“His master replied, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? Why then didn’t you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?’ ” (Luke 19:22-23)
Jesus pictures himself as the future king in this parable—newly crowned, returned, and seeing how his servants have done with the resources he told them to “put to work.” We’ve already noticed that his rewards for success are extremely generous.
But this king is no pushover. He doesn’t tell the servant who just hid his money that everything is okay. He doesn’t say, “No big deal; I understand. You were nervous; don’t worry about it.”
Instead, he spells out the right of kings and grills the man about why he didn’t even take the initiative to drive to the bank and make a deposit in a low-interest money market account. The king cared about the man’s lack of effort. He wanted to see results.
Think: Do you often think of Jesus as a King who will hold you accountable for how you invested your gifts for his glory? Does this story change your picture of Jesus?
Pray: Ask God to help you to make the most of the gifts he gives to you for his glory.
Do: The king called his inactive servant wicked. Look up the word wicked in a dictionary.