Talent Investment




Danaë, Vadim Zakharov, Russian Pavilion, Venice

Matthew 25:14-30

¹⁴ “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. ¹⁵ And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. ¹⁶ Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. ¹⁷ And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. ¹⁸ But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money. ¹⁹ After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.



Even though I have a day job in Accounting, I am still a practicing Artist. In the evenings I paint... and get distracted from painting due to writing this blog. Truth be told I cannot blame my lack of "careerism" concerning my painting on my writing. Rather it is because I am not out there properly promoting my artwork. It can be a tough thing to place your creations publicly to be judged, purchased and/or not purchased. Viewers can be critical of things they don't understand and professional art critics are employed to be... well, critical. My work is fairly traditional, so what about those creating purely Abstract, New Media or non-traditional Post-Modern works? Those artists have to be incredibly brave in presenting their creations. The artists who have the hardest uphill trek with the average public are the Conceptual artists. Conceptual Art can be hard pill for most viewers to swallow. It can seem to be a fairly useless venture. The viewers may argue that It's not utilitarian enough (a.k.a., "it doesn't go well with that new green couch I bought"). Take this post's artwork. This Conceptual artist is at the pinnacle of success in his field. He was chosen by the Venice Biennial to represent the face of contemporary art in his home country. It is the equivalent of being an Art Olympian athlete. He is now the definition of an Art World insider. Yet, even though you've watched the Sotheby's video where the Russian artist Vadim Zakharov explains the thought behind his themed piece "Danaë", you are probably still wondering why anyone would create a work like this. Why would someone waste buckets full of gold coins by throwing them into a hole in the ground all based on some myth they were raised with? That is exactly what the master in Jesus' parable of the talents thought. Of course just like Zakharov's presentation, Jesus' also has a symbolic meaning. Like the Venice Biennial, this parable defines who are the ultimate insiders. This parable is about the Kingdom of heaven and who is on its inside and its outside. Those who are on the inside are there because of the use of their talents. Those talents, however great or marginal is what makes them marketable.Those that are on the outside are there due to believing myths that prevented them from acting. Now that may seem like a wonderful pep talk for practicing artists like myself, but it is more complex than I have lead you to believe. Becoming an insider in the kingdom of heaven requires that we understand the nature of this talent, the nature of the market and the nature of the myth. It will reveal that Jesus' notion of success is far different than ours. 

The Nature of Talent

“So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ ²¹ His lord said to him, ‘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.’ ²² 

The average viewer and the average contemporary artists have a misunderstanding to settle. This problem is based on the nature if talent. The average viewer believes that good art is judged on what they think displays "talent." This usually means that the art shouldn't look like something they, their kid or a factory could produce. The problem with much of contemporary art is that it may be interested in creating things that you, your kid or a factory could produce. Or it may not be concerned with your perception if talent at all. What is a talent anyway? By that, I specifically mean, what does talent mean in this parable? As always, Wikipedia has some useful insight into this matter:

Talent

The talent (Latin: talentum, from Ancient Greek: τάλαντον, talanton 'scale, balance, sum') was one of several ancient units of mass, a commercial weight, as well as corresponding units of value equivalent to these masses of a precious metal. The talent of gold was known to Homer, who described how Achilles gave a half-talent of gold to Antilochus as a prize. It was approximately the mass of water required to fill an amphora. A Greek, or Attic talent, was 26 kilograms (57 lb), a Roman talent was 32.3 kilograms (71 lb), an Egyptian talent was 27 kilograms (60 lb), and a Babylonian talent was 30.3 kilograms (67 lb). Ancient Israel, and other Levantine countries, adopted the Babylonian talent, but later revised the mass. The heavy common talent, used in New Testament times, was 58.9 kilograms (130 lb).

So when the master gave his servants wealth to invest that was measured in talents, he was giving them money that weighed the size on an average young woman...and that was the smallest amount that he gave. We don't know how much the money that the master gave his servants was because a "talent" is not the name of a coin like a denarius or a nickel. A talent is the measure of the treasure's weight. To one servant the master gave the weight of a human being. To another he gave three times that. To yet another servant he gave treasure that weighed the same amount if five human beings. But let 's not forget that this is a parable. There is a symbolic meaning behind all of this talent. It is really not about 130-650 lbs of gold. Yet it is about a treasure that was valuable and weighty. A gift that only the Master could have given. So this post and the average preaching of thus biblical text have a misunderstanding to settle. The way this text is normally preached is that the "talent" in the parable is symbolic of "talent" in its normal English usage if the word. Now granted the words are related (in English) but that is because the English word for talent that denotes being gifted in a specialized area comes from this. This word comes from the parable as Google shows:

Old English talente, talentan (as a unit of weight), from Latin talenta, plural of talentum ‘weight, sum of money,’ from Greek talanton . Sense 1 is a figurative use with biblical allusion to the parable of the talents (Matt. 25:14–30).

Keep in mind that it is not the other way around. Our contemporary use of the word talent evolved from the principle of this parable. So when Jesus uses talent in the parable he is not symbolically saying that God wants you to utilize the things that you are good at. It is good to do things you are good at. It is fun to do things that you are good at. But God's will is not necessarily you honing your talent. God is not necessarily disappointed at you if you don't become the greatest NFL running back ever. He will not think that you have failed Him if you don't open up your dream restaurant. These are all wonderful things to do, but if we make Jesus' parable about This motion of talent then we take the focus off if God and place it on ourselves. We focus on how great we are and not how awesome God is. Plus, what if you are really talented at telling nasty jokes or fighting or selling Cocaine? These are all legitimate talents that you can be better than others at but they do not glorify God or show the message of Jesus. The focus on things that we are "good" at and not God's goodness. They key to discovering the symbolic meaning of the talent in this parable us not as much about what it means but rather what it is. The talent was something that was given to the servants from their master. Specifically it was a gift that was given in great measure (specifically the amount was a talent). This gift was not given as a payment for their labor but rather as a grace. By now you probably that the master in this parable is symbolic of God... but it's a little more general than that. It us a symbol of the system of God. The way Ge operates and rules. Scripture calls it the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven. When you think about it that way then it us easier to understand what this great gift, this grace is. The grace that is given from the Kingdom of God is Grace itself. Now we usually think of Grace being the same uniform forgiveness that we all receive. But if we look at it another way, if Grace is God's forgiveness and mercy, and some of us find ourselves in deeper sin than others (other than Original Sin) then in a sense we all have received different measurements of this gift. Some require one talent of grace but the rest of us require three to five talents of God's ongoing mercy. What we all share in common is that whatever the measure, our grace is valuable and weighty... and our Master is rich in it.


The Nature of The Market

He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’ ²³ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

The greatest difference between an Art World outsider like myself and an insider like Vadim Zakharov is that he understands the market. He has been a leader in the contemporary Russian art scene since the 1980's when it was relatively underground due to prying Soviet eyes. This thirty year advantage has given him insight into understanding the nature and movement of the market. The master in Jesus' parable was looking for men with similar business acumen. He actually divvied up the proportion of the talents based on his servants' ability to understand the market. What is this market that the master hoped that they would engage in? It appears vague but we can say the same things about it that we can say about any other enterprise (like the art market): it was an exchange. Commerce in itself is the exchange of goods and services for other goods and services. It can be in exchange for money or for barter as long as the currency is deemed of value to both parties. We have already established that the talent in this story is symbolic of Grace. Grace us God's currency. Grace is what Hod has given us to bring to the market of human ideas. Yes God freely blesses us with all types of good things (Reformed theologians call this common grace) but His greatest treasure is His forgiveness through the sacrifice of Christ. God has freely given us this treasure to exchange with others. He did not just give us this to exchange with other servants (anyone can forgive fellow friends in the Faith) but rather to invest it with those outside of the Kingdom. God is not running a pyramid scheme where we cyclically invest in members but he has called us to spend our mercy and forgiveness on our enemies (and His enemies). This is how we multiply the riches that God has given us. We are called to be creative with our goodness and entrepreneurial with our mercy. God wants us to dream dreams of showing love to the hateful and see visions of extending mercy to those deserving judgment. When we do this... when we prove ourselves to be partners in this enterprise if Grace then God will give us more grace to govern and goodness to distribute. You will have shown yourself to be a good and faithful servant. You will be received by the Kingdom of heaven

The Nature of the Myth

“Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. ²⁵ And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’

Let me let you in on a little secret: their are self help books specifically for artists and creatives. Actually there are a lot of them. Some of them are just business advise telling you the ins and out of the industry so that you can become an Art World insider like our Russian friend one day. The best of these books are actually more inspirational works that give real world anecdotal advise from working art professionals and educators. My favorite of these books us entitled "Art & Fear." It is amazing. I've read it several times over the past decade... but maybe that's a testament to it not being all that effective. The strength if this book lies in destroying the myths that artists believe that draw them into inaction. After all (they argue), an artist is someone who creates art. Anything else is a secondary consideration after making the work. A painter paints. A dancer dances. A sculptor sculpts. A writer writes... unless you are like me, a painter who wires while he should be painting... but hey, I'm creating! Which gets me to another point: what dies a Christian do? Is a Christian just a believer or is a Christian also a creator? In this parable a follower of Jesus seems to be a creator of mercy, justice and love. This parable conveys that a Christian replicates the image that he sees in the life of Jesus Christ. If this doesn't sound like the message of Jesus that you are familiar with then you may have been told a myth about God. It is the same myth that the third servant believed about his master. It is a myth that leads the servant to keep the treasure to himself. He takes hundreds of pounds of grace and dumps it in a hole in the ground. He is not interested in exchanging God's grace and love with others because he does not recognize this grace as love. He held the same theology as the prodigal son's Pharisaic older brother and perceived God's Grace as another burden for him be custodian over. In truth it was something to be custodian of and it was an investment in his servants as much as it was a gift to them. And when someone gives you an investment they expect a return. Now this may conflict with some of you readers' concept if grace. I (like you) believe that Grace us a free gift that we could never work for or earn... but Grace is also a gift that is to be worked out. Grace (like faith) is to be evidenced in our good works. We show that we are Jesus' by being like Jesus. What the third servant failed to appreciate was that the talent that he was given was a actually an internship for a partnership. In effect the Master had already entered into partnership with him (unbeknownst to him) in a trial version. If he had only been faithful over the small grace that he had been given then the master would have given the fullness of his grace. The message of the parable is that Grace that us not shared and invested in those around you is not fully grace at all. It is grace that can be taken away. It is not lasting Grace and therefore not saving Grace. In the end you are left with no Grace. Jesus' message is that true religion, true relationship with God is truly grace. And true Grace must be shared. Any relationship with God that neglects living relationship with others is false. It is self-centered while God is others-centered. Unlike the third servants concept of his master as one who takes from others to make his own, our Master takes from His own (Son) and gives to others (Sinners). That is God's Nature. Yes, faith (meaning belief) is integral to authentic Christianity. Yes, holiness (meaning separation from sin) is integral to authentic Christianity. Yes, community (meaning united fellowship with other Christians) is integral to authentic Christianity. Yes, fidelity to the Scriptures (meaning belief) is integral to authentic Christianity         Any view of religion that does not give to others and forgive others is probably based on a concept of a God who isn't giving or forgiving. This idea of God, like Vadim Zakharov's story of Zeus and Danae, is based on a myth


The Nature of the Master

 “But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.

You may think it's funny that I'm sitting here telling you about all of these keys to success in the Art World that I know. You listen as I lay down the factors that lead Vadim Zakharov to success... while I still am reading self help books for Artists. Now I am not saying that you should stop reading and honing your craft. I am just stating that in the midst of honing your craft everyone thinks that they know everything already. That is the most subtle part of the myth that gets artists to stop creating. It is a myth that says the understand how the system works already and it is set against them. This myth is false. It is a popular narrative, but a destructive one. It is the same myth that the third servant fell into believing. He thought that he understood his Master's system... and that system was set against him. That may be the theological system that you believe about God. You may have heard several times about God's anger, wrath and judgment and decided that they were set against you. The myth is a false characterization that insults God. Now, I am not here to dispel the belief in God's anger, wrath or judgment because I believe that these three attributes work together in God working for justice. His anger, wrath and judgment are not against you but rather for you, and me and every creature that He loves. His anger, wrath and judgment are set against those things that separate us from Him. His anger, wrath and judgment are set against those things that separate us from each other. Sometimes those things those things reside within our own hearts. But if you believe that anger, wrath and judgment are all that there is to God then it will construct a false image of who God is. It will create a false God of hatred and an idol that sets out to destroy life, love and all of the beautiful things that those two create together. And the true God, the God of Love and creative beauty, has set His anger, wrath and judgment against all idols. When the master responds to the third servant by saying "‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed" it is not an affirmation of his analysis of the master's character but an indignant indictment against a false accusation. It is as if to say "You knew that about me, eh?" or "That's how you see me, huh?" And then he calls the servant on his contradictory beliefs and behavior. Likewise if you believe in a purely judgmental and wrathful God then you would invest in acts of love out of fear in His judgment. But that's not how Pharisaic legalism acts out. It is a false "Savings Plan." The third servant thought that he would save his talent by burying it in the ground but that is where he lost it. Many think that their religiosity is to be lived out by avoiding sinners when in reality it is just burying that faith in the ground. The only things to be buried in the ground are the dead and God has called us to have a living faith exemplified by living works of mercy and love. This grace that God has given you must be acted out, shared and exchanged freely with others. That is the mystery of the Kingdom of heaven, the more of its treasures that are given away the more that it has. The more mercy that it exerts the more the Master will generate. The more outsiders trade their sins for God's grace the more grace will be given. The more outsiders that come into the Kingdom the more insiders there will be. The Kingdom of heaven measures success in how much of its treasure is given out. If you freely and liberally give out to sinners, enemies and strangers the good, merciful and beautiful things of God then you will find yourself showered from above with hundreds of pounds of his mercy.
 ‘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.  And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’