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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14:30, Luke 19:12-27) (03/07/24)
Just One Talent.

I stared at it shocked. I had never seen a talent before. It was our biggest coin. And when I say big, I mean BIG.
A talent is made of about 35 kg of silver. At least, this one was. I would have preferred gold. It would have weighed the same, but been smaller and easier to carry. Talents are HEAVY!
(We did not have kilograms or litres back then but I changed it so you would understand).

The silver talent had a volume of about three and a third litres. Not something that would fit into a pocket. Not something I could easily hide from thieves. If only it were gold. It would weigh the same but be less than 2 litres in volume. But my boss was not the nicest guy. I am sure he never thought about that.

Still, it was worth about 20 years wages (although some economists say much less but who listens to them?) I chose to believe the guy who said 20 years’ wages.

I have a strong bag at home that could carry it safely. As soon as I get home I will put it in there. For now I will rap it in some dirty old cloth and hope no-one notices how much I am struggling to carry it. I am strong. I can do it.

The other guys got given stuff too. As usual, the boss played favourites. He is convinced the others do more work than I do. He doesn’t seem to realise that they only to it in order to crawl to him. I am more honest about my limits than they. I work enough so he doesn’t sack me. What else matters? He should have treated us all the same. But then I got the best laugh, as I saw them struggling to carry their talents. One guy got 5 the other 2.

Still, I am only human, so of course I felt resentful. Yes. I know 20 years’ wages is a lot, but maybe the boss intends to be away for 20 years – or more. What if he is a way for 40 years? It won’t be enough money for me. It isn’t fair!

Mind you, he never said to us that it was to live on. He wants us to invest it. That means studying to be good at maths and things like that. Me? Study? Forget it! I am too fond of the easy life. But I have to do something with it, I can’t just leave it lying around. Despite its weight, someone will steal it if I do that.

I know – I will bury it. That way when he comes back I can dig it up and give it to him and that will prove what an honest man I am. Not a thief. Honest. He will be impressed with me at last and may start treating me more like the others – although there is no way I will work as hard as they do! I am no crawler.

Years went by. Years and years and years.

Then he came back. I was just starting to think that he never would, and that it would be safe for me to dig up the talent and spend it. Dreams of luxury living kept me awake at night.

Never mind. He would be impressed with my honesty.

He saw to the others first – as though they were better than I. They had both doubled their money by investing. I started to feel a little uneasy. He blessed both, inviting them to enter into his joy. What did he mean by that? I do not understand.

It took a while for them to bring all the money and hand it over. But at last it was my turn. Only one coin. Much more efficient. Surely he would appreciate that.

So I told him all the bad things I knew about him. (They had to be true because I felt SOOOO much better when I thought them).

Instead of acknowledging everything I was saying he called me wicked and commanded that I be thrown into outer darkness! DARKNESS! After I had just proved myself to be honest! I was NOT impressed. I wished I had stolen the money and run away with it. The other two, of course, said nothing to support me.

The moral of the lesson for me? Grab what you can when you can!

And yet – can I still repent?
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Member Comments
Member
Date
Philippa Geaney
03/16/24
This is great.
You've captured the message behind the parable and put flesh and bone on this fellow as well as his thought process.
I'm not sure if the present and past tense flowed seamlessly but that may be my obsessing over my own struggles in that department.
Anyway, I enjoyed your entry very much.
Kudos.
Vince Martella
03/20/24
Well done. An inside view into the mind of the unprofitable servant (or should I say the honest servant??) I learned to look at this story with new perspectives - such as the guy with one talent was lucky, because multiple talents are too heavy to tote around. :)

Keep writing!