Why Laziness Should Not Be Rewarded!

The Parable of the Bags of Gold

14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. 15 To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag,[a] each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. 17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’ 21 “His master replied, ‘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 your master’s happiness! 22 “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’ 23 “His master replied, ‘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 your master’s happiness!’ 24 “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ 26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. 28 “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. 29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

The parables in Matthew 25 all have to deal with judgment.  They are challenging parables related to being ready for Jesus' return.  It is easy for us to get comfortable in life and possibly spiritually dull. There is a tendency for us to go through the motions and lose the vibrancy we had in the early days of our faith journey.  We might be tempted to rest on our "spiritual laurels".  In this passage Jesus confront passivity. 

To net it out, the parable is about three men who were all given three different amounts by a master and told to put these gifts to work.  Simply said they were to invest it somehow and make some kind of return.  Notice they were given a certain amount based on their abilities.  The assumption being that the master gave more to the man with the most ability because he would bring him the most profit.  Sort of like the adage, "Give a busy man something to do and he will do it."  True to form the man who had been given five bags of gold made five more, and the one who was given two brought two more back.  But the man who was given the least came back and instead of producing something with it and putting it to work, he hid it in fear of losing it and facing the master's wrath.  

Though he rationalized his fearful action, in reality he was disobeying his master. He did not put it at work at all.  The master was rightfully angry and scoffed, "At least you could have put it in an interest bearing account."  As a consequence the man's one bag was given to the one who now had ten bags. You might say, "That's not fair the rich are only getting richer!"  But the question is, "Why should the lazy man be given more money when he wasted what he was given."  Conversely, "Why should the man who obeyed the master's order and brought a great return to the master not be rewarded with more."  

We could make many applications in today's world of how people are rewarded for their work, but for now let's just say we are all given resources by God to invest.  We are given something in line with our abilities.  I will not be judged by your ability and visa versa.  The only question we will answer when Jesus returns is, "What have you done with what you were given?"  One thing we have all been given is relationship with God through God's grace in Christ Jesus.  One day will be have you taken this great gift of grace and spread it to those God brought into your life?  Have you used this gift to help others hear and know about Jesus Christ and the forgiveness only he can bring to those who believe.  Let's not waste the greatest gift God has ever given to the world, His Son!