Have you ever thought that the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30 was a little strange because it seems to be describing investment advice? In fact, hard money (silver in this case) investment advice.
Jesus told the parable where a man travels to a far country, leaving his estate, but before he left he gave to his servants his goods. Immediately that sounds like economics where goods and services are the only commodities.
This parable however is about the kingdom of heaven (verse 14). So I always looked at it as an allegory and the goods the man gave to his servants, the talents, were their natural talents that if used wisely they would help to expand the kingdom of heaven by working for the Lord. That may all be true but is it the whole story?
15 And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.
Matthew 25:15
Thus the servants were respectively given 5, 2 and 1 talent each and were expected to invest them to get a return. The Greek word translated ‘talent’ in English here is τάλαντον (talanton). It has the meaning of a balance, the type used to compare weights, which a moneychanger would have used.
According to my Mickelson-Strong Concordance a talant has these meanings.
- a balance (as supporting weights).
- (by extension) talant (talent), a certain weight by this name.
- (money) a talant of silver, a weight of silver equaling 6000 denarii.
- (value, Biblically) a year’s wages for 19 day laborers.
- (weight, silver) 6000 denarii, 750 ounces, 46.875 pounds, 21262 grams.
- (value, modern) 750 ounces of silver is US$10,000 (2009), but the equivalent purchasing ability of a Biblical NT talant is about US $260,000.
It definitely is a weight measure and it would seem to coincide with a significant weight of 750 ounces of silver, which today is valued at about US $18,000 (2024). Assuming the figure there of the purchasing power of US $260,000 in today’s dollars is correct, that means a day’s wages back in Jesus time was about $37 of today’s dollars. Price inflation (dollar devaluation) since we came off the silver standard (1873) and gold standard (1971) has been at least 5000%. That means at a maximum the day’s wages was 75 cents. It was more likely less than that. As long as silver and gold were money price inflation cannot occur, but market forces, supply and demand, could still affect the price.
Each of the servants were to trade and make returns. The owner of the talents recognised that they each had deferent abilities and so only expected returns based on those abilities. The guy who got 5 talents traded and made 5 more and similarly the guy who got 2 talents received 2 more but the guy who got 1 talent didn’t invest it at all and made nothing.
As a result of the profitable servants the master said: “good and faithful servant: you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things” (verse 21). But of the one who only hid the money in the ground and made no profit he said: “You wicked and slothful servant” (verse 26).
Now here’s the bit I find most interesting. The master of the estate said:
27 You ought therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received my own with usury.
Matthew 25:27
The slothful servant should have, at least, gotten a return by usury. According to my concordance the Greek word is τόκος (tokos) and means interest on money loaned (as a produce).
Therefore for business purposes earning interest on real money (silver in this case) is acceptable to the Lord. This is not interest by a central bank that printed fiat currency that is constantly being inflated hence devalued. That is fraud, theft. It is capital loaned out and a return made by those who use it wisely.
Back in Roman times the coinage was produced by the Emperor. The empire used gold, silver and copper coins. But when the Emperor needed to raise more money for the next war he would melt down a lot of the coinage, silver for example, and add base metals like copper. This would dilute the amount of silver with copper but it was still called a silver coin. This is currency debasement which always happens at the end of an empire.
Assuming this talant was 750 ounces of pure silver back in Roman times (30 AD) when Jesus told the parable, and assuming the natural ratio of gold to silver (15 to 1) was in place, we can conclude that the talant was equivalent to 50 ounces of gold. That is a significant amount to just bury in the ground.
During the hyperinflation 1920s in Weimar Germany houses and land were sold for 5 ounces of gold. That may be an extreme example but it illustrates the point that 1 talent was sufficient to get some reasonable legal return.
28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it to him which has ten talents.
Matthew 25:28
But failure to invest wisely meant the money was taken from the slothful servant and given to the guy who had the most to invest.
29 For to every one that has shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that has not shall be taken away even that which he has. 30 And cast you the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Matthew 25:29-30
Of course the spiritual message in the parable is to use the abilities God has given us to further the kingdom and not be slothful in our work. Those who fail in this are cast into outer darkness, into hell. This is a clear metaphor for damnation of those who are not saved believers in Jesus Christ. Therefore the talants are a metaphor for the spiritual gifts given to each of us in Christ.
The message is also that honest work brings returns, even abundance. This is not deceptively stealing from others like the western governments have been doing especially though central banks such as the US Federal Reserve banks for the past 110 years.
Fiat paper bank notes and electronically issued debt-based credit is the facade of the deceptive system. It is itself a metaphor for the fake illusion of prosperity and wealth in this world offered by Satan. Easy money! Just print it off the presses. But it is not backed by gold or silver, or honest labour or capital investment. Like everything Satan inspires it is all fraud.
Only by trusting in Jesus Christ will anyone achieve true prosperity and wealth in His kingdom to come.
17 Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy; 18 That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; 19 Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.
1 Timothy 6:17-19
Recommended Reading
- Book: Apocalypse Now: On the Revelation of Jesus Christ
- Book: Merchants of Death: Global Oligarchs and Their War On Humanity
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