Making nothing out of something

“I don’t have enough . . . ,” I muttered, naming a certain resource that kept eluding me. It wasn’t the first time I’d mentioned the lack. Secretly, I hoped the Lord would take notice and act, preferably by announcing, “OK, I’ll give you . . .”

But that isn’t what happened. Instead, I was passing through a Bible story on my way to teach it to others. The story, as told by Jesus, concerned 10 servants, all of whom received a set amount of money from their master. At least two of the servants used their money to advantage. One didn’t use his at all. Instead, he laid it away in a piece of cloth.

Consequently, the master took that servant’s money and gave it to another servant who had already doubled his funds. When some called the move unfair, the master said, “I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.”

I mulled that statement awhile. It sounded harsh and unjust, this idea of robbing the have-nots to give to the already-haves. But then I reread the beginning of the story, the part where the master “called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas.”

To start out, each of those servants received the same amount – and a substantial amount, at that – the equivalent of two-and-a-half years’ wages. All heard the master’s instructions: “Put this money to work.” The one who lost out HAD. He had resources, start-up funds, given to be used. Yet, he acted like a have-not.

So did a whole clan of Israelites who lived hundreds of years before Jesus’ birth. Members of this clan approached Joshua, the nation’s leader, saying, “We’re a big clan. We don’t have enough land. Give us more.”

“Yes, you’re a big clan,” Joshua agreed, “and the forested hill country allotted to you is rough terrain. But you have plenty of manpower. You can clear it. And what about all the valley land you own? Many of you can settle there.”

“Don’t you know who lives in that valley?!” clan members cried. “Enemies occupy that land. They have formidable weapons. That valley might as well not belong to us, because we can’t live there.”

Joshua repeated, “You’re a big clan. You’re strong. Get to work and possess what you’ve been given.”

Don’t you hate it when you go to God looking for a handout and he gives you a one-two punch? Don’t you love it when his well-placed blows knock some sense into you?

The servant in Jesus’ story reminds me, “Don’t hide in a hanky what you need to invest now.” The members of Joseph’s clan urge, “Don’t beg for more, while dismissing what you already have.”

The clan and the servant instruct me: Quit saying, “I don’t have enough . . .” Look again at what you do have. See the value of assets you’ve taken for granted. Thank God for them. Ask him to show you creative ways to put those things to use. Then, go for it!

“Go for it?” I respond. “But, but . . . that involves risk.”

Exactly.

The servant had to risk to invest the money. The clan had to risk to possess the land. To avoid risk, both servant and clan made nothing out of something.

In Luke 19:26, The Message, Jesus summed up the matter this way: “Risk your life and get more than you ever dreamed of. Play it safe and end up holding the bag.” #

© 2008 Deborah P. Brunt. All rights reserved.

Luke 19:13, 26 TNIV.
Joshua 17:14-17 – referenced.
Luke 19:26 MSG (from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)