The world
says to do only what you need to do to get by.
In other words, do as little as possible. Extra effort is wasted effort. This attitude can touch your family in the
work place, in the educational setting with a common attitude among students,
and in the public arena when you are a customer at a business where this is the
dominant attitude of the employees.
What does
the Bible say? This is a long passage
but it is all part of the same "story."
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| "Just give me your best swing." |
Matthew 5:14-30—"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 (a talent is worth more than a
thousand dollars in today's terms) of money, to another two talents, and to
another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received the five talents
went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. So also, the one with the two talents gained
two more. But the man who had received
the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master's money.
"After
a long time the master of those servants returned and settle accounts with
them. The man who had received the five
talents brought the other five.
'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.'
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!'
"The
man with the two talents also came.
'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with two talents; see I have gained
two more.'
"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!'
"Then
the man who had received the one talent 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. So I was afraid and went out and hid your
talent in the ground. See, here is what
belongs to you.'
"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? 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.
"Take
the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. For everyone who has will be given more, and
he will have an abundance. Whoever does
not have, even what he has will be taken from him. And throw that worthless servant outside,
into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'"
Note a
couple of key parts to this passage:
(1) The master distributed the talents to "each
according to his ability." From the
beginning the master understood the abilities (or lack of talent) in each of
his servants and divided up the responsibility based on that.
(2) To each of the servants that did his best and
doubled their talents, the master praised '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!'
One servant
handed his master 6 talents—or $60,000—more than the other servant. Even so, the master did not at that time distinguish
either servant as being more appreciated than the other. What counted is that each servant acted
according to his ability. In other words,
the master did not expect the exact same physical result from each only the
same effort.
Your turn: So, what can you do with this to help your
children get a better Biblical perspective of our world? I would suggest that you read this passage
with them, making predictions along the way.
Then compare celebrities (national or local), politicians, or maybe even
acquaintances to each of the three servants.
What are the results? Then ask
your children to decide which of the servants best describe them. We each know which hired hand they want to
be, but the question is which one are they are more like at this time. If it is servant one or two, great!! What can they do to keep that do-my-best
attitude? If it is the third choice,
realize it is not all bad. The third man
returned the money and didn't steal it.
On the other hand, have your children
brainstorm how they become like either of the first two.
If your
family members are not touched by this passage enough to start making changes
in their attitude and behavior (if changes are warranted), then either (1) start a conversation as to how they would like
to be served by others or (2) discuss people they appreciate that have similar
attitudes as the first two employees.
Good luck with this conversation, but no matter what you say, your
children will be most affected by watching you give your best at what you do.
If you would like
more ideas on helping your children (and yourself) develop a Biblical worldview
or to find out how to win a Wal-Mart gift card, go to the 31
Days Giveaway (Intro. Part II) post for more Touching Families blog
links. If you want to check out other 31 Days' topics, see The Nester.
Ouch. I tend to give up pretty easily when things aren't going my way. I need to stop doing that, especially in front of Baby B!
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