here,

Look,

There you have what is yours.

And this is where the parable highlights fear,

Fear,

Negative perceptions.

This is generally what keeps us back.

This is generally what leads to inaction,

Leads to miss opportunities.

What will people say if I fail?

If I do this and I'm not successful,

People will laugh at me.

If a work,

If I'm hosting a workshop and no one turns up,

I am a failure.

Fear,

Negative perception tends to hold us back.

Someone who never applies for a promotion someone who never applies for a promotion because they believe that they will not be promoted.

They believe that they are not worthy or they believe that the manager has a negative perception of them,

So they don't even try to apply.

And to this,

The Lord answered and said to him,

You wicked and lazy servant,

You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed.

So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers and at my coming,

I would have received back my own with interest.

And this is essentially missed potential when we fail to act out of fear.

So even small cautious actions,

As this line says,

Depositing the money in the bank and that's possibly one of the safest things to do.

So if we are afraid to take big actions,

Small cautious steps,

One step at a time is better than not taking a single step at all.

Inaction would lead to regret and lost opportunities.

A musician who never releases their music because they are afraid it won't be perfect.

The least that they could have done is shared their work online to get feedback,

But their fear holds them back.

And after a few years,

They may regret even taking those small steps that they could have taken to share their talent with the world.

So if fear is holding you back from taking those big steps,

Take smaller steps,

Take cautious steps,

Take cautious steps.

And he went on to say,

Therefore,

Take that talent from him and give it to him who has 10 talents.

And this is essentially how life is,

Because a person who is diligent,

Who is hardworking,

Who is disciplined will always get more out of life than a person who is unreliable,

Who is undisciplined,

Who is not diligent.

And all opportunities will go towards the person who is putting the effort,

Who is putting themselves out there.

Someone who neglects their health,

Someone who skips exercise,

Someone who eats poorly,

Over the period of time,

Their energy and well-being decrease.

While as someone who regularly invests in their health,

Finds they gain even more energy and vitality.

And this principle essentially applies to all areas of our life,

Whether it be health,

Whether it be relationships.

If we are not putting the time and our effort in our relationships,

We will lose out in our relationships.

If we are not putting our time and effort into our spouses,

Our spouses may drift away.

If we are not putting our time and effort into our careers,

We lose out on opportunities.

Other people will get those opportunities.

For to everyone who has,

More will be given and he will have abundance.

But from him who does not have,

Even that what he has will be taken away.

An entrepreneur starts a small business and as they succeed,

They keep reinvesting their profits into the business,

Expanding and growing.

And the success simply leads to more success.

And conversely,

Someone who ignores their business,

Declines and they could lose whatever they have built.

So this is essentially the principle of momentum.

Success builds on success.

Neglect leads to loss.

When you actively engage with your gifts and opportunities,

You create this positive cycle of growth and abundance.

And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness,

There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

And the outer darkness simply symbolizes a state of regret,

A state of isolation,

A state of unrealized potential.

When you fail to use your gifts,

You may find yourself disconnected from the joy and contentment that comes from living fully.

Someone who's always dreamed of traveling the world,

But they keep putting it off.

And the years pass and they find themselves filled with regret for not pursuing their passions when they had the chance.

And this is simply what it means by the outer darkness.

The outer darkness is that regret that we have of unfulfilled dreams,

The regret that we have of the opportunities that we could have gotten on.

So,

Essentially,

Yes,

Essentially,

A regret,

Remorse for all the things that we could have done,

But we didn't do.

And sometimes,

Many people don't know what their talents are.

One of the best ways to identify your talents is to try to think about your childhood at some point between the ages of 10 and possibly 12.

What were the things you liked doing?

What were the things that you did that you found joy in?

Maybe it was painting.

Maybe it was singing.

Maybe it was reading.

Maybe it was writing.

Maybe you were good with craft.

Maybe you were good with sport.

Try to go back to that time when you were between 8 and 12,

When you were a child.

What did you enjoy doing as a child?

And possibly that would help you to identify your talent.

One interpretation is,

Of course,

It's about talents as gifts,

But I see this parable expanding to all life areas.

Say,

For example,

There is one person who has five friends.

Another person has two friends.

Another person has one friend.

The person who has five friends,

He takes the time to regularly connect with his friends.

He meets up with them.

They share their joys.

They share their sorrows.

They share their dreams.

They share their plans.

They collaborate with each other.

And over the period of time,

They get that fulfillment and joy of having that shared friendship experience.

They get to have all these different experiences.

They get to have these different experiences of life.

And same with the person who has two friends.

He connects with them regularly.

He meets up with them regularly.

They possibly collaborate and open a business or a venture or a band or write a book.

Doing that,

They are able to find that joy of life.

They are able to experience the kingdom of heaven in their friendship.

And then you have the person who has one friend but doesn't bother to call them up,

Doesn't bother to meet up with them,

Completely ignores and neglects their friendship.

And after a point in time,

That person does not want to be their friend anymore.

They go and find other friends.

To those who have,

More will be given and to those who do not have,

Even what they have will be taken away.

So that's how we can apply this parable to our relationships.

We can also apply it to our careers.

Learning new skills.

And if there's one talent that we all have,

It's the capability to use our mind.

Learning new skills,

No matter what the skill.

Or learning skills related to the work that you are doing to make you a more efficient worker,

To make you a more productive worker,

To make you a more result-oriented worker,

To make you a more leadership-oriented worker.

Taking the time to learn the skills because we've all been blessed with that resource of having a mind.

The same parable,

When we look at the area of community,

When we give back to our community,

We start to receive also.

We start to receive reciprocation.

We start to receive respect.

We start to receive love as against completely being self-centered and being only with ourself.

And then there's our hobbies,

Our hobbies are the creation,

Our leisure activities.

When we take the time to engage in our leisure activities,

To engage in our hobbies,

Besides getting insanely good at those hobbies over a period of time,

We also get that joy and peace that comes from disconnecting from the world for that short period of time and spending time with ourselves doing what we love and enjoy.

It helps to balance the areas of life.

And then there's spirituality,

There's the area of spirituality.

If I engage actively in my spirituality,

Whether it's through meditation,

Whether it's through mindfulness,

Whether it's through practicing yoga or whether it's through practicing mantras or chanting or whatever you associate your spirituality with,

Automatically we are blessed with abundance in terms of peace of mind,

In terms of serenity,

In terms of connection with the divine.

Whereas if I don't engage in my spirituality,

I disconnect myself from the oneness of everything around me.

I try to live as an island,

Trying to control and trying to exert my influence on everything.

And when things don't start to work in my favor,

I start getting frustrated,

I start getting annoyed,

I start getting irritated.

So sometimes spirituality could mean just acknowledging that I don't need to be in control.

Now we will go into the meditation.

So if you are seated,

Get yourself comfortable in your chair.

If you are sleeping,

Sink a bit deeper into your bed.

And if you are standing and moving around,

Simply try to relax yourself and bring your attention to your breath.

If it is safe to do so,

You can close your eyes.

And without putting any effort,

Notice the air as it moves in and out of your nostrils.

Simply observe,

Simply witness.

With every breath,

Let your mind settle.

And prepare yourself to reflect on your inner strengths,

On your inner resources.

Take a moment to acknowledge your journey to this point of time.

A moment to acknowledge your unique strengths,

Your skills,

Your knowledge,

Your wisdom,

Your wisdom,

Your wisdom,

Your wisdom,

Your wisdom.

A moment to acknowledge your unique strengths,

Your skills,

And opportunities that have come your way.

And consider how these elements have shaped your potential and contribute to the life that you have built.

You have within you the capacity to grow,

To achieve,

To make a difference.

Imagine yourself holding a collection of your strengths,

Your skills,

And your opportunities in your hands.

These,

What you are holding in your hands,

Are your talents,

The inner resources,

The external opportunities that define your potential.

Think about what you have been given in terms of abilities,

Think about what you have been given in terms of abilities,

In terms of time,

In terms of relationships,

In terms of passions.

These,

What you have been given,

Are the tools at your disposal to shape your life and impact the world around you.

Now,

Bring to mind individuals who you know who take proactive steps to use their strengths and opportunities.

They invest their time and energy wisely,

Continually seeking to grow and make progress.

They understand that their potential is something to be developed,

Not left idle.

Picture yourself as one of these people,

Actively engaged in pursuing your goals,

Expanding your skills,

And making meaningful contributions.

How can you invest your time and energy in ways that help you grow and succeed?

And what steps can you take today to maximize your potential?

Now,

Bring to mind people who,

Out of fear and doubt,

Hesitate to take action.

They hold back.

They are uncertain of their abilities or afraid of the future.

And this hesitation often leads to missed opportunities,

Stagnation.

Now,

Bring to mind any areas of your life where fear or doubt may be holding you back,

Firmly using your potential.

Think about the ways you might have been bearing your strengths,

Instead of using them to the fullest.

And if these feelings of fear,

These feelings of doubt are there,

Ask yourself,

How can you overcome these feelings and move forward with confidence?

And now,

Imagine a moment in the future.

A moment in the future where you look back on your life and you assess how you've used your strengths and opportunities.

And how you've used your strengths and opportunities to move forward with confidence.

And at this point in the future,

How do you feel about the choices you've made?

So,

How can you live in a way that maximizes your potential,

That leads to a sense of fulfillment?

And what action can you take today to ensure that you're moving toward a life of growth and achievement?

Take a moment to appreciate the potential within you and the opportunities around you.

Commit to using your strengths and resources to their fullest,

Not just for personal gain,

But for the positive impact you can have on others and the world.

Keep in mind that the world is a big place,

Keep in mind that the choices you make each day,

These choices shape the future you create.

We will take a minute of silence now to simply meditate on our talents and our potential.

And what we need to do to live our life to the fullest of our potential.

And once more,

Bring your attention to your breath.

Simply become aware of your breathing.

And when you are ready,

You may open your eyes.

This brings to mind one of those stories,

One of those inspiring stories that probably never happened.

So,

There was this person who was the son of a businessman,

And there was a lot of pressure on him to succeed in business.

But unfortunately for this person,

Whatever business he would start always failed.

So,

He would start one business and within a few months it would go bust,

And then he would try something else and that too would go bust,

And he would try something else and that too would go bust,

And then he would try something else and that too would go bust.

So,

Ultimately what this person did is he wrote a book on the different ways of not of how to fail at a business,

And that went successful.

So,

As I said,

This is possibly one of those inspiring stories that never happened.

So,

Yeah,

It's about our talents and it's about like attracting like and the more you have,

The more you will get.

And these are universal truths,

These are applicable universally.

So,

Anything that you want to do,

Anything that you need to do,

Start taking action towards it.

Even the smallest of actions,

It goes a long way,

It starts to create that energy.

And it's not a matter of simply accepting it because you've read it in a book or you've heard it on a podcast or because you've heard me saying it.

It's about going and doing it and then experiencing it for yourself,

Actually experiencing whether it works or not.

And as you start to do it,

You will be amazed,

I was amazed.

You will be amazed,

I was amazed.

I was amazed in that.

That little effort,

That little energy that you start putting in it,

It compounds,

It compounds over the period of time.

Once again,

Thank you.

Love,

Light,

Blessings.

Namaste.