The Parable of Talents; One Talent Equals Seventy-five Pounds

In the Old Testament, talent was a unit of weight for precious metals. In the New Testament, it was a unit of currency. A talent was equal to 6,000 drachmas or denarii and was worth about 75–100 pounds or 35–45 kilograms. In Jesus’ time, one talent was equivalent to about 20 years of a laborer’s wages. (AI Overview)

You are usually good at what you love doing, and you love doing what you are good at. God gave us talents to use for His purpose in our lives.

I’ve always loved reading books and writing. Raised as an only child who experienced childhood trauma at a very young age, I started writing as a kid. I would journal, write poetry, and “live” in stories to soothe and keep myself company. In hindsight, I realized that writing was my coping mechanism. It helped me process things that were happening to me. I used it to deal with and escape from situations beyond my control.

I grew up in a Catholic household. My Grandma raised me, and she loved Jesus. I saw her pray, and she prayed all the time. She would tell me things like God never leaves you (Deuteronomy 31:8). God watches over you, and He never sleeps (Psalm 121:4). Though I don’t remember ever seeing her read a bible, she gave me my first one. I was probably around 10 or 11.

While studying the bible as an adult, I found those same comforting words she would always tell me. God’s promises. I look back and wonder how she knew those things that she taught me with such confidence. She taught me with resolve without reading about them. I believe God revealed His nature to her in her time of prayer. In my darkest hours, I still felt her prayers over me. In my brokenness, I would ask God to remember and honor her prayers of protection over my life.

As a young bible reader, I only really read the Gospels. I also read the first few chapters of Genesis. As a kid, I kept imagining God walking in the garden in the cool of day. I was always in awe of that image.

I kept reading the Gospels because I was so drawn to Jesus and His life. I would start with Matthew all the way to John and then just start all over again.

When I first read the Parable of the Talents, I wondered why Jesus spoke in parables. I was obsessed with the red letters in my bible, knowing these were the words Jesus spoke.

Even then, I felt that Jesus was somehow speaking to me about my purpose in life. And that the parable was about something that He wanted me to do. The thought was daunting. I felt like I would definitely be the fool who would bury the talent in fear and my immobility to move. Fear, self-doubt, and the “not me, I couldn’t do it” song played in my head at once. I also felt that “my talent” and what I thought I might actually be good at was writing. I wondered, “What good is that to Jesus?“

As a young adult, I continued to journal and write short stories and poems. I went to local poetry readings. In my twenties, I journeyed alone to New York. I read at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe on the Lower East Side. I wanted to be a writer. I loved writing. I was a writer, although I didn’t know exactly what that meant in a practical way. Certainly not in an “I can do this and pay my rent type of vocation.” So I chalked it off as a hobby and wistful thinking.

I now understand that, like in the Parable, the talent belonged to Jesus in the first place. I was just supposed to do something with it. It wasn’t something I was supposed to keep to myself. It was His; He gave it to me to use according to His plans. My not acting was a waste of the gift He had given.

For the last 2 and a half years, all I’ve been hearing, seeing, and reading around me is, “Answer your calling”. “What is your purpose?” “God has a purpose for your life.” I heard it at church, and it showed up via algorithm through reels on Instagram and Facebook. While driving, I would see actual signs on the street corners saying, “Jesus is coming. Are you ready?” The signs were usually hung up on a chain link fence or wooden electrical posts. (I wonder, who even puts those up all around town?) I am literally bombarded at every turn.

Dreaming in itself, is not enough until you make a decision to act on that dream. If you’re not driven to act on your dream you will never fulfill God’s dream on your life. Without action your dream is dead. God loves using imperfect people to do His perfect will on this earth. Dreams are Activated with Obedience. Some of us are disguising procrastination with waiting on the Lord. LATE OBEDIENCE IS DISOBEDIENCE!

Pastor Anthony Miller, Parkcrest Christian Church, Long Beach (Time to Dream, Week 3)

The strongest voice I kept hearing was the Holy Spirit. His was a constant, quiet, yet thundering voice in my head.

I accepted all of these “signs” as a confirmation. It was a KICK IN THE BUTT to do what I already knew I needed to do. I finally actively try to obey the heavy tug in my heart that I’d felt for years. The pull that was always easier to pause with doubt as I tell myself, “Why do today? What you can put off till tomorrow?” But then I hear God’s loud whisper saying, “But you’re not promised tomorrow; No one is.”

My answer to God humbly should have been and always should be, “Here I am, Lord. Send me”

So, I dug up the talent I buried in fear. I held it in my hands as an offering. I turned to Jesus for direction and asked what He wanted me to do with it.

“Here I am, Lord. Show me”

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