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Tue 17 Jun 2003
The Parable of the Talents
Category : Commentary/parabletalents.txt
When I was small, I puzzled over The Parable of the Talents. For one thing, it seemed to contradict another thing I was taught - the concept of stewardship. When you're given something to look after, you guard it with your life and hope to return it all in one piece. So I was indignant the last servant in the parable (the one who was thrown out to the darkness, with all the weeping and gnashing of teeth) had done nothing wrong, returning to his Master the single talent he was given to keep. After all, he hadn't lost it. I often wondered what The Good Lord would have said, had the first two guys reported a next loss with their speculative investments. Nowadays, I am content to believe the parable was an exhortation to do more with whatever talent you had the luck to start off with. If you don't, even the little that you have will be taken away from you. So somehow this morning, when You Meng made a reply to my request to see more of his work, my mind jumped back to The Parable of the Talents. This is what I was hoping for - that people would respond to using this platform to show-case some of their work. Especially, since I'm the host and I'm saying it's OK. Otherwise, it would be like the third servant, digging a hole for his talent and hiding it. If you don't show it, nobody will know you can do it. And if you do, the worst that can happen is to be accused of flaunting it. But, what if your example serves as an inspiration for others and spur them to push the state of the art. That, in my opinion, would be a very good thing. And well worth the trouble. For it's the same with me, too. I've got a platform I can use to do some good. If I don't, well, I would lose it.
Posted at 7:13AM UTC | permalink
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