So there's a Master and 3 servants...one servant was given one bag of gold, the second servant was given 2 bags, and the last servant was given 5 bags of gold, each according to his ability. The Master was going on a journey, and left the gold with his servants- entrusting them with HIS wealth. (Book of Matthew)
Here's what happened next:
The servant with one bag of gold buried his.
The servant with two bags worked and gained two more bags.
The servant with five bags worked hard and doubled his bags.
Most of you probably know the rest of the story....
The Master told the second and third they had done well. He probably gave them a job and a bonus.
The first servant, the scared one who buried the bag in his backyard, was scolded. The Master called him lazy and gave the man with ten bags his measly one bag.
This was our lesson yesterday in Sunday school. We had a great discussion about it. It really stirred me, and made me think.
One friend said, "Wasn't that punishment a little harsh for the man who buried it? I mean, at least he didn't lose it all!"
(My thought was...couldn't the Master have given the bag to the guy who only had two...I mean throw the guy a bone...)
Another friend explained it like this....those bags could represent something else besides money. Let's say it was a plot of land. A man gives you a plot of his land for a year. He comes back after a year and you've done NOTHING. NADA. ZILCH. You haven't watered it. You haven't weeded it. It's full of weeds, dried out dirt, trash from the nearby road, and anthills. The man is furious. He can't believe you wasted a whole year. You could've done so much with that land. You could've planted something! You could've leased it to someone else and made a profit! You could have even let someone use it so it would at least have been productive! Nothing! Lazy! Terrible!
Here's a point for discussion: Notice in the parable that the Master gave the servants bags of gold based on their abilities to handle it. So maybe I haven't experienced great "worldly wealth-dollar bills" because I can't handle it well? Thoughts? Ideas? Maybe I shouldn't even think that way- it's up to God. Or maybe I haven't always taken the opportunities and listened to what God wanted me to do!
You know that saying..."To whom much is given, much is expected."
Or maybe you could think of the bags of gold as something else...potential.
This makes me think about something I tell my students often (and I have said this MANY times over my teaching career.) You have to use what God has given you. The saddest thing to waste is your mind. The most frustrating student is the one who has the ability but won't put in the effort! You know what I mean....there's a million ways to say it.
My friend Gavin was teaching yesterday and he shared a staggering statistic from a magazine he found. I won't quote it directly and I don't put too much weight into these surveys- but I do think this was probably pretty true. It said that on average most Americans only spent 7 minutes a day doing some kind of Volunteerism or Religious Activity. Made me think about how I spend my time. Am I using my God-given gifts and talents as God intended? Am I allowing God to use me as He sees fit? Am I wasting time and energy doing things that do not further his kingdom? Or am I wasting time doing things that are self-defeating or don't benefit my health or my family's happiness? The answer is yes and no. I think we have to give ourselves credit. Baby steps people. I do good things. And I watch a little too much reality TV sometimes. We can't all go to Zimbabwe and build orphanages. But what I CAN do is be more INTENTIONAL with my time. I can stop wasting time doing things like....
WORRYING about the future.
BEING UPSET about the past.
STRESSING about today.
My goal is to do one thing each day that is more intentional...and just keep going. Hopefully I will have so many intentional things that they'll push those other things out of the way.
So go and have an intentional day...and yes, I will still watch my reality TV tonight.
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