Kingdom Investment
I read a tweet a few days ago and it came back to mind today.
It said, "If the world's richest 10 people renounced their wealth, the
world's 1 billion hungry human beings can be fed for 250 years with the
money" (@InjusticeFacts, Oct. 4, 2012, twitter.com). That took me aback. I started
thinking that even if they did not give up all their wealth they could
still feed a billion people for the rest of their lives. To be honest, though, I couldn't really grasp that.
I can't imagine being that wealthy. I'm at a point in my life where I keep thinking about how I will fund my next semester at school and pay off my student loans. I've been thinking about my future and my parents' future. I thought about what I would do with a fraction of that kind of money. I thought, First, I'd tithe. Then, I'd pay off my family's bills and get my parents to retire....
Then, I realized that I was thinking all wrong.
Too many times we try to point the finger at someone else and ignore our part. The rich get a lot of attention, but we still have a part to play, ourselves.
I had just finished reading the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30 when I thought about the tweet again. After pondering it some more, God helped me see the connection. The man who was given 5 talents doubled that. So did the man who was given 2. When the Master (meant to depict God) came back and saw how they had invested what He had given them and increased what they had, He said, "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!" (Matthew 25:21, 23 NIV).
There was another servant who had received 1 talent. Unlike the others, he hid it away for safe keeping. When, the Master arrived and saw this He was furious. He called him a "wicked, lazy servant" (v. 26) and referred to him as "worthless" (v. 30).
That's heavy. God created us with the utmost intention and worth, so how did the man become so worthless in God's sight?
God is all about love. The 1 talent servant's actions didn't display any of that. We can see that he didn't love other people because he didn't invest in them. He didn't multiply what he had in order to keep giving. He was only concerned with keeping himself safe and secure (he knew the Master would come back to collect). We can see that he didn't love his Master because he didn't go after His heart. He hid the money away so that he wouldn't lose it. He didn't trust in the Master's character enough to know that He would be loving and forgiving and would provide for a loss so long as it was for His kingdom. In only thinking of himself, the servant offended his Master.
It's important to notice that the servant's actions and behavior were motivated by an incorrect perception of his Master. He claimed, "I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed" (v. 24). Because this was his perception, he acted in ways to protect himself from the Master's (as he perceived it) coldness.
We need to be careful that we understand God's character correctly because our perception of Him will affect the way we behave toward Him and the things and people He cares about. The servant clearly didn't know Him. The Master wasn't interested in simply getting what He had given back. He wanted to see His servants go beyond and invest in His kingdom (for us that means His people).
We have to make sure we are constantly spending time with Him and getting to know His heart so that we don't fall into incorrect thinking. Read the Bible and pray. Get around Him as much as you can so that what you believe will line up with what He says. What you do should be motivated by His heart within you.
This section of scripture specifically brought to mind tithing, though this also goes for the way we use our time, resources, and talents. We safely invest, only giving minimally to His kingdom, but this is not His heart. The other two servants each had been given different amounts, but were both rewarded because each yielded double. It doesn't matter whether you are rich or not (have more free time, resources, or talents, or do not), you are still expected to invest in the Kingdom. We have to stop pointing fingers at the wealthy and look at what WE'RE not doing.
Who's hungry physically or/and spiritually because you're not doing your part? Who is not being reached, helped, or sought out because you aren't making the time or effort?
When God returns, He doesn't want to just see what He left us with. He will want to see how we put those things to use and invested in His kingdom.
I can't imagine being that wealthy. I'm at a point in my life where I keep thinking about how I will fund my next semester at school and pay off my student loans. I've been thinking about my future and my parents' future. I thought about what I would do with a fraction of that kind of money. I thought, First, I'd tithe. Then, I'd pay off my family's bills and get my parents to retire....
Then, I realized that I was thinking all wrong.
Too many times we try to point the finger at someone else and ignore our part. The rich get a lot of attention, but we still have a part to play, ourselves.
I had just finished reading the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30 when I thought about the tweet again. After pondering it some more, God helped me see the connection. The man who was given 5 talents doubled that. So did the man who was given 2. When the Master (meant to depict God) came back and saw how they had invested what He had given them and increased what they had, He said, "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!" (Matthew 25:21, 23 NIV).
There was another servant who had received 1 talent. Unlike the others, he hid it away for safe keeping. When, the Master arrived and saw this He was furious. He called him a "wicked, lazy servant" (v. 26) and referred to him as "worthless" (v. 30).
That's heavy. God created us with the utmost intention and worth, so how did the man become so worthless in God's sight?
God is all about love. The 1 talent servant's actions didn't display any of that. We can see that he didn't love other people because he didn't invest in them. He didn't multiply what he had in order to keep giving. He was only concerned with keeping himself safe and secure (he knew the Master would come back to collect). We can see that he didn't love his Master because he didn't go after His heart. He hid the money away so that he wouldn't lose it. He didn't trust in the Master's character enough to know that He would be loving and forgiving and would provide for a loss so long as it was for His kingdom. In only thinking of himself, the servant offended his Master.
It's important to notice that the servant's actions and behavior were motivated by an incorrect perception of his Master. He claimed, "I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed" (v. 24). Because this was his perception, he acted in ways to protect himself from the Master's (as he perceived it) coldness.
We need to be careful that we understand God's character correctly because our perception of Him will affect the way we behave toward Him and the things and people He cares about. The servant clearly didn't know Him. The Master wasn't interested in simply getting what He had given back. He wanted to see His servants go beyond and invest in His kingdom (for us that means His people).
We have to make sure we are constantly spending time with Him and getting to know His heart so that we don't fall into incorrect thinking. Read the Bible and pray. Get around Him as much as you can so that what you believe will line up with what He says. What you do should be motivated by His heart within you.
This section of scripture specifically brought to mind tithing, though this also goes for the way we use our time, resources, and talents. We safely invest, only giving minimally to His kingdom, but this is not His heart. The other two servants each had been given different amounts, but were both rewarded because each yielded double. It doesn't matter whether you are rich or not (have more free time, resources, or talents, or do not), you are still expected to invest in the Kingdom. We have to stop pointing fingers at the wealthy and look at what WE'RE not doing.
Who's hungry physically or/and spiritually because you're not doing your part? Who is not being reached, helped, or sought out because you aren't making the time or effort?
When God returns, He doesn't want to just see what He left us with. He will want to see how we put those things to use and invested in His kingdom.
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