{"id":4930,"date":"2013-10-30T11:00:29","date_gmt":"2013-10-30T15:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/?p=4930"},"modified":"2014-07-21T10:06:55","modified_gmt":"2014-07-21T14:06:55","slug":"stewarding-your-thoughts-of-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/stewarding-your-thoughts-of-god\/","title":{"rendered":"Stewarding Your Thoughts Of God"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have the privilege of serving in the 3rd<\/sup>-5th <\/sup>grade Sunday school class. This past Sunday we learned about the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25. In the parable, the Master gives one servant five talents, one servant receives two talents, and the last servant receives one talent. The first two servants increase their talents by working hard and trading. But the\u00a0last servant buries his talent and was rejected by his Master when brought into\u00a0account for how he used his talent. His reasoning is quoted below:<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd the one also who had received the one talent came up
\nand said, \u2018Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. And I was afraid, and I went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.\u201d Matthew 25:24-25<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As we learn about being a good steward of what God has given us, I think it would be beneficial to look at this parable and understand what motivated the first two servants to work hard and increase their talents, while the last servant, who ultimately was deemed worthless and rejected, hid his talent. I think that much is revealed in the last servant\u2019s speech to his Master, who is representing Christ in this parable.<\/p>\n

First, he says, \u201cI knew you to be a hard man.\u201d I found it interesting that the Master agrees with all of the worthless servant\u2019s speech, except for this first phrase.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut his master answered and said to him, \u2018You wicked, lazy
\nslave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed.\u201d Matthew 25:26<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

God is powerful, God is in control, God is our authority, God is just, God speaks truth even when it hurts, but God is not hard. Over and over again the Bible talks about God\u2019s love. He displayed His love for us mightily in Christ\u2019s death that was orchestrated to save us from the wrath that we deserve for rejecting Him in thought, word, and deed.<\/strong> The worthless servant\u2019s view of God led him to unhealthy fear. Matthew Henry says this in his
\ncommentary on this parable:<\/p>\n

\u201cGood thoughts of God would beget love, and that love would
\nmake us diligent and faithful; but hard thoughts of God beget fear, and that fear makes us slothful and unfaithful.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

While this parable provides a warning that may spur us to think deeper about our work for the Lord, let\u2019s not stop at a fear of God\u2019s judgment. God uses warnings to get our attention<\/strong> and I will admit that I am prone to get stuck in fear when I hear passages that show God\u2019s just consequences for sin. But I know that\u00a0God is working to help me see beyond that fear to a motivation that will endure and that will produce a joyful service to Him.<\/strong>\u00a0All that God has done for me, He has done from His deep love and goodness. As we enter this month of stewardship, I pray that our hearts will be motivated by God\u2019s good and loving nature, and that we will learn from the example of the worthless servant and take care to view\u00a0God correctly, by His grace!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have the privilege of serving in the 3rd-5th grade Sunday school class. This past Sunday we learned about the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25. In the parable, the Master gives one servant five talents, one servant receives two talents, and the last servant receives one talent. The first two servants increase their… read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":79,"featured_media":4949,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[94,97,1],"tags":[14542,7729,4276],"yoast_head":"\nStewarding Your Thoughts Of God - Faith Church Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/stewarding-your-thoughts-of-god\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Stewarding Your Thoughts Of God - Faith Church Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I have the privilege of serving in the 3rd-5th grade Sunday school class. This past Sunday we learned about the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25. 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