City Life Starter

Written by Megan Meier

The Word

“Which of you who has a servant plowing or tending sheep will say to him when he comes in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat?’ Will he not instead say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat, and appropriately clothe yourself [for service] and serve me while I eat and drink; then afterward you may eat and drink?’ He does not thank the servant just because he did what he was ordered to do, does he? So you too, when you have done everything that was assigned and commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy servants [undeserving of praise or a reward, for we have not gone beyond our obligation]; we have merely done what we ought to do.’”

Luke 17:7-10 (AMP)

“The servant given one thousand said, ‘Master, I know you have high standards and hate careless ways, that you demand the best and make no allowances for error. I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and secured your money. Here it is, safe and sound down to the last cent.’ The master was furious. ‘That’s a terrible way to live! It’s criminal to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least? The least you could have done would have been to invest the sum with the bankers, where at least I would have gotten a little interest.’”

Matthew 25:24-27 (MSG)

Reflection

How many of you were born in the years 1981-1996 (raises hand, born in 1984)? For those that weren’t, how do you feel about millennials? They’ve been known as the participation trophy generation, as long as mom paid the soccer fee and the child showed up every once in a while, they got a little gold figure. This was seen as causing problems later when they grew up as some expected a gold star just for making an appearance at work, even if they spent most of their time on Facebook and YouTube (not all millennials act like this, if I ever do, you have my permission to smack me). 

Jesus’ message in this part of the parable is, “You won’t get rewarded for doing the bare minimum.” What is bare minimum in the kingdom of God? What does God consider good work ethic for His Kingdom? In the Parable of the Talents, the servant who was given one talent did nothing, although he knew his master expected him to do something with it, maybe the servant thought he would at least get complimented for not spending it on himself. The other two servants put their master’s money to work and were congratulated and rewarded. Both parables illustrate God is disappointed with the bare minimum. He wants us to go above and beyond not because He’s overworking us, but because He knows what we are capable of and He wants all of His lost children found. 

Application

Are you giving the Kingdom your all or the bare minimum? Or somewhere in between? Are there some talents you’ve hidden somewhere that need to be unearthed and invested?

Prayer

Dear Jesus, please forgive me for doing the bare minimum. Help me maximize my talents for You and Your Kingdom. In Your Name I pray, amen.