Pastor's Corner: What are you doing with what god has entrusted you?

I was discussing a passage of Scripture with a group of guys at a Men's Prayer Breakfast on Tuesday morning at 7 a.m. at Havre Assembly of God Church. The passage of Scripture was Jesus Christ's "Parable of the bags of gold" in Matthew 25:14-30 (NIV). Here is how it reads:

14 "Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. 15 To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. 17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.

19 "After a long time, the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.' 21 "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'

22 "The man with two bags of gold also came. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.' 23 "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'

24 "Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. 'Master,' he said, 'I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.' 26 "His master replied, 'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. 28 

"'So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. 29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

Each of these three servants had demonstrated ability to make good their stewardship. As the story goes, the servants with five bags of gold and two bags of gold put their entrusted money to work, and experienced a 100% increase while their master was away - an incredible investment! When the master returned, these servants seemed happy and proud to return their entrusted wealth, with increased wealth, to their master. Their master, pleased with their efforts, applauded them, saying "Well done! Good job guys! You are good servants! You are faithful servants! In fact, I am planning on entrusting you with way more wealth because of your faithful stewardship. I am planning a celebration and I want you guys to be part of it. I want you to share in my happiness. I want you to be happy with me!"

The man going on the journey can be likened to God, as the Master, who entrusts His servants (followers of Jesus Christ) with bags of gold (wealth and talents and skills), expecting that they are going to do something positive with that entrusted wealth.

"What are you doing with what god has entrusted you?" God does expect us to utilize the wealth, talents and skills He has blessed us with to further His Gospel message of forgiveness of and freedom from sin through His Son, Jesus Christ.

It would be easy to stop this article right there, but what about the third servant in this parable? What about this guy who buried his bag in the ground, never doing anything positive with it? He gave the bag back to his master. He describes his master as a 'hard man, harvesting where he had not sown and gathering where he had not scattered seed.' I believe that this servant misrepresented the character of his master. If the master in this story is to be likened to God - is God a hard master? No, He is not. What hard master would send His one and only Son to die a criminal's death to save people from the harmful effects of sin? Does God harvest where He has not sown? No. God is the one Whose book says "you reap what you sow." God has sown His prophets, His apostles, and ultimately His own Son Jesus to reap a harvest of people in heaven with Him. Does God gather where He has not scattered seed? Absolutely not! God continues to invest in us, the people He has created, the people He loves! I believe the master in this parable is upset with the third servant - not only because he didn't invest the master's wealth wisely, but also because this servant was misrepresenting who his master was. Let us be very careful that we do not misrepresent who God is to a world who so desperately needs His help.

"What are you doing with what god has entrusted you?" Not just the wealth, talents and skills - but the very character of God! How are you representing Him to this community you live in? Let us represent God's character accurately, inviting people into relationship with Him - the loving, self-sacrificing, strong, passionate God that He is. Amen? Amen!

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Written by the Rev. Edroy "Curt" Curtis, president of the Greater Havre Area Ministerial Association, chaplain of Northern Montana Health Care and lead pastor of Havre Assembly of God Church.