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to the one who had ten talents .
It
is certainly right that God
should do this! The one who had only
proved capable of handling five tal–
ents (or five pounds) would surely
find it more difficult to manage an
additional talent (or pound) than
would the most diligent servant–
who had already proved he could
manage ten talents (or ten pounds).
This parable of the pounds reveals
that, of those who have equal talents
and abi lities, God will give the
greater reward to those who develop
their talents and abilities toa greater
extent. This parable was not intended
to show that everybody is born with
the same innate talent and ability.
lt
merely points out that those of ap–
proximately eq11al ability will be
judged according to what they do
with their pound.
All· lmpo rtant Time Fact or
The parable of the laborers in the
vineyard (Matt. 20:1-16) plainly re–
veals that God Almighty will take
another very important factor-the
time element-into account when
judging and rewarding His people.
In this parable all Christians are
likened unto laborers in a vineyard.
The householder hired some·taborers
"early in the morning." He agreed
with them to pay each a penny a day.
Later others were hired "at the third
hour" (9:00 a.m.) , and still others
were hired at "the sixth" (12:00
noon) and "ninth" (3:00 p.m.) hours
of the day. The householder prom–
ised to give "whatsoever is right" to
those hired at the third, sixth and
ninth hours.
But sorne were still standing idle
near the end of the day. They hadn' t
been hired-at all. So the householder
went out late in the afternoon and
hired them at "about the eleventh
hour."
But when the time carne to settle
up, the ones who had only worked an
hour or so received a penny- a full
day 's wage!
Those who had worked most or all
of the day saw this. They were very
happy. They thought , "We' ll receive
much more because we've worked all
da
y."
But when the householder carne to
settle up with them, he gave them
36
just a penny-exactly what he had
agreed to pay them.
But those servants who had been
hired earlier in the day murmured
and complained "against the good–
man of the house" (verse 11 ).
They said , "These last have
wrought but one hour, and thou hast
made them equal unto us , which have
borne the burden and heat of the day.
But he answered one of them, and
said, Friend, 1 do thee no wroog:
didst not thou agree with me for a
penny? Take that thine is, and go thy
way:
1
will give unto this last , even as
unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to
do what
1
will with mine own? Ls
thine eye evil , because
I
am good? "
(Verses 12-15.)
Now, what vital lesson are we to
learn from this parable?
The day mentioned in this parable
~~
If we produce much
fruit, then God wi/1 bless
us correspondingly with
a greater reward of
service in His Kingdom.
' '
represents the life span of eaeh Chris–
tian. Sorne are called into God's
<;::hurch (into His vineyard) early in
life-early in the morning. .Others
are called at noon-in middle age.
Sorne are not called until they ap–
proach the sunset of life-old age!
When Jesus Christ literally re–
turns to tbis earth to judge every
Christian according to his works, He
will take this important time factor
into account. Any who were called
into God's Church early in life will be
expected by Chris t .to have accom–
plished more in God's service than
those who were called later in life.
Unequal Opportunities
Let us see how this actually will
work. God Almighty calis sorne to re–
pentance in their teens. Such people
have been blessed with the wonderful
opportunity of knowing God's truth
and applying it in their lives in their
youth. Such individuals are better
equipped to properly develop both
their minds and their bodies. As a re–
sult, they will be able to accomplish
more than they would had they never
known God's precious truth.
This gives such individuals a great
advantage over other people who
grow up in spiritual blindness- in ut–
ter darkness. These spiritually igno–
rant usually continue to indulge in
many habits and do other things
which tear them down-destroying
their health, their minds and their
personalities! Such people, when
called later in life, will not have as
alert minds or as active and healthy
bodies as they could have had, had
they known and practiced God 's
truth from their youth (see Eccl.
12:1-7).
God's Perfect Judgments
When we put together the parables
of the pounds, the talents and the la–
borers in the vineyard, we are then
able to see exactly how God will
judge us when giving us our reward.
The parable of the talents shows
that we are not born equal. At birth
each person receives different talents
and abilities from those of every
other individual. Then, at conversion,
God adds spiritual talents and gifts
according to each man's natural abil–
ities.
The parable of the pounds shows
that, of those who are of equal talents
and abilities (as represented by
pounds), sorne will use their God-giv–
en talents more diligently than oth–
ers. As a result, they will receive
greater responsibility in God's King–
dom. The one who multiplies his
pound over ten times will be given
authority over ten cities. The one
who multiplies his pound over five
times will be given authority over five
cities.
But, the parable of the laborers re–
veals that God will take other things
into account-other than innate abil–
ity- when judging us. An important
factor which He will consider will be
the amount of time which we were
given, after our conversion, to really
apply these things. Those who are
given more time will be held account–
able for having overcome and grown
The
PLAIN TRUTH March 1979