The Talents

A master left to travel far;
He called his servants near.
He gave them each some bags of gold
And said, "I'll leave them here."
To you I'm giving five," he said,
"To you I'm giving two,
To you I give a single bag —
Now see what you can do."

Use your gifts! (Use your gifts!)
Use the gifts the Lord has given!
Let them grow! (Let them grow!)
Don't go hide them in the ground!
Every gift was made for giving,
Every talent made to shine,
Live to hear the Master saying,
"Well done, servant of Mine!"

The first one traded, bought and sold,
And turned his five to ten.
The second worked his two to four —
They both proved faithful men.
But number three was full of fear;
He wouldn't even try.
He dug a hole and hid his gold
And let the days go by.

The master came back home one day
And called them one by one.
The first two showed him what they'd earned,
And he said to them, "Well done!
You have been faithful over little,
So I'll trust you now with more.
Come in and share your master's joy!" —
And he opened wide the door.

The third one brought his single bag,
Still dirty from the ground.
"I was afraid, so I hid it well;
See, it's safe and sound."
The master said, "O foolish one,
Is that all you have to show?
The gold I gave was meant to work;
The gift was meant to grow."

It doesn't matter if you've got five,
Or two, or only one;
The Master doesn't count the coins —
He asks, "What have you done?"
So take whatever God has given —
Your hands, your heart, your voice —
And use it all to bless the world,
And heaven will rejoice!

Use your gifts, use your gifts,
Let them grow, let them grow!
Well done! (Well done!)
Well done! (Well done!)
"Well done, servant of Mine!"