In the Bible, a talent originally referred to an ancient, exceptionally heavy unit of weight and a massive sum of money, when used as currency (silver or gold).  A single talent represented a fortune—equivalent to about 15 to 20 years of labor for a daily wage worker, or hundreds of thousands to over a million dollars today.   In the Gospel passage read today, Jesus tells the parable of the talents which represents everything God entrusts to individuals—including time, money, opportunities, and personal abilities. Our life, breath, innate talents, and unique potential are given to us freely by God, however we choose to use our free will, develop our character, and serve others forms our intentional offering back to Him. Whatever we have been given by God, we have to render an account for how we have used what He has entrusted to us. We do not want to find ourselves in the ultimate state of damnation, sorrow, and final rejection experienced in Hell.