Tags
charity, fear of failure, giving, God, Hole in Our Gospel, Parable, Richard Stearns, stewardship, talents, World Vision
Lately, I’ve been giving some serious thought to this old story I’ve heard since I was a kid. You’ve probably heard of it: “The parable of the talents.” Whether or not you are a Bible-believing person, this lesson on optimizing what you’ve got is a timeless message. No matter what you believe, we all could benefit from the wisdom in this profound ancient passage. If you are so inclined, it comes from Matthew 25:14-30. It could be seen as a lesson in financial stewardship, or maybe even more than that. In case your Bible is dusty, here’s a quick summary (the paraphrase is completely mine):
One day, a real estate boss gave out talents, or bags of gold (each bag was worth a large amount of money–we’re talking enough to buy property). To his top employee, he gave five bags of gold; to another, he gave two bags; and to the third guy, one bag. Their job was simply to invest the boss’s money and make it grow. Remember, the boss entrusted his own money with them, expecting a satisfactory ROI (return on investment).
After a year or so, the master called a meeting with each of his reports. The first employee said, “Here, boss. You gave me five bags; I’ve doubled your investment.” Proudly, the boss says, “Good job. You have been faithful with this. I will increase your job title and responsibility.” The second guy said, “Here, boss. You gave me two bags; I’ve come with four. Another 100% ROI, and the master is equally proud of him as stated in his identical response: “Good job. You have been faithful with this. You’re getting a promotion, too.” The third guy is embarrassed. Out of his issues with risk aversion and possibly a fear of failure, he hid the money in the ground and did not make any money. Clearly upset, the master says to him, “You idiot, you had my money the whole time and just sat on it. You didn’t even put it in the bank where you could have at least made some interest on it! You’re fired. Get out of here!”
Although my paraphrase isn’t exactly how it’s written, I tried to capture its original voice as accurately as I could. Note the vastly different reaction of the boss between the first two guys and the last guy. Further, the boss didn’t consider the employee #2 any less in his success. His overall yield was less than the first guy, but the master was equally proud of him. Then, I think about what it must be like to be “that” guy–to get shamed in front of the other employees, and how awful that must feel. He must have struggled with that ugly fear of failure that is familiar to many of us, and the results were costly.
Does either fear of failure or procrastination stop you from moving forward with something you think you’re supposed to do? In my experience, fear and procrastination are intertwined. I find myself entangled in this cycle quite often, and even as I write this.
God has given all of us something to work with. It could be a good brain, ability with numbers (I think I got passed over on that one), money, a good network, musical talents, ability to fix things, just to name a few. Some of us are not even sure what our talents are. No matter what, we can do something that empowers someone in our community, society, or maybe even the world. You need to recognize what that “something” is and give it an identity. Just start small. And do it daily or weekly. Watch it grow.
Our family of four has now been in Seattle for one year now. Our home group is reading “The Hole in Our Gospel” by Richard Stearns, President of World Vision, a reputable organization that gives aid to children around the world who live in impoverished or life-threatening situations. It is an eye-opening and challenging read. This book has made all of us realize how self absorbed we can be, even in the things that are not necessarily bad in and of themselves: our jobs, managing our families, trying to gain upward mobility, storing for our future.
In the U.S., the average salary is $25,000/year (as of 2015). In most parts of our world, the average person lives on $1/day or less. This is equivalent to $360/year. The spread between these two is ridiculous, and yet the problem seems so out of reach that we choose to do… nothing. Stearns’ point is that you don’t have to solve all of the world’s problems. Just do something.
Giving is also good for the health of your soul. Try thinking about someone who’s in need, even if you don’t know him/her, and do something about it–even if it’s just a meal or a few dollars, or maybe even a few hundred dollars. Let’s learn our lesson from the moron in the story. Don’t fail to do something just because you feel overwhelmed. Overwhelm doesn’t feed anyone. Fear doesn’t provide cures for sickness. If you’re the type that’s overprotective of your stuff, start small and grow in the practice of giving or take the opportunity to do something outside of yourself. As a bonus, you just might get a smile from Jesus. This is something you can’t put a price on.