Each of us is endowed by the Lord with the highest talent - the Divine ability to love. We must especially carefully cultivate this gift, love for God and our neighbors, and especially diligently increase it.
Let us not become weary in doing good, for in due season we will reap if we do not give up.
(Galatians 6:9)
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit!
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ!
As centuries passed, the meaning of the parable of talents told by the Savior became so universally understandable that the very word “talent,” which once meant a large sum of money, began to mean the human ability to work and master crafts, arts and sciences.
Talent is a gift from God. Everything that people are accustomed to calling their own: health and bodily strength, wealth and worldly ingenuity, the skillful hands of a master, the deep mind of a scientist, the artist’s sense of beauty - all this is not ours, but God’s. These gifts are given to people for a reason, but so that everyone, to the best of their ability, increases them through zealous service to the Almighty and their neighbors. And at the appointed hour, the Just Lord will strictly ask everyone: did you use the talents entrusted to you for good or evil?
This is how in the Gospel parable the master gives talents to his slaves: one - five, another - two, a third - one, each according to his strength
(Matt. 25:14).
Many years passed before the master returned and demanded an account from his servants. Those who received five and two talents doubled the wealth once given to them and received praise: good and faithful servant!
You have been faithful in a few things, I will put you over many; enter into the joy of your master (Matthew 25:21).
The third servant turned out to be different: having received only one talent, he went and buried it in the ground, and now he brought it to the master and boldly said: ... I knew you that you were a cruel man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter, and, being afraid, you went and hid your talent in the ground;
here is yours (Matthew 25:24-25).
Hearing this answer, the angry ruler orders the wicked slave to be thrown into outer darkness: there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
(Matt. 25, 30). Those who understand the meaning of this parable are clear: the Lord of lords and the King of kings will do the same with those of us who bury in the ground the talents given to us by God.
Bury your talent in the ground
Talent, according to the biblical legend, was the name of a coin , or more precisely, a measure of the weight of precious metals. The Gospel parable says that when leaving, one man left money for his slaves. Two slaves put the money to work, but the third buried his talent in the ground. The owner has returned. Then the first slave gave him 10 talents, the second gave him 4 talents, and the third gave him the same 1 talent. Since then, the expression bury talent in the ground .
They use this phraseological unit when talking about a person who was unable to take advantage of the abilities given to him and develop them; he wasted the gift given to him from above.
It happens that you look at a person, and he has so many talents: he knows how to draw beautifully, he is a speaker that any politician can envy, he has golden hands. Only all this is wasted, because a person does not apply his skills and abilities, does not use to the fullest extent what nature has endowed him with. I know one master who knows everything about construction work, but his own house is in such a pitiful state. It would be nice if there was no time, as they often say that a shoemaker has no boots, otherwise there is a lot of free time. Human laziness buries talent in the ground.
Another meaning is more squat: it means idle money, when money lies like a dead weight and does not work. Talent is money in ancient Greece, Babylon, Persia, the largest measure of weight (it was different in different places).
Talent is an ancient coin. Burying it in the ground means not using it in business. Remember the parable from the Bible about a master and three slaves to whom he left money, and how two of them invested money in a business and brought income to the owner, and the third buried it in the ground. This is probably where this expression comes from.
Without further ado, the phrase “Bury talent in the ground” means the following:
Talent or mine: so what did the servant bury?
Estimated reading time: less than a minute.
The famous expressions “bury talent in the ground” and “make your contribution” came into our language from the New Testament. What unites them is that in ancient Greek both the word “talent” and the word “mite” meant certain monetary units, only talent was a very large sum of money, and mite, on the contrary, was a small copper coin. Therefore, although we perceive the first expression metaphorically (really, how can you bury your talent or talent in the ground?), in the Gospel it has a completely literal meaning. There, a careless servant literally buried the talent entrusted to him (that is, a lot of money) in the ground. So in ancient Greek, the word “talent” had nothing to do with a person’s abilities at all, but meant only a monetary measure and a unit of weight.
The Gospel parable tells about a master who, when leaving, handed over certain sums to his servants for safekeeping. Later, “after a long time, the master of those slaves comes and demands an account from them. And...he who received five talents brought another five talents and said: Master! You gave me five talents, and behold, I purchased another five talents with them. His master said to him: Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful in small things, I will put you over many things; enter into the joy of your master... The one who had received one talent came and said: Master! I knew you that you were a cruel man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter, and, being afraid, I went and hid your talent in the ground; here's yours. His master answered him: “You wicked and lazy servant!” You knew that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter; Therefore, you should have given my silver to the merchants, and when I came, I would have received mine with profit; So take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten talents. For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance, but from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away (Matthew 25:14-30).
It is interesting that in the original language it is said about the talent that a careless servant hid it in the ground: ῇγῇ·. “And he went away in fear and hid his talent in the ground.”
However, it is no less interesting that a similar story about zealous and careless servants and about buried money is also in the Gospel of Luke (Luke 19:11-28), only there, instead of talent, the mina . And if the history of words had turned out differently, we would now be saying that someone buried their mine in the ground, and not their talent. Or they would say about a talented but drinking person - “you can’t drink a minute away”, instead of the current one - “you can’t drink your talent away”.
One way or another, it was thanks to the Gospel of Matthew that in many languages the word “talent” acquired the meaning of gift or ability. For example, in French this meaning appears in the 14th century, in English - at the end of the 13th century. And this expression - “bury your talent in the ground” - has become a saying in many languages.
As for the mite, this story is told by the evangelists Luke and Mark. Jesus Christ sat opposite the temple treasury and watched as the people put money into it. “Many rich people put in a lot. Having arrived, one poor widow put in two mites, which is a coin. Calling His disciples, Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all those who put into the treasury, for they all put in out of their abundance, but out of her poverty she put in all that she had, all her food” (Mark 12: 41-44).
If we talk more specifically about these monetary units, then τό τάλαντον (talanton) was a designation of both a very large weight (from 26.2 kg and more) and a specific monetary (not monetary) unit. It was equal to 60 minas, and that, in turn, was equal to 100 drachmas. One drachma was equal to six obols. The coincidence of two meanings in one word - monetary measure and weight - is explained by the fact that in Ancient Greece, either shapeless pieces of metal or metal circles and bars, the value of which was determined by weight, were first used as money.
Talent was a very large sum of money. What could you buy with one talent? For example, in the 5th century BC the subsistence level of an Athenian family was 2 obols per day. This means that this family could live on talent alone for almost 50 years! It was also, for example, the salary of a heavily armed hoplite warrior for the same 50 years. For one talent then you could buy 120 bulls or 400 sheep, or 30 unskilled slaves, or 12 slaves trained in some craft or literacy. It is also known that the house that belonged to Demosthenes’ father cost 3,000 drachmas - that is, half a talent.
Mite
The adjective λεπτός (leptos) means in ancient Greek “thin”, “small”, “small”, “weak”. From him the small copper coin got its name - τό λεπτό ν . By the way, the mite as a small change existed in modern Greece until the moment when the euro was adopted as new money and the mite was replaced by the euro cent.
In my opinion, these two Gospel parables, in a sense, each in their own way, speak about the same thing: everything we have, we have from God. Some have talent, or even many talents, while others have a little, some insignificant contribution. We should not boast about our talents, because the Lord gave them to us. “If you boast, boast in the Lord” (1 Cor 1:31). Then talent is a huge responsibility that must be properly nurtured, realized, and not buried in the ground.
And these parables also say that in the end we will be asked not for what we had, but for the fact that we sacrificed to others from our property and what this sacrifice was for us. And then even the meager gift of a poor widow may turn out to be more valuable than what an extremely gifted person did.
On the screensaver there is a fragment of a photo of zachstern
“Bury talent in the ground” - the meaning and origin of phraseological units with examples?
What is the meaning of the expression “Bury talent in the ground ”?
What does it mean, when is it used and what is its origin?
I really like this phraseology. It has existed for more than one century. And, I’m sure, it will be relevant until the end of the world.
In ancient times, talent was a monetary unit of measurement that was in circulation for a long time. A parable has survived to this day about how the owner left home for a long time. He left money for his household, in particular three slaves, so that they could live in his absence. He gave each one one talent - one coin. The two slaves turned out to be very enterprising. They invested money in the business and increased their capital. The third slave, to prevent anything bad from happening to the money, simply buried it in the ground. Upon the owner's return, the slaves returned his talents. Two slaves gave him even more money than initially, and the third gave him the same coin, the talent that he dug out of the ground.
In our time, the monetary unit - talent - has long gone out of circulation. This word has acquired a completely different meaning - a person’s special abilities in some area of science, culture, sports, etc.
The phraseological unit “bury talent in the ground” means:
- A person does not value his abilities. Knowing about his talent in one area, he works in a completely different one.
- It happens that circumstances do not allow a person to develop his abilities.
- The child is not allowed or has no opportunity to develop his abilities.
Theological interpretation
It is traditionally believed that this parable is about Christ and his followers - people who keep the Christian faith in their hearts. The Lord gives each person both external blessings and internal talents. Each person receives both special abilities and opportunities, as well as challenges that he can handle.
The separation of the servants from the master symbolizes that segment of earthly life that passes after the end of Christ’s earthly journey. Christians believe that the Son of God will return to Earth in His glory, and then the highest judgment will take place, at which every person will answer to the Almighty.
All people will be responsible for their actions. Those who have taken advantage of God's gifts and multiplied the blessings given by the Lord, grown spiritual shoots in their souls, will be awarded praise and God's mercy. Those who spent their time to no avail, without appreciating God’s mercy and blessings, will be punished.
Examples
(1948 — 2017)
“What the Nightingale Sang About” (1925): “Bylinkin, always somewhat inclined towards Americanism, soon abandoned his literary achievements and buried his talent in the ground
and began to live as before, without projecting his crazy ideas onto paper.”
Every person on this planet is looking for happiness. Some people enjoy socializing with friends, some enjoy sports, and some enjoy reading books. But you can become happy only when all areas of life are in harmony. For many, it is not difficult to establish relationships with friends and loved ones, and today everyone can play sports. And yet, finding your calling in life is an overwhelming task for some. But there are also people who find their path, and for some reason do not follow it. How not to bury talent in the ground, the meaning of phraseological units and practical advice you can find out by reading the article.
Talent - myth or reality?
Before explaining the meaning of the phraseological unit “bury talent in the ground,” we will tell you what talent is. This is such an abstract concept that it is simply impossible to describe in a nutshell. Talent is not something that is given to a person from birth. It is a combination of skills that are gradually mastered. For example, children at school learn to draw. Among them there is a fourteen-year-old boy who draws very well.
Most likely, he has the same abilities as his classmates. However, this boy's life turned out differently. As a child, his parents did not take away his album and did not forbid him to create the way he wanted. He may have painted all over the wallpaper, but he wasn't scolded for it. And when the boy grew up, he was sent to art school.
Now the teenager has the opportunity to hone his skills every day. He does this with pleasure, and his parents encourage his success. And someone, looking at how a 14-year-old boy draws, will say: “Yes. He's a talent." It’s just that this “someone” did not see how much work went into developing this “talent”.
Interpretation of Anthony of Sourozh
Saint Anthony believed that every person at a certain stage of life can become cowardly or cowardly, as the third servant did in the parable. Often people are afraid to risk peace, material wealth, comfort in order to achieve a good goal.
A person is afraid of losing something. But in fact, everything that is given to us from above is never ours - all these spiritual powers and material benefits were and remain the property of God. All this should not die alive, its benefits should live and give life and joy to other people.
Interpretation of John of Kronstadt
John of Kronstadt in his interpretation emphasized that different people received different numbers of coins from God. In his understanding, coins represent the mental strength and inner abilities of a person. With effort and righteous life, a person increases these qualities.
The servant buried the coin in the ground for fear of losing it
The more abilities and strengths a person has been given from above, the more strictly the Lord will ask him, the more this person must do good to his neighbors. An ordinary person is required to be conscientious, honest, responsible, and merciful.
A rich person should be generous, disdain cunning and meanness, earn his money by work, and not by deception. A priest must be sensitive to his parishioners, sincerely believe in his ideals and try to ignite a spark of this faith in the hearts of other people.
Important! A person who buried goods in the ground symbolizes an idle, lazy person who does not want to work for the salvation of his soul.
Interpretation of Saint Luke
Luka Voino-Yasenetsky said that talent buried in the ground symbolizes the lost ability to love. Love is above all earthly blessings, and it is this gift that we should develop most of all. At the end of our earthly journey, we must offer our love as a gift to the Almighty, doubling and tripling it.
To do this, we must not forget about the sacrifice that the Son of God made for us. Love also increases our mercy, patience, and care for our neighbors. The fate of a person who does not take advantage of the gift from above, who has lost this divine ability, is unenviable. Such a person will be lost to eternal life.
The parable of the talents is a kind of warning about the Last Judgment
