#202: The Ten Talents
"He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come."
Luke 19:12-13
Diligence in the Greek word is translated as epiméleia which means thoroughness. Diligence is conscientiousness or determination or perseverance when doing something. Diligence is performing with intense concentration, focus, and responsible regard; it is a quality of working carefully and with a lot of effort.
It is very easy to forget why we are God's own, what he has called us to do and how we are supposed to continually stay faithful to what we've been called to do, that is why Jesus set standards for discipleship. Through parables, he made the standards clear and one of the parables is found in Luke19:12-27
A rich and soon to be powerful nobleman goes on an extended trip to be crowned king. Most of his people hate him and send word ahead that they oppose this coronation (Luke 19:14). In his absence, he assigns his servants to invest his money.
"And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come."
Luke 19:14
Two of them take the risk of investing their master’s money. They earn handsome returns. A third servant is afraid to take the risk, so he puts the money in a safe place. It earns no return. When the master returns, he has become king of the whole territory. He rewards the two servants who made money for him, promoting them to high positions of their own. He punishes the servant who kept the money safe but was unproductive. Then he commands that all who opposed him be killed in his presence.
In this parable, we have two servants who were faithful and strategic to have massive results and we have one servant who was regarded as "unfaithful" by the master. We should note from here that each of these persons was called a servant and pounds were committed into each of their hands. They were willing to take the risk of investing their master's money.
Diligence may at some point involve risk-taking. A prudent and diligent man is always recognized, this is because his works are a testimony of his efforts.
"Well done, thou good servant; because thou has been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities"
Luke 19:17
It's very easy to separate the works of a diligent man from that of a mediocre, a diligent man is highly celebrated as seen in the above story, and the two servants were celebrated by their master. Those who diligently serve Christ are commonly blessed in being made blessings to the place where they live.
It is intimated that one of them took more pains and applied himself more closely to his business than the other; he had 10 pounds and the other 5. He laboured "more abundantly than they all" as Paul said in 1corintians15:10.
The bad account that was given by one of them was rewarded with a sentence passed upon him for his unfaithfulness. He owned that he had not traded with the pound with which he had been entrusted (vs20) "Lord, behold here is thy pound; It is true, I have not made it more but withal I have not made it less; I have kept it safely laid up in a napkin". The one-pound which he had was even taken away from him Jesus said
"Unto every one which hath shall be given and from him, that hath not shall be taken away from him".
Luke 19:26
The first and second servants were submissive and thought not that their master was undeserving of their extra effort. They had outstanding success after paying the price of diligence. No wonder Scripture says in Ecclesiastes 9:10
"Whatever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might;"
Our hands are therefore meant to work in whatever capacity is required with so much passion and zeal. Diligence and commitment are major factors for the growth of whatever our hands find doing. Being diligent is a choice and we need to practice diligence even for the smallest task to form a habit of putting in effort for the completion of any task to the best of our abilities. The diligent person has an extra edge to put in more dedicated hours towards realising their goal and that becomes a deciding factor for their extraordinary success.
Success is not accidental, we have to put in the time and effort to achieve it, if we neglect small tasks and try to do them casually like the unfaithful servant who did nothing with his master's talent, then chances are that we will unconsciously develop the habit of not being serious about bigger tasks as well as reduce our probability for being successful.
The habit of being persistent and making a hardworking effort in our work or duties may be a painful activity but undergoing a significant change, brings us impressive achievements eventually. Here's what Proverbs10:4 has to say
"He who has a slack hand becomes poor, but the hand of the diligent makes rich"
Some persons are indifferent, lazy or just want to slide by and get it over. The diligent man brings wealth to himself and his family. If a farmer ploughs his field for a day and rests for the most season, he would gain nothing. The reason why the Chinese women's table tennis team does so well is that they all work hard training every day.
Action Point
*There are no shortcuts to being successful.
*Don't keep giving excuses for certain tasks you should carry out today, a time will come when you'll be deficient.
*Diligence doesn't work with idleness and laziness.
*Apply diligence and be strategic in your labour.
Written by Nguavese Atom
Shalom💗
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