The Lost Talents
An AU biblical fic
A man was preparing to go on a long journey. So he called his three best servants and entrusted to each of them some of his money. To one servant he gave five talents (about $150,000); to the second he gave two talents; and to the third, he gave one talent. He left instructions for the servants to invest his money for him, and went on his journey.
The man who had received five talents immediately put the money to work, trading and investing. But when tragedy struck the markets in which he had invested, the money was lost, and the servant found that he had actually put his master in debt by five talents. The servant was distraught. Surely his master would not only fire him, but have him arrested. He would spend his life crushing rocks to pay back the money he had lost. That would take at least 75 years! But the servant was an honest man, and he determined that he would stand before his master and tell him the truth, gladly accepting whatever consequences his master deemed appropriate. In the meantime, the man began working harder than ever before to try and make up for some of the money he lost.
After a while, the master returned and made arrangements to settle accounts with his servants. The servant who had been entrusted with the two talents approached. "Master, I have put your money to work and doubled what you have given to me."
The master cheered and said, "Well done, good and faithful servant. Because you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things."
The man who had been given one talent approached his master, trembling. He bowed and said, "Master, I knew you were a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and I was afraid. So I hid your talent in the ground. See, here it is."
The master was enraged. "You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I was such a hard man, then you should have done what I told you to do. You should have at least put my money in the bank, so that when I returned I could collect it with interest."
Then the master called his other servants and said, "Take his talent from him and put this worthless and disobedient servant out of my house."
Then the man who had been given five talents approached. He bowed humbly before his master and said, "Master, you entrusted me with five talents, and I truly tried to honor you by putting them to work and using them wisely. But circumstances beyond my foresight or control caused me to lose the five talents you gave me, and five more besides. But I claim full responsibility for the money, and I promise I shall spend the remainder of my days working to repay your five missing talents. All I have is rightfully yours."
The master was moved to compassion for his servant. He said, "Well done, good and faithful servant. You have obeyed me and worked hard, showing responsibility and proving that you can be entrusted with much. Do not worry about the money; I have already taken care of it. Your debt is covered. Go in peace, and continue to do my work."
Then the master said to his other servants, "Give the foolish servant's talent to my faithful servant. Let it be known that my grace covers the mistakes made by those who strive to serve me with all their hearts."
And so it was done. The servant went out and invested his master's money, earning ten more talents. But he never forgot his master's loving mercy. The servant quickly rose to prominence in all the land, and was entrusted with more and more as time passed.
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AN: Just a little something I was pondering after hearing a comment made by someone on a YouTube video. Obeying God and being successful at doing what He tells you to do are two completely different things. Sometimes God will even set us up to fail, to test our faithfulness to His commands, and to remind us just how dependent upon His grace we are. When God tells us to take a leap of faith, it's not for us to first check and make sure we can reach the other side. We are to jump, and trust God's grace to carry us over. That's why it's called a leap of faith.