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I spend a lot of time thinking about the Parable of The Talents. You know the story. A master entrusts a quantity of money to three men (the amount depending on his assessment of their abilities) and then goes on a trip. When he gets back he finds that the top two employees performed very well but the hapless “one talent man” buried his money so he wouldn’t lose any of it and make his master mad. Of course those familiar with the story know that this hapless individual was severely punished for his ineptitude.
Today I was thinking about the one talent man and realized this, that one of his big problems was laziness. LAZINESS! While the other two were working and planning on how to make more money for their master their fellow worker just buried his and sat around. Perhaps never thinking… I’ll dig up a little bit of this money and buy hammers for $2 each and see if I can get $3 each for them. He was lazy just sitting around and doing nothing.
The Lord doesn’t like lazy people. He didn’t like them when the Bible was written and he doesn’t like them now. The Lord assesses our abilities and makes an investment in us. Everyone has some level of ability. No one gets a free pass. Don’t be lazy. Use your abilities so when you meet up with God he will smile at you and give you a big hug.
As human beings we understand that we have a limited number of days to live upon this earth. As servants (employees) of God we understand that those days should be spent working for God. So at the beginning of a new day an assessment should be made about how we performed for God on the previous day and a plan should be made for the new day.
The previous day’s assessment should include; did I actively violate any of God’s commandments, i.e. did I sin? The assessment should also include some thought about the casual social interaction we have with other people. In my social interaction did I represent my employer (God) in a positive way? Was I kind, helpful, encouraging etc. In addition, how did I do in my planned social interaction? Which brings us to this… planning the new day.
Since we have a finite number of days on earth, each one of them is precious and should be devoted in some form or fashion to the Lord. For example, today I’m going to visit someone who is lonely, a home bound widow, a sick person, etc. Today I’m going to encourage someone who is neglecting their abilities. Today I’m going to repair a broken relationship. Today I’m going to interact and get to know someone at church who I only know on a handshake basis (a handshake friend). Today I’m going to help a poor person.
Things are done by littles and as those little things that we do day by day build up they become a huge monument to God. Plan and assess your days or otherwise you may wake up at the end of your day and realize you’ve only accumulated a bunch of wasted days.
Yesterday I posted a photo on Facebook of my brother Greg and some of his church friends when they were teenagers. Almost immediately one of those friends posted the comment “thanks Rob” and sent me a private message with his phone number and to please call him.
When I called him he said Rob I need your help and encouragement I’m having a hard time going back to church and haven’t been in a few months. He continued, you were the oldest of our group and i know you can help me.
You see David was very close to our family. He named his son after my brother Greg. During the conversation he told me the two greatest men he had ever known was his Dad and my Dad. My parents were like his parents. The photo shows four young people about to start their adult lives but somewhere along the way David had made soon poor choices and suffered the consequences of those choices and now with a broken home, broken life and broken health was looking for some help.
I told David that I believed in him and loved him and that he had a wonderful story he could share with others and so he needed to make a better effort to attend assemblies of Christ not only for his own spiritual health but to also help the spiritual health of others through the story of his life. I told him that we have a great enemy and depression is one of his greatest weapons.
I know this if I know anything you don’t spend a whole lot of time in that vicious cycle of depression if you are more worried about others than yourself.
He also told me that he wants me to call and check on him on a regular basis to call him every Monday morning and hold him accountable. He knows that he can’t do it by himself and I suppose thats one of the reasons Christ died to establish his people the church. So they can help each other.
Shortly after that conversation I texted Greg, Scott and Mark and told them that we need to team up to help our lost brother. I’ve already built a text message group to help with that.
All this started with the simple posting of a photo on Facebook.
As I look at my life I see that God is always listening to my prayers and like paying close attention to me. I need your prayers for our missing brother. We have a powerful God.
It is intellectually dishonest or intellectually lazy to lift a verse out of its context to prove a point. Context is everything.
However, attention must not only be paid to the immediate surrounding verses but also to the chapter and the whole book. A meaning must not be given to a verse that is contrary to the message of the whole book it is surrounded by.
In addition, the next level of context is other books written by the same author and then the context of the New or Old Testament the verse is found in and finally the context of the whole Bible.
This of course means the Bible student must have a comprehensive understanding of the whole Bible before he starts in the business of interpreting a single verse to make a point. As good Bible students let’s be honest and diligent in our studies.
We’re all familiar with the five, two and one talent men but there is an implication in the text that there exists a one and one-half talent man. He is the man who instead of burying his money, like the one talent man, turned his money over to a bank so his master would at least receive interest.
I suppose this might be considered a minimal level of turn acceptability to the master but... probably not. Let’s consider a few things.
- The one and one-half talent man did not have confidence in his own ability so he shifted his responsibility to someone else. He feared his master.
- The five and two talent men doubled their investments, which would be a 100% return. They worked hard to please their master. They loved the opportunity to please him.
- At a bank one would be lucky to get a 3% return. Probably not a return the master would be happy with.
- If the master just wanted a 3% return he could have put the money in the bank himself.
- The one and one-half talent man probably suffered a fate similar to that of the one talent man. They both feared their master.
God has high expectations for his people. He has made a considerable investment in us and blessed us with many blessings and abilities. He expects a high rate of return on his investment. Don’t be afraid of God. Fear can be incapacitating and encumbering. Love God and believe in his love for you and you will be able to do many things.
When I was growing up there was a great emphasis on the New Testament and a de-emphasis on the Old Testament, because as I was taught… we live under the New Testament not the Old. A manifestation of that teaching was that a lot of Christians (including myself) just carried New Testaments.
Here’s what I know now… you cannot have a full and deep understanding of the New Testament without a full and deep understanding of the Old Testament… you just can’t.
Remember this, the early church did most of its study out of the Old Testament. When you see a book like the letter to the Romans it is primarily written to a Roman (non-Jewish) audience and yet it is rich in Old Testament references which the Romans would have been very familiar with. Why? Because the basis of their faith was built upon the Old Testament and its fulfillment in Jesus Christ.
If we want to practice New Testament Christianity then spend much time studying the Old Testament because it will bring you to a fuller deeper understanding of Jesus Christ and the New Testament… and your faith will be stronger.
Eph. 6:10-18.
This section of scripture is an encouragement to Christians to be strong. We have to be strong because we are in a battle with a very strong foe… Satan himself
Our preparation for this battle involves armoring ourselves. We cannot win against Satan without armor. It takes a special kind of armor to fight Satan. He is unaffected by Napalm and Kevlar. The Christian soldier’s armor consists of truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation and the word of God. The glue that holds all this together is our communication with God in prayer.
With this kind of armor the Christian soldier is always victorious and Satan is always defeated.
Unfortunately many Christians will be killed by Satan because they failed to prepare themselves for battle. Sometimes Christians think… God will take care of me he won’t let Satan kill me. Yes, God will help us. He helps us by identifying an upcoming battle, by identifying who the enemy is and by telling us how to defeat him.
God could easily exterminate Satan but his plan is to have an all-volunteer army of valiant warriors who love God so much that they don't have any room left to fear Satan and can stand strongly against him. Prepare yourself to fight for God and against Satan.
