Matthew 25: 14-30

At times, we might be tempted to ask: “Why am I not like such gifted people?” Or, “Why am I not blessed with good looks or with a musical ear or baseball skill?” “Is God playing favoritism?”

The gospel today, the Parable of the Talents, gives us a glimpse of the answer. It tells us that God does give indeed different gifts to everyone. One receives five talents, another two, and another one. Just why there is inequality is a profound mystery.

Despite this, everybody gets sufficient qualities to work with. It is not how many one has that matters, but how one uses his gifts. What God demands is that a man should use to the full the abilities which he does possess. Indeed, men are not equal in talent; but men can be equal in effort.

The man who received one talent was not condemned because he had only one. He was condemned because, by burying it in the ground, he failed to use it. It can be a temptation for us to say, “I have so insignificant a talent and I can do so little with it. It is not worthwhile trying for the little contribution I can make.”

Such a defeatist attitude should not be entertained since external success in God’s eyes depends not on the extraordinary feats and qualities bit on the spirit behind the effort. A popular movie star or high-placed official is just as successful as a plain housewife or a maintenance man or a plodding missionary in the backwoods given the right motive. It’s just unfortunate that today, society often measures success in terms of what’s glamorous, extraordinary and sensational.

The parable of the talents teaches us some hard lesson. It teaches that we shall be made to render an accounting of our gifts, whether that be a material wealth, a money-making skill or ability or a simple position. Did I use them for the good of people or only for my selfish pleasures?