Jesus often told stories to help people understand the Truth of God. One of these stories was about talent, and what you can do with it.

Back then, there was a kind of money called a talent. These were used to trade for other goods, and if you traded well, you could make more money than you started with!

There was a rich man who was going on a long trip. Before he left, he gave some of these talents to his servants.

He had three servants. The first was very smart and good at trading, so the master gave him five talents. He said, “Thank you, master!” and went to the market with them.

To the second servant, he gave two talents. He was pretty smart and good at trading, but not quite the expert the first servant was. He also said, “Thank you, master!” and went to the market to trade.

The third servant was not so bright. The master was worried that he wasn’t such a great trader. So, he gave him only one talent.

This servant took the one talent and said, “Thank you, master!” He set out to the market, but he was worried. He thought, what if I spend it and I don’t get something back? What if I lose it? Then, the master will be angry with me!

So, he turned around and went back to the house. There, he buried his one talent in the ground where no one would find it. That way, it would be safe, and he could give it back to the master when he returned.

The first servant took his five talents and went trading. Pretty soon, he started making money. Before he knew it, he had doubled his talents. Now he had ten! “Won’t the master be pleased!” he said to himself.

The second servant also did quite well at the markets. He took the two talents his master had given him and doubled them, too. Now he had four. “The master will be quite pleased!” He said.

The third servant went about his work as usual and didn’t worry about his one buried talent. It would still be there, he was sure.

Finally, the master returned. He said to his servants, “Well, how have you done?”

The first servant showed him the ten talents. “Look, master. I have doubled the money you gave me!”

“Well done!” said his master, slapping him on the back. “I will let you keep those talents, and I will also give you part of the kingdom to rule over. You have shown me that you are very skillful! And how about you?”

The second servant responded, “Master, I have also doubled the money you gave me. Look, now I have four!”

“Excellent!” said the master. “You have done an excellent job! I will let you keep the money, and you may also have some of my best farmland and livestock. I will set you up so that you can have your own farm!”

He patted him on the back and the servant was very happy. Then, he turned to the third. “And, how about you, my friend?”

The servant held the one talent to his master. He said, “Look master, I know that you are a strict master, and I did not want to risk losing the money you gave me, so I buried it in the yard. Here it is, just as you left it!”

“FOOL!” Yelled the master, has he smacked the servant on the back of his head. “You have done nothing with it! You are a lazy and foolish servant! Give that one talent to the first servant, you are not worthy to keep it! And, get to work, the fields need to be plowed!!”

Why do you think the master was so angry with the servant?

Back in those days, talents were a type of money. But, a talent is also some special skill that you have. It is something God has blessed you with, something that you can do better than others.

Jesus told this story, because the master in the story is like our master, the Lord. God gives you talents so that you may use them to do good things. If you bury your talents and are afraid to use them, you are throwing away God’s gifts.

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