{"id":16,"date":"2008-04-23T07:49:00","date_gmt":"2008-04-23T14:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25551729.post-2606133885999113900"},"modified":"2009-07-07T06:56:48","modified_gmt":"2009-07-07T13:56:48","slug":"got-potential-2008-04-23-144900","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/success\/got-potential-2008-04-23-144900","title":{"rendered":"Money Part 4"},"content":{"rendered":"

Purpose<\/strong><\/span><\/em>
\n<\/em><\/strong>
\nVol. 2 Issue 15 April 13, 2008<\/span><\/em><\/strong>
\nThe Weekly Newsletter of True Potential Publishing<\/span><\/em><\/strong>
\n<\/strong><\/span><\/em>
\nMoney Part 4<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em>“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey.”<\/em> (Matthew 25: 14\u00e2\u20ac\u201c15)<\/p>\n

Remember the parable of the Talents? You can read about it in Matthew 25: 14 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c 30. Jesus told this and a few other parables to explain what the “kingdom of heaven”<\/em> would be like “at the end of the age<\/em>.” Interesting.<\/p>\n

Here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the story in a nut shell:<\/p>\n

A man calls his three servants together before he leaves on a journey. To the first servant he gives “five talents of money<\/em>.”<\/p>\n

A “talent<\/em>” is a measurement of weight. In the old days money, being made out of precious metals like silver or gold, was weighed out to confirm its value. Whoever made the coins could just stamp the value on the coin along with a likeness of his boss\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s head, but who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to take his word for it? It was safer just to weigh out the coins.<\/p>\n

The weight of a “talent<\/em>” varied over time, but when Jesus told this parable a talent<\/em> of silver was about seventy-five pounds; worth a little over $20,000 in today\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s money.<\/p>\n

So, before going on his journey, this man entrusts five talents ($100,000) to one servant, two talents ($40,000) to another and one talent ($20,000) to a third servant. The expectation being that these three servants were to manage their master\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s money while he was gone and give an accounting when he returned.<\/p>\n

Well, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just what happened. The first servant doubled the money his master had given him. The second servant did likewise. The third servant broke even. He didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t turn a profit, but he didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t lose any of his master\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s original capital either.<\/p>\n

Investing money inherently involves some risk. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a chance you won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make a profit and there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a chance you could lose your entire investment. The first two servants took some risk. They could have lost their master\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s money. Then there would have been hell to pay.<\/p>\n

At least that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what the third servant thought. He knew his master wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t an easy man. He expected his people to perform and he expected to profit from their work. The third servant just couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t bear the consequences of losing his master\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s money. It was a risk he wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t willing to take. He dug a hole and buried the money.<\/p>\n

By burying the money in the ground, he knew it wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t earn any interest, but at least he wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t risk losing his master\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s original capital. His plan was safe; just bury the money and dig it up when his master returned. Nobody wins and nobody loses; can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get any safer than that.<\/p>\n

But that wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the point. The master entrusted his money to his servants for a reason; to make a profit. By playing it safe, the third servant not only failed at his task, he disobeyed his master\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s instructions. And he suffered the consequences. According to the story he was thrown “outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth<\/em>.” Bummer.<\/p>\n

The first two servants put their master\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s capital at risk, they had to; it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s part of the nature of investing. But the possibility of turning a profit is also in the nature of investing. These two succeeded at their task and enjoyed the reward. “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share in your master\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s happiness.”<\/p>\n

*****<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n

So what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the point Jesus was trying to get across? That we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re supposed to turn a profit? Well \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 yeah. I think that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s exactly what he meant.<\/p>\n

Now you can allegorize or spiritualize this whole thing by saying investing “talents<\/em>” in the parable means investing the talents<\/em> God has given each of us. You know, talents<\/em>, like singing, or speaking, or teaching, or managing a business, or raising kids. Whatever your talents<\/em> are, use them for God\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s glory. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s nice.<\/p>\n

But for today\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s discussion, let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just keep it simple. Jesus said “talents of money<\/em>” in the parable. Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s leave the allegory for another day and just talk about money. The parable fits; everybody gets a different amount of money, “each according to his ability<\/em>.”<\/p>\n

Some people get a lot of money. Some get less. Some get even less. Each according to his own<\/em> ability.<\/em> That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not a very popular concept.<\/p>\n

Doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t everybody deserve to get the same amount? That would be fair. Of course it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s only fair if we all get a lot. The fairness idea loses its attractiveness if everybody getting the same amount means we get less than we think we deserve.<\/p>\n

And we deserve a lot, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t we? We deserve whatever we want. More money, a bigger house, a newer car, a more important job; we deserve it all. At least that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been told. Just watch the commercials; that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re all about, making us believe we deserve<\/em> what we want<\/em>.<\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not just the commercials. We hear it all the time from guys who claim to be God\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s spokesmen. Want to know how you can get your best life now<\/em>? Just listen to the guy behind the pulpit. As a matter of fact you can measure how much God likes you by how much stuff you have. By the way, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 forget to send in your monthly support check to the ministry.<\/p>\n

Maybe they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re just commercials too (I know I beat this horse a lot, but it needs beating).<\/p>\n

If you listen to Jesus, when it comes to money, we get what we get, “each according to his own ability.”<\/em> The important thing isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t how much we get; it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what we do with what we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got. And I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t recommend burying it in the ground. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re supposed to turn a profit.<\/p>\n

That brings up another point I believe I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve mentioned before. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not our money. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re just managing it for our master. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s His money. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s given it to us to turn a profit while he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s gone. We he comes back, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to be an accounting.<\/p>\n

So let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s boil down the parable into a few points we can put to use.<\/p>\n

1. Jesus was trying to explain what the “kingdom of heaven<\/em>” at the “end of the age<\/em>” is going to be like. So we know he was talking about then<\/em> and not now<\/em>.<\/p>\n

2. The man who was going on the journey was the one who owned everything. He entrusted his property to his servants (they stayed behind) to manage (turn a profit) while he was gone.<\/p>\n

3. Each servant got the amount of money he could handle, not the amount he thought he deserved. How much each servant could handle wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t up for a vote; it was up to the master \u00e2\u20ac\u201c it was his money.<\/p>\n

4. Only the servants who actually invested their money made a profit. Investing is risky, they could have lost what they had been given, but they invested it anyway. No guarantees. The guy who buried his money in the ground had two guarantees; his capital wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be at risk and he wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make a profit.<\/p>\n

5. There was an accounting when the master returned. And his focus was on how well his servants did with the money they were given, not the money itself. If they managed risk and turned a profit they were given more, a lot more. If one was risk averse, fearing the consequences of making a bad investment so much that he hid his master\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s capital in a hole in the ground until he returned, the master wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t satisfied to receive back his original capital. The servant screwed up, and the consequences were worse than he ever imagined.<\/p>\n

*****<\/span><\/strong><\/div>\n

Money is a funny thing. We think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s worth a lot, but it turns out that it really doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have any value at all. We think that more money will let us do more stuff, but is only what we do with the money we already have that matters.<\/p>\n

Money isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t something you own, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something you use. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been given to you to use by the One who ultimately owns everything. How you use matters more than how much you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got to use.<\/p>\n

Risk is inherent in everything. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got to manage the money you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been given. If you invest it in stupid stuff, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to lose it; and there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a price to pay for that. If you bury it in the ground \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 well, we know from the story that there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a price to be paid for that.<\/p>\n

And, by the way, if you give your money to somebody that claims to be God\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s spokesman but really isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not the only one facing consequences. You were given that money to manage; the accounting is going to come home to roost on your doorstep. If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to give money to folks who say they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re God\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s representatives, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d better make sure they really are.<\/p>\n

The most important thing I can say about money is that it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not about the here<\/em> and now<\/em>. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s about the then and there. What you do with it here<\/em> and now<\/em> only counts then<\/em> and there<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Invest wisely.<\/p>\n

Next week we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll tackle a new subject – courage.<\/p>\n

In Him,<\/p>\n

Steve Spillman<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Purpose Vol. 2 Issue 15 April 13, 2008 The Weekly Newsletter of True Potential Publishing Money Part 4 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[134,186,459,15],"tags":[579,582,581,584,513,874,583,580,578],"class_list":["post-16","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-faith","category-money","category-possessions","category-success","tag-coins","tag-interest","tag-investing","tag-kingdom-of-heaven","tag-matthew-25","tag-money","tag-risk","tag-silver","tag-talent"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gotpotential.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}