What is responsibility? Perhaps as a secondary school student, ‘responsibility’ sounds like something far away from us and is difficult. Actually, responsibility includes a wide range of things that even you and me can bear. Things like simply handing in homework, being a punctual student, studying for your tests and examinations are signs of taking responsibility.
Sounds easy right, but are these the only responsibilities that we should take? Let’s listen to the following story.
A rich man left his house to go on a trip. Before he left, he gathered 3 of his servants, and gave the first servant 5 talents, the second servant 2 talents, and the third servant 1 talent according to their ability.
The first two servants went and put their money to work. While the last one dug a hole in the ground and hid the 1 talent he received.
When the rich man came back, he asked the servants how they made use of the talents.
The first one proudly replied that he gained 5 more talents. The second servant also earned two more talents. When the third servant came forward, he told his master that he did nothing with the talent out of fear.
The master was very happy with the first two servants. As a reward, he put them in charge of more things and invited them to share his happiness. And for the third servant, he took the talent from him and banished him from his house.
The greater our ability, the greater our responsibility. The first two servants utilised the talents they were given and earned a handsome profit for their master. In return, they attained happiness and the chance to achieve more. The third servant made nothing out of the talent he was given. In the end, his talent was removed and was left with none.
We should learn from the first two servants and take responsibility for the abilities we have, like setting a higher goal for academic results, or making progress for activities we are interested in.
It is important to treasure the ability we are gifted and take the consequential responsibility.
Saturday, 3 May 2025