DAY 3: GOD OWNS EVERYTHING

READ

MATTHEW 25:14-30
14 For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away…

19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ 21His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.” 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’

26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

CONSIDER

Fear is paralyzing. If you have a fear of heights, standing on top of a mountain induces panic instead of joy. If you have a fear of crowded spaces, anxiety rushes
through your body and leaves you incapable of feeling comfortable.

Fear takes things that are unlikely probabilities (like being crushed by a crowd) and persuades you to believe that they are absolute certainties.

Jesus tells us a story about a man who is in the grip of fear. In the well-known parable of the talents, the third servant is denounced for his decision. The servant makes a confession: “I was afraid.’’ Instead of investing the resources entrusted to him, he did nothing with them. And in response, we have the only recorded moment of Jesus ever describing someone as lazy.

What did the man fear? He feared the property owner. As he puts its, “I knew you to be a hard man.” The servant envisioned a future where his efforts would result in the property entrusted to him diminishing in value or disappearing altogether. He had convinced himself that this was the guaranteed outcome which would then be met with harsh treatment from the master upon his return.

But it’s important to remember the whole parable. The parable begins by introducing us to a property owner who entrusts property to his servants, leaves, and then returns to settle accounts. Who takes the risk in the story? It is the property owner! He assumes all the risk by sharing his property with his servants. Instead of viewing the owner as a “hard man,” the third servant would have been more correct to think of him as generous and benevolent.

Jesus is telling this story just two chapters before he will be crucified and raised from the dead. Jesus is preparing the disciples for his physical departure. This isn’t a parable about how to manage your 401K, business, or real estate. It’s first and foremost a parable about the kingdom of God and what has always been the means of its advance, the Word of God.

Jesus is God’s King. He has spoken everything into existence. He owns everything and has been set over everything by God. But he will soon no longer be physically present with his disciples, and he wants them to know his physical absence does not mean kingdom work and growth will cease. The Word of God is powerful and productive, and Jesus is going to continue to grow his kingdom through their faithful ministry to speak that Word. Apart from their faithful ministry efforts, they should not anticipate the kingdom to prosper.

With Jesus leaving, it would be easy for the disciples to hide in a cave and wait for him to return. It was he who had cast out demons, forgiven sins, and healed people
of diseases. It was Jesus who preached the good news and welcomed the outsider. But Jesus is “going on a journey.” Now, Jesus tells them they will be entrusted with the ministry of the kingdom, the proclamation of the Gospel, and it will be through their ministry that the kingdom of God will grow until Christ returns. Similarly, their failure to faithfully attend to the Word and their ministry of it will be seen and treated as criminal negligence.

Of course, the truth remains for us today. We are not sitting in fear and merely waiting for Jesus to return. We are the agents and ambassadors of his kingdom. He’s given us a great commission to proclaim his greatest gift. He is advancing his kingdom as the church gathers for worship, proclaims the good news, and manifests his love. God’s kingdom advances when his disciples engage in the activities he’s entrusted to them.

Fear is the enemy of faithfulness. Instead of propelling us into action, fear paralyzes and convinces us that the best course of action is to do nothing. We convince ourselves that our speaking, prayer, giving, and serving won’t make that much difference anyway. Instead of even small acts of faithfulness, we persuade ourselves to do nothing instead.

God owns everything. He doesn’t need us in the sense that he possesses all the abilities to care for everything himself. But he has decided to involve us in the investment by proclamation of his transforming Word. We need not fear failure. For failure is never final in God’s economy. Instead, God puts his power on display through human weakness. God is using the foolish and weak things of the world to advance his kingdom.

Our gifts matter because the property owner has called us to be part of his management team. He is using our service, prayers, and generosity among other things to multiply and grow the presence of his kingdom. Knowing his love and the power of his Word removes fear and enables us to engage in daring acts of faithfulness.