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Author: Stephen Weller
574 words, 3 minutes read time

Being Disobedient By Not Investing

Scripture: Luke 19:20-23

In the previous lesson the first two servants were evaluated and found to be faithful. In this lesson we will look at another servant, one who did not do so well.

^{Lk 19:20} “Then another came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief; ²¹ for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You take what you did not deposit and reap what you did not sow.’”

When the mina was given to each servant it came with the instruction to “Engage in business until I come.” This servant did not do that, but instead took his mina and laid it away in a handkerchief. What he was given did not increase in value or benefit anyone. God gives to each of us resources, talents, and opportunities, and if we fail to do anything with them, we will fall under his displeasure and may thereby indicate that we are not even true believers. We would be seen as a “worthless servant” to be cast into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 25:30).

The servant expressed fear of his master and referred to him as a severe man; meaning that he was strict and held to high standards, not that he was selfish or unfair. It is clear that this servant did not know his master very well and refers to him as one that takes what was not his. This clearly does not describe Jesus Christ because Luke 19:17, 19, show him to be abundantly generous and gracious. There are many today who say things about God that are not true, and that is because they don’t know him and are simply making up excuses for their own failures.

^{Lk 19:22} “He said to him, ‘I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? ²³ Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’”

By his own words, the servant condemns himself by saying that he laid away his mina and did nothing with it in disobedience to the original instructions. If he had obeyed as instructed, he could have at least put the money in the bank to gather interest and thus gain value.

The nobleman was not agreeing that [he] was a severe man, taking what [he] did not deposit and reaping what [he] did not sow,” but implying that was what the servant thought about him. By not investing the mina, the servant, believing him to be what he wasn’t, decided to show revenge by not providing any return on the mina.

Conclusion

Which one of the servants represents your life? How effective are you in your investment of the resources, talents, and opportunities given to you by God? Is the focus of your life more on yourself or more on God and others? If the focus of Jesus was like yours, would he have gone to the cross to purchase our salvation? These may be hard questions that make one uncomfortable, but God created us for good works (Ephesians 2:10), not to live for ourselves.