Back to the subject of entitlement... This last Sunday I went to a new church, Risen Lamb International Church of the Nazarene. As I was walking in I was met at the door by a big bouncer/body-builder looking guy with tattoos all over the place; he was one of the greeters. Inside was a mixture of young, hip singles and elders, African-American and white. I was blown away by the music, mostly black gospel; the Holy Spirit was palpable and it left me in tears. I've never been to a church like it before.
But it was the message that caught, and holds, my attention even now, days later. In Joshua 17, Joshua had given the people of Joseph an allotment of land. Though they were large in number they occupied only a small portion of it at first. Then they went to Joshua and asked for more. Joshua told them that if they were so numerous and if the hill country was too small for them, then they could go up into the forest and clear land for themselves. They made excuses about why they could not and each time asked for more land. Joshua finally asked them, in chapter 18, "How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you?"
Joseph's people felt entitled to more before they had fully taken possession of what they already had. They hadn't taken full advantage of what they had already been given and yet were asking for more. I am forced to look at what I have been given and ask of myself the same questions: How long will I wait before I begin to take possession of that which the Lord, the God of my fathers, has already offered me? Have I fully possessed everything I already have before asking for more? Or do I still have land to clear or something else that needs to be done?
The last few days, since hearing the message, I have been reminded of the Parable of the Talents:
"Again, it (entering the Kingdom of Heaven) 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 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 settled 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.'
Have I been a servant, good and faithful enough that I will double what I currently have? Or have I been the wicked, lazy servant, hiding my talents away, afraid that I might lose them, only to have them taken away from me in the end and given to one more faithful? Will I continue to be afraid of my master? Or will I trust him that he will provide and bless me with more when I have been faithful with little? He wants to bless me and I know that. So why am I so afraid?
Micah 7:7-8 says, "But as for me, I watch, in hope, for the Lord. I wait upon God, my Savior. My God will hear me. Do not gloat over me, my enemy. Though I have fallen, I will rise; and though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light" (NIV, emphasis added). I have been meditating on those verses the last several days and letting them sink in, along with the promises they bring to me. The Lord will show up. My God will hear me. The enemy has not won. I will rise and he will be my light.
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