Risky Business . . . Wise Investing

   When I was just a kid, I have to admit that I was afraid of the dark.  One of the responsibilities I had in our home growing up was to put the garbage cans out for the trash pickup.  Unfortunately, I would put off the simple task until the very last moment.  It was usually the night before trash would be picked up that my mom would scold me about getting the trash out and I would, begrudgingly, gather it up and take it from the backyard out to the curb.  The problem was that I had waited until it was dark outside.  The side of the house that I had to use to accomplish my task was unlit and very dark.  My imagination would always get the best of me.

  For those of you who are laughing at me right now, we all know that you had your fears too.  Though we don't like to admit it, we are all from time to time controlled by fear.  After all, we live in a very scary world.

We live in a very scary world.

   In Matthew 25, Jesus tells a familiar story about a man who is going on a journey.  Before he leaves on his trip, he calls his three servants together and gives them large amount of money with the expectation for them to be wise stewards of his resources.  When the man returns from his trip, he calls these men to give an account of the resources he entrusted to them.

   The first two men return twice the sums of money entrusted to them as they had wisely invested it for their master.  These men were well rewarded for their faithfulness.  

   The story turns dark when Jesus tells of the third man.  This man, according to his own admission, was afraid and buried the money in the ground.  He returned what had been given to him, but there was not return on the man's investment.

   The "master," as he is called in the story, upon returning home, blesses the faithful servants.  Then, in a twist that takes our breath away, Jesus curses the unworthy servant who does not invest the money, but instead hunkers down, avoiding the hardship and pain of this fallen world.

   But wait a minute -wasn't the "wicked and slothful" servant merely accepting life in a fallen world?  Wasn't he rightly aware of the sinfulness of this realm, all the darkness and hurt and pain it causes those who stick their necks out?  He was "afraid," it seems to me in a way that you and I can understand.  he found himself in a dark place and a scary world.  All the forces of evil seemed arrayed against him.

   We can feel just this way too.  You and I can find ourselves afraid.  On our heels.  So we can be tempted-easily tempted-to act as this servant did.  He was afraid.  He knew in a lackadaisical way that God would do what He wanted, so he decided to sit the whole thing out.  How many of us, encountering this scenario, would make the same choice?  If we're honest, I think many of us might.

   The problem with the wicked servant is not simply that he didn't invest his money.  It is this: he didn't want to risk.  He wanted to be safe.  he preferred that life be quiet.  he didn't care to engage in some Cosmic Struggle for Righteousness.  He'd rather tune out and drop out, and then have his ticket punched in the end.

   It wasn't that he was dumb; he know the master would return, just as we know Jesus will come again.  He just thought he was playing the game expertly, getting to lead a comfortable, safe, risk-free life now.  Then, when it was over, because he had been appropriately religious, he could live with God forever.

   But Jesus' response to this way of life is positively stunning.  He denounces the man.  The Greek word for "wicked" indicates something that is utterly without value.  So, why is this servant so wicked?  Because he did not remember the central truth about God: He is good.

   Jesus is not simply telling us through this parable to be "good stewards."  He is doing that, but more.  He is giving us divine insight into the best way to live in this world.  The darkness seems great, life is hard, and the time is short, but true followers of God are not to bury their heads in the sand, because God is in control.  The wicked servant did bury his head.  But believers are supposed to find incredible, world-shaking confidence in God.  This "Master" is indeed able to do wonders, as the foolish servant thought.  But this is not supposed to paralyze us.  it is supposed to create a life of boldness and faith and action and risk.

   We can boil it down to this: God's awesomeness should propel our faithfulness.

   

God's awesomeness should propel our faithfulness.

   God doesn't save us to coddle us.  He doesn't give the gift of His beloved Son so we can hide away, safe and secure from a sinful world and all its challenges, like the wicked servant.  God makes us His own so He can unleash us to be vessels of mercy.  He saves you to make you a comet in the sky, a vessel of righteousness, a citizen of the kingdom, a priest to God, a faithful and fearless worker in His vineyard.

   The fundamental orientation of every second we live is toward risk for God.  Just like the faithful servants, we're to go to work, t seek to make more, to spread the gospel.  The Master is good, impossibly good, and He delights to reward His children.

   The wicked servant saw the power of God and misunderstood it.  He thought God's greatness was life-taking.  In truth, God's sovereignty is life-giving.  We're save to plunge headlong into a life of God-inspired, Christ-centered, gospel-driven risk.  We don't know when the Master is returning; we don't know what may come of our efforts.  We're not guaranteed any earthly results.

   But we are called to work while there is still time.