This week I'm going to jump into Christ's parable of the talents in Matthew 25.
"And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey" (Matt. 25:15).
In the parable of the talents, Christ teaches us some very powerful lessons. He teaches us that we are not all given the same number of talents. God is a just God. Isn't he? Aren't we all equal in his eyes? Why is it that he seems to give some more talents than others?
There are a few things I would like to highlight from this scripture. First, the word talent can have many different meanings and applications, but in this post I am going to focus on the Greek word "talenton" which means "weight." Now if we read the scripture, it makes a lot more sense. Heavenly Father gives us weights or responsibilities according to our ability to handle them.
At the end of the parable, when the Lord reckons with the servants, the man who was given five talents doubled them to ten, the man given two also doubled them, but the man who received only one was afraid and went and hid his talent in the earth.
What is interesting is that the Lord gives each of the servants who doubled their talents an identical reward: he lets them enter into his joy and makes them ruler over many things (Matt. 25:21,23).
The only servant he was unhappy with was the one with one talent who didn't try.
Are we ever like the one talent man when given a responsibility? Do we shy away from it instead of taking it head on? Are we afraid we will make a mistake? We should never let the fear of failure keep us from trying. Did the other men who invested their talents to gain more have some struggles and lose a few talents along the way? Likely. Did they give up? No. They kept pushing and with the help of the Lord ended with double the amount they had.
Let's remember that it doesn't so much matter how MUCH the Lord has blessed us initially, or how many responsibilities he has given us, but what we DO with them. We must be wary of the scripture that says,"For of him unto whom much is given much is required; and he who sins against the greater light shall receive the greater condemnation" (D&C 82:3) .
Let us choose to work like the two faithful servants and not let our fear get in the way of success and blessings. Jesus Christ atoned for us because he knew we would mess up. If we never try, we will never mess up, but we will also never progress. Satan wants us to stop trying when we mess up. He wants us to think we have blown it and encourages us to beat up on ourselves.
Let's instead trust in the Lord and understand his perfect atonement better each day as we mess up, repent, and try to mess up less the next day. If we keep trying and investing our time, talents and energies in worthy pursuits, the Lord will help us, and (whether in this life or the next) he will bless us beyond our wildest dreams.
"And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey" (Matt. 25:15).
In the parable of the talents, Christ teaches us some very powerful lessons. He teaches us that we are not all given the same number of talents. God is a just God. Isn't he? Aren't we all equal in his eyes? Why is it that he seems to give some more talents than others?
There are a few things I would like to highlight from this scripture. First, the word talent can have many different meanings and applications, but in this post I am going to focus on the Greek word "talenton" which means "weight." Now if we read the scripture, it makes a lot more sense. Heavenly Father gives us weights or responsibilities according to our ability to handle them.
At the end of the parable, when the Lord reckons with the servants, the man who was given five talents doubled them to ten, the man given two also doubled them, but the man who received only one was afraid and went and hid his talent in the earth.
What is interesting is that the Lord gives each of the servants who doubled their talents an identical reward: he lets them enter into his joy and makes them ruler over many things (Matt. 25:21,23).
The only servant he was unhappy with was the one with one talent who didn't try.
Are we ever like the one talent man when given a responsibility? Do we shy away from it instead of taking it head on? Are we afraid we will make a mistake? We should never let the fear of failure keep us from trying. Did the other men who invested their talents to gain more have some struggles and lose a few talents along the way? Likely. Did they give up? No. They kept pushing and with the help of the Lord ended with double the amount they had.
Let's remember that it doesn't so much matter how MUCH the Lord has blessed us initially, or how many responsibilities he has given us, but what we DO with them. We must be wary of the scripture that says,"For of him unto whom much is given much is required; and he who sins against the greater light shall receive the greater condemnation" (D&C 82:3) .
Let us choose to work like the two faithful servants and not let our fear get in the way of success and blessings. Jesus Christ atoned for us because he knew we would mess up. If we never try, we will never mess up, but we will also never progress. Satan wants us to stop trying when we mess up. He wants us to think we have blown it and encourages us to beat up on ourselves.
Let's instead trust in the Lord and understand his perfect atonement better each day as we mess up, repent, and try to mess up less the next day. If we keep trying and investing our time, talents and energies in worthy pursuits, the Lord will help us, and (whether in this life or the next) he will bless us beyond our wildest dreams.
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