GPS Guide – December 4, 2019

GIVER OF GIFTS

Wednesday

Read: Matthew 25:14-21

¹⁴ “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. ¹⁵ 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. ¹⁶ The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. ¹⁷ So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. ¹⁸ But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

¹⁹ “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. ²⁰ The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’

²¹ “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!’ (NIV Matthew 25:14-21)

Study: Our English word talent refers to a person’s innate ability or aptitude to accomplish something, typically an above average to extraordinary ability. But the only reason this word is in our lexicon is because of Jesus’s “Parable of the Talents” in Matthew. In Biblical Greek, the word talanton, the etymological ancestor of talent, meant a measuring unit of weight, often of money, such as a talent of gold or silver. In the New Testament, a talent was the largest unit of monetary value and some estimate its contemporary value in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.  But in Jesus’s parable, he was clearly using this monetary word talent metaphorically to imply any God-given stewardship we are entrusted with, including our money, our time and our abilities. This became so commonly taught in Christianized Britain that by the 14th century talent had been adopted into English to mean our abilities and aptitudes. What talents have you been entrusted with?

Prayer: Holy God, you have entrusted me with a lot of “talents”. I thank you for these gift and give them back to you. Let me always do what you are calling me to do. Amen.