Investing in God’s Kingdom
In today’s world we see and hear a lot about retirement, investing, Wall Street, etc. Commercials on tv and radio flood us with advice on how to prepare for the future. They show us vacations, yachts, mansions, and cars. They tell us this is what it is all about. This is how you leave a legacy. They essentially are telling us that we need to build our kingdom. They lead us to believe that the most important thing to leave your family is the almighty dollar. What does Jesus have to say about it?
“For the kingdom of heaven is as a man traveling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.” Matthew 25:14
Jesus, as we know, loved to teach with parables. It made the lesson He was trying to get across to the people much easier to understand. They could relate to what He was saying. In Matthew 25, Jesus begins telling about a man who is leaving to go far away. Prior to leaving, he calls his servants together and instructs them to take care of his money that he leaves with them. He gave each a different amount according to their abilities that they had demonstrated to him over the years.
As you continue through the passage, you see that each man had their own way of taking care of what their master had entrusted them. The first servant, who was given the most, went and doubled his master’s money. He increased it from five talents to ten talents. The second servant also doubled his amount from two talents to four talents. The third servant, however, did nothing with his money. He simply buried it in the ground for safe keeping.
When the servants’ master finally returned, he approached the servants and asked them what they did with his money. The first two servants were eager to show the master how they had doubled his money. The master, in return, rewarded them accordingly. The third servant had nothing to show. He simply returned the original money that he had buried. When asked why he had not increased the money, the servant responded by saying that he was afraid. He was afraid of what the master would do to him if he lost the money. His reward? He was rebuked by the master and cast out “into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth”.
Now in the past, I have heard this scripture be preached and explained as learning to use the gifts God has given us for the furtherance of His kingdom. While I agree with this, I think we are missing something more. This parable is taught in Jerusalem during Jesus’ last week before His crucifixion. He is trying to prepare His disciples for what is about to come. He knows that following His death, He would be leaving His followers for a very long time. He knew that the spreading of the Gospel was going to fall on them.
I read this parable and I see Jesus as the master. He has given His disciples the valuable teachings over the last 3+ years prior to His death. The Gospel in this parable is the talents or money. It is valuable. Worth more than anything the disciples have ever owned. But the Gospel is not to be kept to ourselves. Just as the master wanted to see his money increased, Jesus wants to see the Kingdom of God increased. How is it increased? By sharing the Gospel to others. Two of the servants went out and doubled their money. They increased the kingdom. One servant did not share. He did not invest. He buried it. Nobody knew anything of the money that the master gave to him. The third servant did not allow anyone to benefit from the money that he was responsible for.
When God saves our soul, He is giving us the most valuable gift of all. But it is a gift that He intends on us sharing with the world. He wants us to take His gift, own it, apply it to our lives, and share it with others. When others then accept Christ from our sharing, God’s “money” is doubled. Yet so many times people choose the route of the third servant. They are presented the gift from God. But rather than owning it, applying it to their lives, and then sharing it, they bury it where nobody benefits from it. Not even themselves. Forcing the Master to cast them into outer darkness which is hell.
As Christians, it is our job to be investing into God’s kingdom daily. How foolish it is to have all the money in the world and just bury it in the ground where nobody benefits from it. It is even more foolish to have the gift of Christ and bury it to the point that it doesn’t help anyone.