Gerald D'Cunha

“Use what talent you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best.” -       Henry Van Dyke W hy do we say, our talents are ‘God-given’? Do we, often, we use the expression, ‘God’s gift’? So, it’s very clear to all of us, that our talents have come to us from God and we, definitely, haven’t ‘earned’ them… We are bestowed with them… blessed with them. But, then, the question that haunts me, often, is this: Has God, our Master, bestowed them upon us ‘just like that’, with no strings attached? Or, has He, indeed, ‘gifted’ them to us, just like that, irrespective of our abilities, without any expectations or strings attached? Yes, I reflect on my own life to get the answer for this question… I believe, that God has given each one of us some talents, and He has given them according to our abilities. And, then, He has left to us to make the best use of them or let them get wasted… That’s wh...

Pic.: Rekha Prakash I t is widely known as ‘The Parable of the Talents’. It is, also, known as ‘The Parable of the Minas’ … and, sometimes, as ‘The Parable of the Pounds’. But, I love the first name – ‘The Parable of the Talents.’ To me, it is one of Jesus’ most profound Parables… O nce, a Master was to go on a long journey. Before leaving, he called three of his servants and handed each one of them some Talents (A Talent, then, was a substantial sum of money… call it ‘Minas’ or ‘Pound’ or even ‘Dollar!’) according to their abilities. To the first servant, the Master handed five Talents; to the second, he gave two; and to the third, he offered one. Then, he proceeded on his journey. The first two servants immediately went on to work. They invested the Talents gifted by their Master wisely and responsibly. The third savant just dug a hole in the ground and hid his Talent there. When the Master returned, he wanted to know what his three servants had done...