Jesus once told a story about a man who handed his wealth to three servants and left town. Two of them got to work. One dug a hole. That short story, known as the parable of the talents, is one of the most searched passages in the Bible, and it asks a question every one of us has to answer: what are you doing with what you've been given?
Here is what it means in plain language, from "The Good Stewards," a message taught at illuminate church in Kissimmee as part of our series The Generous Life.
If you only have a minute:
- The story. A master entrusts his wealth to three servants, then returns to see what they did with it (Matthew 25:14-30).
- The meaning. In this message, the master is God and we are the servants. We are stewards, not owners.
- The reward. God rewards those who steward well the time, gifts and resources they have been given.
- The account. One day we will give an account for how we used what God gave us.
- The question. Is your hand open or closed?
What is the parable of the talents?
A parable is a short story Jesus told to teach a spiritual truth. The parable of the talents is found in Matthew 25:14-30. Here is how it begins:
"Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey." (Matthew 25:14-15)
The New International Version (NIV) says "bags of gold," but the original Greek word is "talent." A talent was not a skill. It was a large amount of money. The NIV footnote says one talent was worth about 20 years of a day laborer's wages. So even the servant who received "only" one bag was holding a fortune that belonged to someone else.
The first servant put his five bags to work and gained five more. The second turned two bags into four. The third dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money. "After a long time," the master returned to settle accounts (Matthew 25:19).
The parable of the talents meaning: stewards, not owners
In this message, the master in the story is God, and we are the servants. The master gave his own resources to his servants and then watched to see what they would do with them. That is the heart of the parable of the talents meaning: we are stewards, not owners.
What is a steward?
A steward is someone who cares for another person's property. If something is yours, you can do as you please with it. If it isn't, you do as the owner pleases. Notice the word in verse 14: the master "entrusted" his wealth to them. He didn't give it away.
So is what you have yours, or His? Scripture answers plainly.
"Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours." (1 Chronicles 29:11)
Paul asks the same thing in the New Living Translation (NLT): "What do you have that God hasn't given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a gift?" (1 Corinthians 4:7).
You can't give God anything He didn't give you first
Picture a kid whose parents give them money to buy Dad a present. The kid proudly says, "Look what I got you!" But Dad paid for the gift.
Once something is in our hands, we start to think of it as ours. In this message, even the common phrase "I gave my life to Jesus" gets a second look. Your life already belonged to God. What we really mean is, "I realize He has always owned my life, and I will now live joyfully from that truth." We don't own our lives, our resources or our talents. We steward them.
What this means for you
God has entrusted you with time, abilities and resources, and He is watching what you do with them, not for the sake of His stuff, but for your sake. Take one thing you think of as "mine" this week and ask, "If this is God's, what would He want me to do with it?"
Why two servants heard "Well done"
When the master came back, the first two servants showed him what they had gained. Both received the same answer:
"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'" (Matthew 25:21)
Here is the second big truth of the message: God rewards those who steward well the time, gifts and resources they have been given. Wherever God rules and is given room, that area flourishes.
You reap what you sow
"Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." (Galatians 6:7-9)
Sowing to please the flesh looks like greed and selfishness. Sowing to please the Spirit looks like generosity, because God Himself is generous. Doing good for others will cost you something. Sow, and you will reap. That is the promise.
The message names three seeds God has placed in our hands: our time, our talent and our money. And financial freedom, as this message put it, doesn't mean extraordinary wealth. It means extraordinary peace. We unpack those three seeds in more detail in Biblical Stewardship: The 3 Seeds God Has Entrusted to You.
"And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others." (2 Corinthians 9:8, NLT)
God isn't poor, and He isn't begging for your money. He is after your heart. Giving is not for God, it's for you. Through giving we learn peace and provision, and we watch greed and selfishness die. To see how generosity flows from who God is, read How God's Generosity Transforms Our Lives.
What went wrong with the servant who buried his gold?
"Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. 'Master,' he said, 'I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.'" (Matthew 25:24-25)
He didn't lose the money. He didn't steal it. He simply buried it. The master called him a "wicked, lazy servant," took the bag of gold from him and gave it to the servant who had ten.
"For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them." (Matthew 25:29)
This is the principle of good stewardship. You have been entrusted with a great wealth of time, talent and treasure. If there is no sowing, there is no reaping. Will you sow it, or hoard it?
The parable of the talents and the day accounts are settled
The last point of the message is the one we least like to hear: we will be held accountable for how we use what God has given us.
We tend to be selective listeners. We love the promises of rest, peace and a new life in Christ. But when God says He will settle accounts for what we did with what He gave us, we can put our fingers in our ears.
Jesus included accountability in this story on purpose. He also said He "will repay each person according to what he has done" (Matthew 16:27, ESV).
"So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God." (Romans 14:12)
Two questions God may ask
In this message, two moments of accounting are named. The first is the great white throne judgment described in Revelation 20, where the question is, "What did you do with my Son?" The second is the judgment seat of Christ in 2 Corinthians 5:10, where the question is, "What did you do with my stuff?" The Greek word for that seat is bema.
Open hands or closed hands?
The message closes with one simple question God may ask each of us: "Was your hand open or closed?"
Open hands say, "God, use whatever You like." But open hands are also ready to receive whatever God wants to give. Sometimes we can't receive from God because our hands are closed.
What this means for you
The parable of the talents isn't about how much you start with. Five bags or one, the question is the same: will you put it to work for God's Kingdom? Look at your time, your abilities and your money this week, and choose one seed to sow instead of bury. For practical ideas on giving that lasts, read Treasures in Heaven: Tithing, Generosity and the One Investment That Lasts Forever.
If you have never taken the first step of trusting Jesus with your whole life, start here: Know Jesus. If you need someone to pray with you, our team is ready at Prayer and Care. And we would love to meet you in person, so plan your visit to illuminate church in Kissimmee this Sunday.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Parable of the Talents
What is the parable of the talents about?
It is a story Jesus told in Matthew 25:14-30 about a master who entrusts his wealth to three servants. Two put it to work and are rewarded. The third hides it and loses it. In this message, the master represents God, and the story teaches that we are stewards, not owners, of everything we have.
What is a talent in the Bible?
A talent was a large sum of money, not a skill. The NIV translates it "bag of gold" and notes that one talent was worth about 20 years of a day laborer's wages.
What happened to the servant who hid his talent?
He said he was afraid, so he buried the money. The master called him wicked and lazy, took the bag of gold from him and gave it to the servant who had ten (Matthew 25:26-30).
