Investments

Well it is already Tuesday evening and I really should be focusing on a myriad of other things right now. However, the last two days have pretty much worn me out so a break time is needed. At class last Thursday, we discussed the parable of the talents (Mt: 25:14-30). I have been thinking about this story since class. I guess that this story has always been kind of strange to me because of the word talents. According to Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary, a talent in the context of the story is:

1 a : any of several ancient units of weight b : a unit of value equal to the value of a talent of gold or silver

Of course, we are used to our more modern definitions:

3 : the natural endowments of a person
4 a : a special often athletic, creative, or artistic aptitude b : general intelligence or mental power : ability

So the typical sermon over the years has either dealt with investments of money or abilities. And, of course, this story certainly applies to both money and abilities. However, at class, something became more became apparent:

A question.

For whom are they doing the investing?

The Master.

What kind of investing does the Master do?

Well, He invests in the lives of others.

This story really hit me because this is what I have always wanted to do - invest in the lives of others - only maybe I never had the words to understand it. Growing up I always wanted to be a teacher or a pastor. Chad and Troy can attest to that because they used to come to my school in the closet. We had a microphone on the 8-track tape player that I used to use for the "sermons." As far as I was concerned, these were pretty much the only two professions that invested in others. Now, I'm starting to realize that this is a pretty narrow focus and should not be reality and in many cases is not reality. In fact this summer, I witnessed the wonder of someone investing in another person. It was one of the most amazing events that I have ever witnessed.

However, there is one small issue:

Fear (Mt 25:5).