After reading Matthew 25:14-30 about the servants who multiplied the talents they were given and the servant who failed to, our priest told us the Japanese Buddhist folk tale of the Straw Millionaire (Warashibe Choja).

Once, a poor man prayed for a way out of poverty, and his god answered that he should pick up the first thing he felt upon leaving the temple. That turned out to be a piece of straw from the ground. In the version from our pastor’s homily, the man found a dragonfly and tied it to the straw. Then he encountered a child who was enchanted by the dragonfly, so the child’s mother traded the man a rose for the dragonfly.

As the man carried the rose, he encountered a young man who wished to give a gift to his sweetheart , so the young man traded the man three oranges for the rose. Then he came upon a man who was thirsty and traded him a silk robe for the oranges. Finally, he met a princess who sought a gift for her father, so she traded him a precious gem for the silk.

Stretching It the Right Amount

In our culture, we are taught to multiply our talents. Some of us get sidetracked along the way, but we know what has value: More.

I’ve always thought the parable of the talents seemed to drive that message — one I never needed to be told twice. If five should be turned into ten, must ten be turned into twenty? Can we ever stop?

In this video, Noah Kagan asks a retired billionaire, Michael Hudner, whether he has any regrets, such as working too hard. Hudner said, “I feel like life is … you live it like an elastic band. You can take it out to the limits, and you can hold it there for a while, but you’ve got to let it come back in. Then you can take it out again, but if you take it out too far you’re gonna break it. And then it’s done. And you can’t live in here [bringing hands together].”

Hudner’s simple reflection captures the dilemma. We can’t stay small and fearful like the servant who buries his single talent. But we can only stretch so far. The parable of the talents doesn’t tell us when to rest.

Perhaps the Straw Millionaire has the answer. The Straw Millionaire does desire an end to his poverty, but he does not seek it. He simply takes up the straw and goes on his way. He gives only what people ask from him, and takes only what they offer in exchange. His blessings (wealth) come from his humility and generosity, not his effort.