The Parable of the Bags of Gold

By Lance Corporal Hoshea Tiang Xuan Rong of 12^th Kuala Lumpur Company

October 26^th, 2014

One of the parables that Jesus told his disciples is the parable of the bags of gold, also known as the parable of the talents. There was a man who went on a journey and called his servants together and gave his wealth to them. To one he gave 5 bags of gold, to another 2 bags, and to another 1 bag according to their abilities. The man who received 5 bags went at once and put his money to work and earned 5 more while the one with 2 bags gained 2 more but the man  who had 1 bag dug a hole in the ground and buried his money. After a time, the master returned to settle accounts with them. The one who got 5 bags then went and told his master of what he had gained and his master congratulated him and put him in charge of many things. The man with 2 bags then came and told his master of the 2 extra bags he earned so the master also put him in charge of a few things. At last, the man who received 1 bag came and told the master, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ The master heard this and took his bag of gold and gave it to the man that has 10 bags, and then threw him out into the darkness. 

This parable is mostly a message to the people of Israel who will live in the last days before the Lord returns. As we refer to Matthew 24:32-34, “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near.  Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened”, these people who have believed the Lord would be alive when the Lord returns, and the ones who believed in Him will be rewarded according their stewardship of His resources entrusted to them while the ones that fear and do not believe will be rejected and judged.

From the time of the creation of mankind, each individual has been entrusted with resources of time and material wealth. Everything we have comes from God and belongs to Him. We are responsible for using those resources so that they increase in value. As Christians, we have additionally the most valuable resource of all – the Word of God. If we believe and understand Him, and apply His Word as good stewards, we are a blessing to others and the value of what we do will eventually multiply. 

As we apply the teachings of this parable to our journey in The Boys’ Brigade, it shows that any awards that we want, whether badges, promotion, we need to work hard for it and not just sit there and expect everything to appear. Let us all work hard to gain what we want, and make our dreams a reality!!