The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, yet I wonder how many times the fear of things other than God is what moves us to take action or procrastinate endlessly. Fear in us is as prevalent of consciousness as the aftermath of Adam and Eve's sin reveals. After they sinned they hurriedly covered their nakedness under fig leaves because they were afraid to be exposed before God. It seems they were not afraid of death at that stage because it was foreign to them, but their failure prompted them to cave to fear.
Last night I read the parable of the talents and the servants Jesus shared in Matthew 25. Before going on a long journey, a master gave a significant sum to his servants each according to their ability. Upon his return the good and faithful servants were pleased to reveal they had doubled the money provided them through trading. There was one servant, however, who chose to dig a hole and bury the talent in the ground instead of utilising it for profit.
Upon examination by his master Matthew 25:24-25 reads, "Then he who had received the one talent came and said, 'Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.'" What struck me as I read this is it was fear which prompted the servant to bury the talent in the ground. Then I wondered about what exactly he was afraid of? It could have been a number of things I can identify with: fear of failure, fear of not being as successful as the other servants, fear of making mistakes, fear of having to give away what he worked for, fear of responsibility, fear of wasted effort, and on the potential list goes.
What was the basis of the servant's fear? One of the root causes was a lack of faith in the wisdom of his master. The master gave to each servant according to his ability, and it seems the servant who received a talent (a Roman talent was about 32 kilos in weight - that's a lot of gold or silver!) did not trust his master's estimation of his abilities. In his mind it was better to hand back to his master what was already his than risking failure and displeasing his master. But his disobedience through inaction due to fear led to him doing exactly that. Matthew 25:26-27 says, "But his lord answered and said to him, 'You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. 27 So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest." It was a lot of work to dig a hole and bury the talent in the ground, but it was the wrong sort of work: the wicked servant dug a hole for himself out of fear from which he would never be free.
It is confronting to consider the riches God has given us through Christ Jesus and the meagre amount of increase due to my poor efforts. God has filled us with the Holy Spirit and gifted each of us according to God's perfect will. We must choose if we will let fear of failure due to unbelief or fear in God direct our steps as we seek God's glory. Instead of being afraid we won't measure up, consider how God knows us and has promised to help us live a life that pleases God. We trust God for our eternal salvation, so shouldn't we trust him to guide and empower us today? All the servants in the parable had something in common: without the talents given them by the master they had nothing, yet through his gracious provision they could make fruitful choices. May the love of Jesus Christ for us dissolve all fears and doubts so we might live as God's good and faithful servants who are without fear.
Last night I read the parable of the talents and the servants Jesus shared in Matthew 25. Before going on a long journey, a master gave a significant sum to his servants each according to their ability. Upon his return the good and faithful servants were pleased to reveal they had doubled the money provided them through trading. There was one servant, however, who chose to dig a hole and bury the talent in the ground instead of utilising it for profit.
Upon examination by his master Matthew 25:24-25 reads, "Then he who had received the one talent came and said, 'Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.'" What struck me as I read this is it was fear which prompted the servant to bury the talent in the ground. Then I wondered about what exactly he was afraid of? It could have been a number of things I can identify with: fear of failure, fear of not being as successful as the other servants, fear of making mistakes, fear of having to give away what he worked for, fear of responsibility, fear of wasted effort, and on the potential list goes.
What was the basis of the servant's fear? One of the root causes was a lack of faith in the wisdom of his master. The master gave to each servant according to his ability, and it seems the servant who received a talent (a Roman talent was about 32 kilos in weight - that's a lot of gold or silver!) did not trust his master's estimation of his abilities. In his mind it was better to hand back to his master what was already his than risking failure and displeasing his master. But his disobedience through inaction due to fear led to him doing exactly that. Matthew 25:26-27 says, "But his lord answered and said to him, 'You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. 27 So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest." It was a lot of work to dig a hole and bury the talent in the ground, but it was the wrong sort of work: the wicked servant dug a hole for himself out of fear from which he would never be free.
It is confronting to consider the riches God has given us through Christ Jesus and the meagre amount of increase due to my poor efforts. God has filled us with the Holy Spirit and gifted each of us according to God's perfect will. We must choose if we will let fear of failure due to unbelief or fear in God direct our steps as we seek God's glory. Instead of being afraid we won't measure up, consider how God knows us and has promised to help us live a life that pleases God. We trust God for our eternal salvation, so shouldn't we trust him to guide and empower us today? All the servants in the parable had something in common: without the talents given them by the master they had nothing, yet through his gracious provision they could make fruitful choices. May the love of Jesus Christ for us dissolve all fears and doubts so we might live as God's good and faithful servants who are without fear.
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