Thursday, March 19, 2020

March 19 - What's Yours is God's

Luke 19:11-27

When I was a little kid, I used to have a cassette tape of Bible stories for children. They were performed by one man who did all the voices. He was funny, entertaining, and I learned a lot. This story, the parable of the ten minas, was one of the stories on the tape. I have always remembered it so clearly--I can still hear the actor's voice in my head playing the parts of the king and each of his servants. When I was young, I couldn't believe the servant who had done nothing with his money. It just seemed so ridiculous! These other two guys clearly made a profit and worked hard; why couldn't he do the same? He always seemed selfish and paranoid to me.

Rereading this story as an adult, with student loans and a car payment and hope to buy a house soon, there's a part of me that understands the third servant's actions. If someone gave me $100 right now and told me to put it to good use for the kingdom, I know I would be tempted to use it for my own purposes. Worrying about money is stressful, especially when you feel like you don't have enough. It's the same with all of our resources--time, energy, talent. We can so easily get swept up in the material of this world and lose sight of our true purpose here on earth.

I think the key to this story is the fact that the king is the one who gave the servants that money, and told them to "put this money to work." The money was never really theirs in the first place. Just like everything we have, our money, our time, our energy, talent, relationships, possessions--none of it is really ours. They're all gifts from God. And what God asks of us is the same thing the king asked of his servants: to put our gifts to work for the good of the kingdom.

Reflect:
1. How are you using whatever God has given you for the kingdom?
2. How do you live daily life with open hands--open to what God asks, and open to what your neighbor might need?
3. What's one material thing in your life that you know you hold onto too tightly? We all have those things. Pray and ask God to help you release it in the knowledge that it's not really yours.

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