The One Talent Man!
The One Talent Man!
I try and read the bible everyday. I have been through a lot in my life and I believe having a strong foundation in a higher being keeps me grounded. As a matter of fact people have called my life a modern day Job. That is a story for another time. I think all of us are searching for a meaning in life and the bible is a great guide on how to live your life and how you should serve God and your fellow man. The bible is full of great stories and I thought I would take a minute to share a great story that should resonate with everyone in sales and marketing.
Matthew 25:14-30
This story starts with Jesus telling people about the Kingdom of Heaven. He uses "parables" to tell his stories so people can understand what he is talking about. He starts this story with a man going on a long trip, so he calls his servants together and entrusts his money to them while he is gone. He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another and one bag of silver to the last one. He divided the silver up proportionally according to their abilities. He then left on his trip.
The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the silver and earned five bags more. The servant who received two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more bags of silver. But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and buried his master's money.
The Master Returns
After a long time the master returned from his trip and called his servants together to give an account of how they used the money. The servant who received the five bags of silver stepped forward and said "Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest and I have earned five more". The master was very pleased and said, "well done my good and faithful servant, you have been good at handling this small amount so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let's celebrate together!"
The servant who received two bags of silver came forward and said, Master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest and I have earned two more". The master was very pleased and said, "well done my good and faithful servant, you have been good at handling this small amount so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let's celebrate together!"
The the servant with one bag of silver stepped forward and said, "Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting plants you didn't plant and gathering crops you didn't cultivate. I was afraid I would lose your money so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back".
The Angry Master
The master replied, "you wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn't plant and gathered crops I didn't cultivate, why didn't you put my money in the bank?" "At least I would have gotten some interest on it!"
Then then ordered "take the money from this servant and give it to the one with ten bags of silver." The master then said, "now throw this useless servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth".
Jesus then says to the group. TO THOSE WHO USE WELL WHAT IS GIVEN, AND THEY WILL HAVE ABUNDANCE. BUT THOSE WHO DO NOTHING, EVEN WHAT LITTLE THEY HAVE WILL BE TAKEN AWAY.
The Lesson in Sales - Translation
Sales is a self starter business! We all know that. We are always looking inward to find the answers. In order to succeed we must live a disciplined life! We are all given gifts by God. What do we do with those gifts? Do we sit around and maybe bury them in the ground? Do we apply ourselves and multiply those gifts? Just remember the the phrase at the end of this story. TO THOSE WHO USE WELL WHAT IS GIVEN, AND THEY WILL HAVE ABUNDANCE. BUT THOSE WHO DO NOTHING, EVEN WHAT LITTLE THEY HAVE WILL BE TAKEN AWAY.
The bible often refers to places of outer darkness where there will be the gnashing of teeth. It sounds terrible and I certainly don't want to find out!
Look deeply in your soul to see what your gifts are. Work them, develop them and you will have abundance!