It is evident in the Word of God and in real life the experience that God in common grace and redemptive grace, has endowed men and women with particular abilities, aptitudes, and capacities. Graciously God has bestowed on his creatures, gifts of ability and skill for which we are accountable to cultivate and productively use, both in what we might describe as the temporal sphere of life and the spiritual sphere of life. I would offer that this is evident in such a text as the parable of the talents. Reading briefly from Matthew 25:14: For it is just like a man, that is the kingdom of God, about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey.

Now broadly speaking, when the parable of the talents, and Luke 19:1–48 (the parable of the pounds) are interpreted, I would offer having preached both at some length, that with the analogy of Scripture shining its light on the answer to the question: what are these talents? These talents can be identified as natural endowments, redemptive gifts, and the providential opportunities to use both. The lesson arising from the parable of the talents and the pounds, is the lesson of the duty to be productive stewards of what God has invested in us, in terms of our talents, our capacities, our aptitudes; that men and women are endowed with such.

It is evident further in the Proverbs. Proverbs 18:16 reads: A person’s gift makes room for him, not his college resume, not his ability to talk a good game about his skills and accomplishments, but his gift; his God‑invested, God‑endowed talents, productively cultivated and used. A man’s gift is a track to advancement. It makes room for him and brings him before great men. It is the use of his God‑given gifts.

Proverbs 22:29 says, Do you see a person skilled in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure people. With regard to a man skilled in his work, look at Exodus 31:1–18, concerning Bezalel: See, I have called by name Bezalel…And I have filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of craftsmanship. Exodus 35:35 reads: He has filled them with skill to perform every work of an engraver, of a designer, and of an embroiderer. The point is that God grants the skill requisite for a given work.

Proverbs 25:14: Like clouds and wind without rain is a person who boasts of his gifts falsely. His words about his skills, his words about his talents—what he can do, what he accomplished—are false. They promise much, but do not deliver. But the point again is, God does give gifts. Granted, some men boast falsely of them, but even that is premised on the fact that God gives them.¹

George McDearmon