What leaders can learn from the Parable of the Talents
Having spent a lot of time working in the church, I’ve become intimately familiar with the story of the hard-driving master and the talents he gave to his servants (Matthew 25:14-30).
“For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money” (Matthew 25:14-18 ESV).
I want to take a look at this piece of scripture in a different light. One that leaders can learn how to lead better.
Leadership lesson #1: Know who to trust.
Let’s take a look at the men who were given talents.
The first man is given five talents (or bags of gold). The second man was given two. The last man was given one.
Why? Because the leader of these men knew what kind of man each one was. He knew who could be trusted and who couldn’t.
Leadership lesson #2: Fearful people do stupid things.
When the man came back from his journey, he asked each man what they had done with the talents they were given.
The first man worked hard and doubled the leader’s money. The same happened with the second man. And then we come to the last man. The one who was given one talent.
He approached his leader and told him that he was fearful, so he hid the money so he wouldn’t lose it. And the leader loses it.
My question has always been: What was different with the last man? Why did the leader have a different reaction than he had with the first two?
Then it hit me. The last man was living in fear. He even admits as much in verse 25 when he said that he was afraid.
Because of fear, he did something stupid. He hid the money. It may have been wiser for him to invest or stick it in the bank so it could gain interest but fear paralyzed him.
Leadership lesson #3: Reward those who do good work.
Throughout these passages of scripture, we also see the leader rewarding the men who did well.
To the first man, he gave him five more talents. To the second man, he gave two more talents.
This hard-driving leader knew to reward people when they did good work. He made sure he let those that served him know that he was pleased.
The more we dig into scripture, the more leadership lessons the Bible reveals.
Are you paying attention?
Photo source: istock
 | Joseph Lalonde is an award-winning leadership blogger and hosted the Answers From Leadership podcast. He desires to see 20-somethings step into their God-ordained roles as leaders. Previously, on the E3 staff and currently serving in the Catalyst youth ministry of Gateway Church, Joseph has mentored many students and has seen their lives changed through this teaching. His mission is to help equip leaders with the knowledge and information to boost their leadership to the next level. This article was first published on JMLalonde.com. Used with permission Learn More » |
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