Matthew 25:20

And he that received the five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: lo, I have gained other five talents. His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will set thee over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

It is of vast significance that the "reckoning" with the servants was upon an individual basis and that no group appraisal of their efforts was allowed. This is at strong variance with the habits of men who love to judge themselves and assess their success or failure on the basis of group achievements. In the case of the three servants here, if their lord had followed the plan in vogue today, they might well have presented themselves in a group, saying, "Look, you left us in charge of eight talents, and we have increased them by 87 1/2 percent!" It appears that men will not be judged on the basis of general success of some group or congregation of which they may be a part, but upon the basis of their individual fidelity.

The five-talent man was applauded and approved, not because he had gained five other talents, but upon the basis of his faithfulness. Significantly, the two-talent man received the identical commendation, indicating that it is not the amount of one's achievement that is vital, but the quality of it. In the faith of Christ, it is true that,

When the one great Scorer comes To write against your name, He writes not if you won or lost, But how you played the game.

- Anonymous

J. W. McGarvey noted that:

In this part of the parable, there is a transition to the language of the Lord from heaven when bestowing the eternal benediction; for the words, "Enter into the joy of thy Lord," are not those of an earthly master when rewarding his servants.[4]