Matt 25:15 And unto 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.

You know the story, a man, a nobleman, invested in his employees, some investment capital, before he went on a journey to become king.

He did this, according to their ability!

Therefore ability precedes investment capital!

Use what talents you possess: The woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best.
Henry Van Dyke, Bits & Pieces, March 31, 1994, p. 16.

I have a couple thoughts on this passage:

Lets look at it:

Matt 25:

¹⁴ “For it is just like a man who was about to take a journey, and he called his servants together and entrusted them with his possessions.¹⁵ To one he gave five ^[b]talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and then he went on his journey.¹⁶ The one who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he [made a profit and] gained five more. ¹⁷ Likewise the one who had two [made a profit and] gained two more. ¹⁸ But the one who had received the one went and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

¹⁹ “Now after a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. ²⁰ And the one who had received the five talents came and brought him five more, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted to me five talents. See, I have [made a profit and] gained five more talents.’ ²¹ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful and trustworthy over a little, I will put you in charge of many things; share in the joy of your master.’

²² “Also the one who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have [made a profit and] gained two more talents.’ ²³ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful and trustworthy over a little, I will put you in charge of many things; share in the joy of your master.’

²⁴ “The one who had received one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a harsh and demanding man, reaping [the harvest] where you did not sow and gathering where you did not scatter seed. ²⁵ So I was afraid [to lose the talent], and I went and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is your own.’

²⁶ “But his master answered him, ‘You wicked, lazy servant, you knew that I reap [the harvest] where I did not sow and gather where I did not scatter seed. ²⁷ Then you ought to have put my money with the bankers, and at my return I would have received my money back with interest.²⁸ So take the talent away from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’

²⁹ “For to everyone who has [and values his blessings and gifts from God, and has used them wisely], more will be given, and [he will be richly supplied so that] he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have [because he has ignored or disregarded his blessings and gifts from God], even what he does have will be taken away. ³⁰ And throw out the worthless servant into the outer darkness; in that place[of grief and torment] there will be weeping [over sorrow and pain] and grinding of teeth [over distress and anger].

So what are the key points from this lesson?

1. Jesus knew these people! He knew what they were capable of. They worked for Him, and the people that had shown themselves sucessful in the workplace, were the ones to whom He entrusted investment capital.
2. Obviously, some of the people had more abilities than the others.
3. It can be inferred that they learned those abilities from watching, learning, and studying the way the master Himself did business. We too must seek first His kingdom and operate in both His principals and Spirit led obedience as we walk with Him.
4. The Risk is less, the more we know and understand, yet we must still exercise faith and DO what we know to do.
5. The man who buried his talent to protect it, had it taken from him.
6. The man with the ten talents saw and instant increase on his investment, because he was given the talent taken from the fearful one who refused to use the ability given to him.
7. God uses money to teach eternal responsibility and truth.

We see a very similar account given by Jesus here in Luke’s gospel, chapter 19:

Parable of Money Usage

¹¹ While they were listening to these things, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because He was near Jerusalem, and they assumed that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately [as soon as He reached the city]. ¹² So He said, “A nobleman went to a distant country to obtain for himself a kingdom, and [then] to return. ¹³ So he called ten of his servants, and gave them ten minas [one apiece, each equal to about a hundred days’ wages] and said to them, ‘Do business [with this] until I return.’ ¹⁴ But his citizens [the residents of his new kingdom] hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to be a king over us.’ ¹⁵ When he returned, after receiving the kingdom, he ordered that these servants, to whom he had given the money, be called to him, that he might find out what business they had done. ¹⁶ The first one came before him and said, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten more minas.’ ¹⁷ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you proved yourself faithful and trustworthy in a very little thing, you shall [now] have authority over ten cities [in my kingdom].’ ¹⁸ The second one came and said, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’¹⁹ And he said to him also, ‘And you shall take charge over five cities.’²⁰ Then another came and said, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I have kept laid up in a handkerchief [for safekeeping]. ²¹ I was [always] afraid of you, because you are a stern man; you pick up what you did not lay down and you reap what you did not sow.’ ²² He said to the servant, ‘I will judge and condemn you by your own words, you worthless servant! Did you [really] know that I was a stern man, picking up what I did not lay down and reaping what I did not sow? ²³ Then why did you not [at the very least] put my money in a bank? Then on my return, I would have collected it with interest.’ ²⁴ Then he said to the bystanders, ‘Take the mina away from him and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’²⁵ And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas already!’ ²⁶ [Jesus explained,] ‘I tell you that to everyone who has [because he valued his gifts from God and has used them wisely], more will be given; but from the one who does not have [because he disregarded his gifts from God], even what he has will be taken away.’ ²⁷ [The king ended by saying,] ‘But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them, bring them here and kill them in my presence.’”

You know the rest of the story, one received five cities, the other ten, because they were faithful with the ability, they had been given. Notice here again:

Question: What are we doing today to increase our abilities to lead today, because the welfare of the people we are called to influence in the cities we are to exercise our gifts in, depends upon it!

Question: What are we doing today, to increase our abilities to prosper financially?

Let’s pray:
“Father God, increase my ability today. Teach me, help me to read the right books, articles, and Scripture to grow in my gift and calling today, in your name I pray Lord Jesus, Amen”