What are You Burying?

One of Jesus’ most well-known parables is often referred as the Parable of the Talents. Covering verses 14 through 30 of Matthew 25, it is also one of his longest. Though there is a lot of detail in this story, the point comes through loud and clear.

However, until recently, I had missed something. Oh, I knew the facts, but one of the implications of a fact in this parable hadn’t really struck me.

We know that, in the story, three servants are given three different amounts of money: five talents, two talents, and one talent. The first two do well by their master, but the third “went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money” (v.18). When the master came back, this man was called “wicked and slothful” (v.26).

So far, I haven’t taught you anything, I’m sure. But here’s what I had missed for a long time. This man buried one talent.

“Okay,” you’re thinking, “that’s obvious. How did you miss that?”

Like I said, I knew the fact, but I missed the implication. What implication?

Think of how large a talent was.

In New Testament times, a talent could weigh as much as 130 pounds. We are not told in the parable what the talent was of (silver, gold, etc.), but it was entrusted to these men, so it was something of great value. And, at 130 pounds of it, we know it was valuable.

If it was a golden talent, this one item could have been worth as much as 20 years’ wages for a common laborer. If it were bronze, it would be about a year’s worth.

What is my point?

This man buried at least a lifetime of value in the ground.

For interpretation, it is rather unfortunate that “talent” does not mean what it did in Biblical times, because it makes understanding certain texts a bit more difficult to explain. However, for application, this is perfect.

Some of us are burying more than just a “talent” in the ground, we are burying a lifetime of value to our Master. We live our whole lives and never fully achieve all that God would have us to. We never take a risk for the Gospel. We don’t truly step out in faith.

And, think of the effort it took for this man to bury something that weighed 130 pounds. The text tells us that he dug the hole. He expended a great deal of effort, just to avoid difficulty or confrontation.

How many of us are spending more of our life trying to figure out how not to do what God said than how to obey Him?

What are you burying? Could it be your valuable lifetime? Could it be taking more of your energy and effort than simply following the Master?

Let’s get about the work of obeying our Master, who has told us to work. Put the shovel away and get to work for the Lord.

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Photo credit: Eugene Zemlyanskiy on Creative Commons

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