Some years ago I attended a seminar on personal finance and learned something that should have been obvious: if you do not choose to invest your money, you are in effect choosing to lose your money, as it gradually loses value with the rate of inflation. Not choosing means losing.
A biblical exemplar of “not choosing” is the third servant in Jesus’ story of the talents (or 'coins'): “The one who had received the five coins went off at once and traded with them, and made five more coins. In the same way, the one who had the two coins made two more coins. But the one who had received the one coin went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.”
Why would he think it wise to hide the money? He was afraid of losing it; this seemed a risk-free strategy. Turns out he was also afraid of his master, telling him upon his return: “Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground.”
This servant thinks little of his master’s integrity – he as good as calls him harsh, dishonest, a thief "appropriating" what is not his. He does not appreciate the trust placed in him; in fact, he can’t wait to be rid of the burden: “Here you have what is yours.”
Who does Jesus intend this servant to represent, I wonder? Another way of getting at that question is to ask what it means to invest our "talents" in the spiritual life. To me, investment means full-on engagement in the life of faith – orienting our lives to moving in the mission of God, praying with bold expectation, taking risks in ministry, risking some disorder, disappointment, disdain. It is radical trust in the Spirit of God to lead and guide us. It is saying and praying, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”
By contrast, burying our “talent” is playing it safe, laying low. Instead of radical trust, we exhibit radical mistrust in the power and promises of God. We pay way more attention to the unanswered prayers and things that didn’t work than to our victories in God. We allow ourselves to become bench-warmers (or pew-warmers…), disabled and sidelined. The master in Jesus’ story has no patience with this:
“But his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. So take the coin from him, and give it to the one with the ten coins.”
Which servant do you feel most like today? The big risk-taker investing all five of her coins, the moderate one with the two – or the one who plays it so safe he accomplishes less than nothing?
If you’re in the latter category, faith-wise – what’s holding you back? Do you mistrust God because of some pain that you feel God allowed, did not prevent? Prayers you did not see answered in the way you needed to? Do you see God as a harsh judge, or as loving father? You can afford to be honest with God. Allow the Spirit to pour some healing balm into those wounds, and think about trusting again.
The great thing about being a servant and not a master is that we don’t have to worry about results. We just have to follow orders and give it our all, and let God worry about the outcome. The very act of stepping out in faith, Jesus suggests, allows God to work through us – and the yield is abundant.
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