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 In the book of Matthew 14:30, Jesus tells us about the parable of the talents. In the parable he describes three servants, who where each given a talent by their master who was leaving to go abroad. The master gives five talents to one servant, two to the other and one to the third servant. Each were given according to the servants abilities.
The one with the five talents went off and traded with them and got five more, in like manner the one with the two talents gained another two. But the one who got one talent went out to the desert to bury it. When the master returned he sought after his servants to see what profits were made. He was very pleased with the first two servants who gained a profit and allowed them to be with him as a reward. But the servant who buried the talent was cast out into the darkness where there was weeping and gnashing of teeth because he didn’t try to make a profit.
In this parable the talents seem to be a form of money and were traded with, but should one take that meaning literally? Lets not forget when Jesus walked this earth he thought others to do good , show love and forgive one another. He even preferred a person to stay in poverty then to become rich. Why? Being wealthy can blind one to the need for God in there life, because they assume they have and can get anything they want with the help of there wealth. People who are in poverty are thankful to God for every bit of nourishment they eat and drink, they have limited material objects and are happy with little. Yet they praise God for that little.
That doesn’t mean everyone who is in poverty is a good person, because evil can be in people no matter what situation their in. A person can still be rich and still be pleasing to God, due to the fact that he/she has a good heart and knows and pleases God.
I have heard others use this parable as a way to promote the ways of this society, buying and selling and making money. But in my view they are wrong, this parable is not about materialistic gain, its about spiritual gain. The talent in my opinion represents pleasing acts that show love to God. Like helping others, giving and being charitable, loving others and your enemies, forgiveness, keeping the ten commandments, being understanding, patient and holding your tongue in situations where another may hurt from your words. Not only that, but doing all these acts to please and show love and respect to God in the hope that you may get to know God that extra bit more. The more you know God the more you feel Him protecting you in every situation.
In my opinion the ‘profit’ spoken of in the parable is the profit of love for God which benefits you and also the profit of helping others see and love God which benefits others. By growing your relationship and helping others grow there relationship with God then you are very profitable indeed. The 'master' is God and Jesus and the 'reward' is being with God in heaven.
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