Matthew 25:15

And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one; to each according to his several ability; and he went on his journey.

The true standard for distribution of wealth is not, as expressed by the Marxist view, "to each according to his need," but rather to each "according to his ability." The reason lies in the fact that without ability, even that which a man receives shall be wasted, neglected, or diminished, and in the law of economic progress there can never be, in the final analysis, any substitute for ability.

How lavish are God's gifts. None came empty-handed from him. God places in every man's hands the necessary instruments for God's service and endows him with abundant means of service to his Creator. The diversity of gifts is meaningful. No two were alike. Each was uniquely different. It is true of every man born into the world. Every individual is the handiwork of the Eternal with gifts unlike those of any other. One may have less, one more, another least, another most; but every person made in the image of God is the possessor of a unique endowment.

The distribution was fair and equitable and was made upon the basis of the varying abilities of the recipient. To have made them all equal recipients would have been a gross injustice. Five talents would have been an intolerable burden to the man with one-talent ability, and the five-talent man would not have been challenged by a gift of only one. Diversity is seen not merely in the various gifts but also in the peculiar temptation to which each was susceptible. One may rest assured that God's mercy and wisdom provided with each man's distribution of gifts that personal endowment with which he may be most likely, and with least danger, to enter into life eternal. We hold this to be true of him of one talent no less than with him of five; and we may conclude that the man of one talent would have been inclined more to sloth had he been given five than was the case with one.