Investing in the kingdom

This week is on Luke 19:11-27:

While the people were listening to these things, Jesus proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately. Therefore he said, “A nobleman went to a distant country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. And he summoned ten of his slaves, gave them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business with these until I come back.’ But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to be king over us!’ When he returned after receiving the kingdom, he summoned these slaves to whom he had given the money. He wanted to know how much they had earned by trading. So the first one came before him and said, ‘Sir, your mina has made ten minas more.’ And the king said to him, ‘Well done, good slave! Because you have been faithful in a very small matter, you will have authority over ten cities.’ Then the second one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has made five minas.’ So the king said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ Then another slave came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina that I put away for safekeeping in a piece of cloth. For I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You withdraw what you did not deposit and reap what you did not sow.’ The king said to him, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked slave! So you knew, did you, that I was a severe man, withdrawing what I didn’t deposit and reaping what I didn’t sow? Why then didn’t you put my money in the bank, so that when I returned I could have collected it with interest?’ And he said to his attendants, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has ten.’ But they said to him, ‘Sir, he has ten minas already!’ ‘I tell you that everyone who has will be given more, but from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to be their king, bring them here and slaughter them in front of me!’”

In these verses Jesus is talking about his relationship with mankind and how we react to him. He talks about a king who has gone away to a distant place for awhile, leaving a select few with an important task. Meanwhile, in the in-between time, he's given them resources to invest in his kingdom for when he returns. Seems easy, right?

The problem is that not everybody likes the king. A lot of people resent him, or don't take him seriously. And some people don't think he should be king in the first place! (Things don't go well for those last people.) He is a king, but the territory he is taking charge of is hostile territory.

Much like the subjects of the king in the parable, we all have talents and resources we can invest in God's kingdom, but we choose different ways to manage them. Like with the king in the parable, not everyone wants Jesus to be king or thinks he is worthy to rule.

Those of us who invest in his kingdom produce a yield. The more we invest, the more it produces, and the more authority we get in the end. The slave with ten minas in the end was given command of ten cities. The guy who made five was given command of five. In both of those cases, the slaves who worked on the master's behalf were given authority.

Anything you do to get a return on God's investment in you is a yield, not just "banking" your investment in a church. Giving $50 to the church isn't magically better than buying lunch for a hungry family or investing in a charity to distribute Bibles. (In fact, if you take into account Jesus' position on religion it may be the worst out of the three!) For that matter, you don't even need money. Maybe you've got five minutes every morning when you are waiting for the bus and can use that time to pray for people.

We don't hear as much about the last slave, or at least nothing good. He had an ambivalent relationship with the king. He judged the king as being harsh and greedy. How often are we like that with God? "Why should I serve a God who lets children die of leukemia? Or allows racism? Or climate change?" We form these judgments of God as being less than perfect and less than worthy. Then we use it to take what he's given us and hold it close instead of investing it.

But that's not even all of what's wrong with that slave's attitude. His actions and decisions didn't even make sense! He had an adversarial relationship with the king, and feared him, but then went and did the one thing that would be certain to incur his wrath! He obviously didn't take the king very seriously if he didn't fear the consequences of disobedience.

We can fall into that trap too though. If we allow ourselves to see God as less than perfect, we no longer fear him. We assume he is like us. We assume his commands are not serious, and that disobedience holds no penalty. We assume that what he's given us is ours to keep, no strings attached, just put it aside and hope he forgets about it. God doesn't forget.

Not only is God perfect and worthy to rule, but he does rule. Like him or not, agree with him or not, we are his subjects. We are under the authority of a king. We are part of his kingdom. Better to make peace with him now than to be punished with his enemies.

So how does that change how we approach life, if we see ourselves rightly as subjects of a king? How does our outlook change if we realize that we've been trusted with investments? The seed corn is not there for us to eat. There will be an exam at the end after all. Suddenly the shape of our world and the basis of our decisions begins to change.

Where do you fit into this parable? Are you one of the complainers who never gets the investment in the first place and wants to make sure Jesus is never Lord? (I doubt it or you wouldn't be reading this, probably.) Are you a big investor? A little investor? Or are you part of the fifth column who has a grudge with God and won't get on board with his plan?

Take some time in prayer and work through these questions. And if you think he is worthy, ask God for some "investment advice."