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Get your own, Free HomepageNow, as I know you've already figured out, not everyone got the same denomination of bills. Where are the "ones"? What about "fives"? Who got "tens"? And where are the "twenties."
Now...tell the truth. Somewhere out there....there is a person holding a "twenty" sitting next to a person holding a "one" and feeling pretty smug and pleased! And the person holding a one sitting next to the person holding a twenty is going, "Aw, bummer!"
Aren't we funny? We're worried about whether we got more or less than someone else...and guess what? As you sit there looking at those "bills," the truth is: what you have in your hands are of equal value. And trust me: it ain't much!
But...take what you've been given...and turn it over. Now you hold in your hands...all of you..."The Currency of Christ." The value of each of these is now the same: "Priceless." Whether you had a twenty, a ten, a five or a one, when you turned it over, you all got the same thing: "Well done, Good and Faithful Servant."
There is a simple but profound spiritual truth at work here: No matter how much - or how little - you seem to have been given, if you just sit and hold on to it, it has no value. But if you turn it over to the currency of Christ, you will discover that God is well pleased!
This morning we heard a well known passage of Scripture usually known as the "Parable of the Talents." In our contemporary rendering, three employees are entrusted with five, two and one thousand dollars. In more traditional language, these were servants who had been given so many "talents" to use. A "talent," in biblical times, was not a coin or piece of money per se...it was a weight. It's value depended on what it was made of. The most common talents were made of silver and were valued as being worth a certain amount in exchange. That's why we've come to tell this story in terms of money and investing. What is actually being represented here may be our money or our abilities, our time, energy or emotion - any or all of the things that God has given each of us in this life to use and enjoy and share with others.
A "parable" is a short, simple story - not intended to be taken literally but told in order to illustrate some spiritual truth. "The Parable of the Talents" teaches us that we are to make the most of what we've got. We are expected by God to fully invest ourselves and our abilities for Christ. To do any less is to waste what we have been given.
One way to fully understand this truth is to examine this story in terms of a comparison between what we know of the world's economy and what is true about the economy of God. For example. Just as you all did not receive the same "amount of money" this morning, notice that, in the story, the employees weren't entrusted with equal amounts either. One was given five thousand, another two and another only one.
The founders of this country handed down to us the phrase, "all men (all people) are created equal." But the truth is that you can look around and discover very quickly that God did not create us all with equal ability or even equal potential. Sometimes that seems unfair. But that's because we're thinking in terms of the world's economy where the more you have or the more you can do, then the more you are worth. That's not how it is in God's economy.
In God's economy, it's not what you have or can do what matters, it's what you make of what you have and how you use what you can do that matters. Those three employees weren't given equal amounts of money to invest, but they were given equal opportunity to invest and equal responsibility to invest.
The first two, - let's call them Happy Five and Try Harder Two - well, they went, Scripture says, "immediately" to invest what they had and so they gained a good return for their employer. Sad Ole One, however, was too filled with fear...to busy worrying about what might happen...too desperate not to take a chance on losing anything...and so missed the opportunity and failed to meet the responsibility. Sad Ole One was living in the world's economy...not God's economy.
Lots of us are like Sad Ole One. We think we've been given very little...that what we have to invest for God isn't worth very much. We compare ourselves to others and seem to come up short. Well, that's the first mistake. Making comparisons. "He can sing...I can't." "She writes books...I don't even like to read." "They all have important jobs...I don't." "Therefore," (and we apply the logic of the world's economy) I don't have enough to really make a difference, so I won't even try." And we bury what God has given us, making no investment and gaining no return.
But you see, we need to learn to see ourselves in the light of God's economy. In God's economy, it's not how much you've got that matter, it's what you do with what you've got. God is not like us. We think that big, showy gifts and abilities - to entertain and enlighten and change the whole world - matter more than the ability to uplift others or help make things around us more safe and comfortable or to help people feel welcomed and wanted. But God is just as impressed with a great smile as with a great song. God wants to see us give a pat on the back as much as to see us create a beautiful painting. God loves to hear a prayer for comfort as much as a piano concerto. That's the difference between God's economy and the economy of the world.
Another difference... another spiritual truth that the Parable of the Talents teaches us... is that, while in the world's economy we risk losing what we invest, in God's economy the only way to lose is to not invest! Happy Five and Try Harder Two used what they had to invest, and both made a return. Five made more than Two did, but notice what the Boss' response was to both of them: "Well done! You are good and faithful." The amount they made didn't matter. The Boss appreciated the fact that each of them was willing to take the risk rather than hoarding what they had and guaranteeing no return!
Poor Ole One! Ole One buried what had been given and when the time for accounting came, had to say, "Sorry! I never even tried. I was afraid. Afraid ofyou, Boss. Afraid of being a disappointment. Afraid to lose what I had." The irony there, of course, is that Sad Ole One did the only thing that would have disappointed the Boss. Not even try. The Boss wouldn't have been angry if One's money had been lost. At least the initiative could have been applauded. But in the end Ole One ended up getting what had been most feared all along.
Isn't that the way it is with us? We live these fear-based lives and try so hard to cling to the little we have that we end us losing even that! Grasping and clinging to our little bit of security in life is like grasping and clinging to water.
Think about it. If you found yourself dropped into the middle of a huge lake, too far from shore to swim and in way too deep to stand, what could you do? If you tried to grasp and cling and hold on, what would happen? You'd drown. You can't grasp and cling to water. It will run through your hands and arms; it cannot be held. But if you will open yourself up...spread your arms and lay back and relax, what happens? The very thing that could have killed you will now hold you up. It will surround you and liR you and keep you afloat. In the economy of the world, we grasp and cling and try to bury what little we have in the ground to keep it secure...all the while we are slowly drowning. In God's economy, what we need to save us is all around us. It's security in Christ. And it can't be held onto...we must relax and let it support us and lift us up.
In God's economy, it's not how much we've got to invest that matters, it's how much we invest what we've got. In God's economy, we can't lose. Every investment brings to us a positive return. We receive satisfaction. We find more of what we give being given back to us. We earn the honor of hearing Christ say, "Well done, Good and FaithfUl Servant."
We are called to fully invest ourselves and our abilities for Christ. And it's a simple but absolute cosmic truth that, when we do, we will discover that God is pleased and we are blessed! I saw this truth revealed in at least three specific ways in the past week and I want to share these examples with you this morning.
Example number one. Several months ago a member of this church noticed that there were a lot of tall weeds and shrubs growing in the back corner of the parking lot. They were taking up part of the parking area and dragging on people's cars as they went past and were generally an eyesore. So...without any big to-do they and another member got out there and cleaned the area out...making things just a little better for everyone. There was no audience. It didn't make the papers. But it was a kind and helpful thing to do. I think it made the two members feel better about the parking lot anyway. Then this week, our church received a $100 donation fiom St. John's, our landlords, as a thank you! That's the first level of investment return in God's economy: using your abilities helps bring good to others.
Example number two. Last week a member of our church experienced a serious family crisis. It was a hard week for them and their partner and family but they got through it. This person and I were discussing some of what had happened and their feelings about it all and they expressed to me how amazed they had been at the wonderful support and love they received from people in this church during that difficult time. They were so touched by it. And yet...it didn't surprise me a bit. You see, this is a person who has given to others and been there for them and helped people in big and small ways (including Lorraine and me) and generally given of themselves and their abilities endlessly. So it's no surprise that those things were returned to them. That's the second level of investment return in God's economy: using your gifts and your life for others brings a greater return to you personally. You reap the rewards of being good and faithful.
Example number three. A few weeks ago, right before our Anniversary Weekend here in this church, God spoke to my heart with a strong and clear message: we needed to send a gift - a financial gift - to this church's former pastor, Rev. Brad Wishon. Now I honestly don't know why that came to me except by the Holy Spirit. I know and respect Brad but we're not "friends" in the sense of having a real personal relationship and he's not someone who's normally on my mind each day. But I do know that Brad's partner Mark has AIDS and his health has been deteriorating seriously. Also Brad has a severely disabled adult sister who lives with them. That's about all I knew.
But that day the message was intense. And I even knew the amount of the gift: $2000.00. Now that's a lot of money but I knew I had to pursue this, so I talked with each member of the Board of Directors. I explained what I felt and why and not one of them hesitated. God has blessed this church with growth in numbers and greater financial security and eveIy one of your Board members is a person of faith who understands that we don't have to live in fear when we depend on the currency of Christ, so we sent the check and a letter, thanking Brad for his work here and offering our loving support as a part of our Anniversary celebration.
This past week, we received a call and a letter from Brad. This in part, is what the letter said:
"This year has been a very demanding one on both Mark and myself with health concerns and the arrival of my sister Wanda to live with us. These have taken emotional, physical and financial tolls. Yet throughout the year I have been reminded of God 's unfailing grace. And at those moments where I could not fathom the next step, it seemed that someone always came along to help us. I had no idea that it would he M.C.C. St. Louis who would he the answer to prayer. I do not say this lightly. It is an amazing reality, that when one person prays, as I had been, regarding a loss of income almost equal to your gift, that another person may hear. I believe you heard my prayer."
The third level of investment return in God's economy: the more multiples of people are willing to listen and risk, trusting the currency of Christ, the more we all experience the joy of being the bringers and receivers of nothing less than minor miracles in the world.
We are called to fully invest ourselves and our abilities for Christ. We are challenged to let go of fear and trust the economy of God. Matthew 6:26 reminds us that, if God watches out for the birds of the air, God will certainly watch out for us. We have nothing to lose, except the chains that have bound us, and everything to gain when we take whatever we have and turn it over...making the most of what we ve got to give in our lives for God. Amen.
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