Be productive with what you have

In "The parable of the talents" in Matthew 25:14-30, Jesus gave an illustration of a master who apportioned talents to three of his servants before embarking on a journey. Upon his return, he found that two of them had invested and made a profit on what he gave. The one that he gave five talents now had a total of ten, and the one he gave two talents had a total of four. The man was pleased with these two and blessed them. The third servant had received one talent and didn’t do anything with it; instead he buried it in the ground and presented it back to his master. The master chastised and punished him for this…verse 28-29 says "So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away."  
As I spent some time meditating on this scripture, these are the lessons I learned from it:  

1. It is not how much you have that makes you successful, but it is WHAT YOU DO with what you have. The servant who received two talents and gained two more, was just as successful as the one who received five. I understood this from the fact that the master pronounced the same blessing on both of them. He said to them in verses 22 & 23 respectively, "Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord." They both had a different number of talents, but were equally blessed in the end. The master was displeased with the servant who didn’t do anything with what was given Him. By so doing, he didn’t achieve success and also missed out on the master’s blessing.

2. When it comes to talents and gifts, it is not about how many things you're able to do. It is about being productive with them. The servant who got one talent may have felt he was at a disadvantage than his counterparts, so he decided to just bury it, rather than invest it. This was the wrong attitude to have. Even if you are gifted at one thing, make the best of it. Do the best you can with it.

3. God rewards us for our faithfulness in using what He gives us. Being faithful at something is about putting effort into it. The master here said he would make the first two servants faithful over much because they were faithful in the little they had. He rewarded them for their effort, their diligence.

4. I believe that God doesn't show favoritism/partiality when it comes to our talents. Because He loves us all, He puts gifts in us according to our ability to handle them. In the parable, one servant got five talents, the second got two but in the end, they were both commended in the same way by their master. In the eyes of God, someone who can sing and act is not better than someone who can only sing. Remember that He loves us all equally.
5. Letting your gift lie dormant (buried) in you, shows ingratitude to God. Ungratefulness closes the door for more blessings to enter your life. You bring glory to God when you put to use what he has placed in your hands. God promises to bless the work of our hands (see Deutoronomy 28:12). Don't be lazy with your talents. Put them to use, work with them (to glorify God)...and He will surely reward you!