She called three of her employees into a glass-walled conference room… -- Image by MagicDesk from Pixabay
A Modern Retelling of "The Talents"
At a buzzing tech startup in San Jose, California, the CEO, Olivia Tran, called three of her employees into a glass-walled conference room. She was heading overseas for six months and wanted to see what her team could do with some discretionary budgets.
"Here's the deal," she said, sliding envelopes across the table. "Do something bold! Make this company better, and show me what you can do. When I get back, I want results."
Inside the envelopes:
Arjun got $100,000.
Emily got $50,000.
Kyle got $10,000.
Arjun went all in. He hired a lean development team, built a new AI-powered scheduling tool. In a short three months, he had customers paying serious money.
Emily played it smart. She partnered with a local college, funded a research project, and turned it into a slick marketing campaign that doubled the company's visibility.
Kyle? Well… Kyle took the $10,000 and opened a savings account. "Too risky out there," he said. "Better safe than sorry. Look, I preserved capital, hedged against volatility, and ensured liquidity." He even bragged to coworkers: "Hey, at least the money is not lost. The boss will thank me later."
Six months later, Olivia returned. The conference room lights hummed as each presented their results.
Arjun showed charts that climbed like rockets. "Your $100,000 turned into $200,000."
Emily presented glowing testimonials and new partnerships. "Your $50,000 doubled our customer base."
Kyle slid a bank statement across the table. "Your $10,000 is still here. In fact, it earned $43.26 in interest. Not bad, right?"
Silence.
Not the silence of someone thinking, but the silence just before a storm lets loose.
Olivia leaned back, tapping her pen. Then she said, "Arjun — fantastic work. You'll be heading up the new division. Emily — brilliant execution, you're promoted to Director of Marketing."
Then she turned to Kyle. "You… had six months. You could've tested, experimented, even failed — and I would've applauded the effort. But you buried an opportunity because you were afraid. We're not in the business of risk avoidance. We're in the business of growth."
Kyle was reassigned to managing the office printer queue. A position so dull, even ChatGPT would not summarize it.
Based on Matthew 25:14-30
Synopsis:
In the parable of the talents, Jesus shows that God entrusts each of us with gifts, opportunities, and resources — not to bury them in fear, but to use them boldly. Playing it safe may feel responsible, but faith is meant to grow through action, not stagnation. Those who invest their gifts — whether big or small — step into greater purpose, while those who bury them miss the point entirely.
Tap to read the actual bible passage:
Enjoying these stories? Please help us keep the lights on and more... Why Support Us