Often the meanings of words used biblically may differ significantly in everyday language, especially if a popular connotation buries the significance of the original denotation, as is the case with the Parable of the Talents denotation of a talent, the heaviest or largest biblical unit of weight, equal to about 75 pounds or 35 kilograms. Having undergone the linguistic processes of semantic or connotative drift, the word has been focused more on a developed skill, ability, hence "having talent." When the word was first used in Exodus 25, it had nothing to do with ability, skill, or aptitude, but rather how a talent (physical measurement) was hammered out for lampstands or other ornamental work. In the Parable of the Talents, if we limit the meaning of talent to skill or ability, we will miss the kind of wealth which is really in view. In I Corinthians 1:4-8, the apostle Paul assured all members that they have received a variety of spiritual gifts with which to edify and bolster their spiritual siblings. The talent is our special calling to be part of God's family. Consequently, like the gold hammered into lampstands in Exodus 25, we must hammer out our gifts, using them to glorify God. The golden lampstand, radiating light out to the entire tabernacle, was hammered out from a mere single talent. The important thing is not the quantity of the gold, but what is done with it in humble service to bring glory to God.