I remember sitting for hours at the kitchen table in my parents home, filling out sweepstakes entries. That was Mom's thing. Dad's was racing forms and pyramid schemes. My parents took expensive vacations, and countless calls from bill collectors. Mom carried her swim club and boat club memberships next to our food stamps. My parents were terrible with money. Though they never spoke to us about it, they taught us volumes. By the time I was eighteen, I was working over one hundred hours a week and had tens of thousands in the bank. Money = security.
I was in my thirties when I really began to notice Jesus drawing me to Him. I went to church and even listened, but when I sat down to try to read the Bible on my own, it either made no sense or made me sleepy. One of the most confusing passages was Jesus' Parable of the Talents. The Reader's Digest version goes like this: A man was going on a trip. Before he left, he gave some of his servants money to steward while he was gone. Two of the servants presented him with profit upon his return. A third, knowing his master was a shrewd business man and fearing a loss, returned exactly the amount the master had given him. "I kept it safe in a hole for you," the servant said. The master was furious and punished the servant.
Between my attitudes about money and lack of spiritual maturity, I could never understand what was so wrong with the third servant's behavior. After all, investments can be risky. What if the first two servants had lost the money? Number Three would have been looking like a rock star, right? It seemed to me, it was the master that should have been punished: he was so greedy. What's wrong with saving? Nothing, but this parable was never meant to be simply dollars and cents.
I've come to know this parable is about all God gives us to steward: our time, abilities, finances, relationships, careers, food, possessions, health, opportunities -- all of it, whatever it is. None of it belongs to us. We are merely stewards tasked with making the very most of what we hold -- temporarily, loosely -- for God's glory. And though I say this to you now, I am guilty of wasting time. I am guilty of taking relationships for granted. I am guilty of eating just because. I am guilty of hating my job. I am guilty of reacting badly when someone tries to take things from me. Which makes me guilty of thinking these things -- any of them -- belong to me.
The other day, I was praying about one of our current opportunities. Someone who is supposed to be running the job is not exercising due diligence. It could cost us the job. As a subcontractor, we are powerless. The situation immediately threatened my need for security and control, and my mind began to race. Can we hire a lawyer? What recourse do we have? Can we get this person off the project? Fury. Fear. But then, peace. Over and over again as I prayed, the Holy Spirit brought to mind The Parable of the Talents. God gave this to us. To steward. And we have done that. We are working hard, being moral in our actions, speaking life, submitting to authority, and -- most importantly -- representing Christ. The rest is up to the Lord. If the job turns an immediate profit, it belongs to our King. If the job appears to be a total loss on the surface, we can rest assured we served our King well, and He has done something for our good and His glory.
Some of the greatest success stories were written by paupers and prisoners. Some of the greatest victories were won in sickness and slavery. Whatever the situation we are in, it is meant to be invested. Only by risking what was never ours can we know the security of gaining what we can never lose -- the blessing of our Father, "Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Master."
Posts
