Originally from here.The Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30 is one that I find very empowering. While there are some individuals who will point to this as "proof" of God's cruelty in the New Testament, such interpretations gravely miss the point to this story. The story tells of people who are given a sum of money by a master. Each person uses this money to do something with it, except the last person, who buries it in a field. The master congratulates these individuals and condemns the last one.
Now one could also take from this some sort of economic spin, but that too would be missing the point. The currency in other translations is conveniently called talents. So each person is given so many talents, they use their talents and made more talents. The last servant hid his talent, specifically by burying it, so he would not lose it. The irony is that this servant ended up losing the talent he was given by hiding it.
The message I get from this parable seems pretty straight forward. Use the gifts and talents you have. Do not "bury" them away. If you hide your talents, you will lose them. What I found really intriguing in this story is the reason why this person hid his talent. He was afraid of losing it. Fear can be a crippling force but it is overcome by a little bit of knowledge and trust. That fear, whatever shape it takes, does not want us to use our talents. It want to keep us as its slave. It want to keep us in the darkness and away from the Light. With a little bit of knowledge and a lot of trust, we can at least try. I can hear the chorus crying out now, "What if we fail?" You just try again and now you know what doesn't work. Failure is nothing to fear, since it does not bring peace. Not trying only breeds more fear and resentment.
Do not hide your talents because of fear. Do not let Fear be your master. Use your talents and have confidence in yourself, your experiences, and God. If you are wrong, let it go and try again. Forgiveness is a free gift after all.
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