This One Might Be About You

You wicked and slothful servant! Matthew 25:26

It’s not unusual for someone to ask if something I wrote in my blog was about him or her. I write from my own life experiences, which may involve other people, but I write mostly about my own struggles and growth. It’s apparently somewhat alarming to the reader though to feel that I’m writing specifically about him or her.

I know the feeling. When I read today’s passage, I can’t help but think that Jesus is speaking about me. It’s not that I’m important enough to command Jesus attention, it’s just that the story is so convicting that I can’t help but see myself in it.

In the parable, Jesus told of a businessman who left his assets in the care of three servants. Two of them used what was entrusted to them to produce more in the owner’s absence. The third though, hid his money in the ground. When the master returned to settle accounts, he praised the two who had multiplied what was given to them. Well done, good and faithful servant (Matthew 25:21). He was less impressed with the one who had done nothing. You wicked and slothful servant!

I have been the third servant. God has given me much, but what have I done with it? Have I loved those around me? Have I fed the poor, helped the needy, and comforted those who are suffering? Or, have I lived my life in pursuit of myself? In the destruction of my addiction, I had to look back honestly and admit that though I claimed to follow God, I hadn’t lived according to Christ’s commands. I’d only followed me.

So, this entry is about me, but it might be about you too. If the story fits, accept it. Running from the truth won’t change the fact that many of us have lived like the third servant. We don’t feel that we’re bad people. We avoid the really bad sins. This, however, isn’t the same as doing good works for God. Not doing something makes us just like the slothful servant who hid his gifts in the ground.

If we don’t want to be the wicked servant and if we want to live a life of purpose, then we must use what God has given us to share his love with those around us. Living only for ourselves – even if we don’t drink or use drugs – is still a wasted life.