November 13, 2016

What’s In a Number?

What’s In a Number?

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Sunday, November 13, 2016

Matthew 25:14-30

With the conclusion of another election cycle, the data collected will be analyzed. Researchers will meticulously study “what’s in the numbers” to uncover hidden truths. The Bible opens with numbers, using the account of 6 days of creation to uncover the truth that days are assignments. God has given us days so we may carry out His assignments. Interestingly enough, the Latin word for calendar, katendarium, means account book. One day God will settle accounts with His servants, and as in Christ’s parable of the three servants, there will be winners and losers.

The Crime Of Slothfulness. The evil servant who was given one bag of gold dug a hole to hide it. Instead of working as the others to responsibly manage the funds, he was lazy. Jesus’ indictment of this servant illustrated the condition of those who don’t prepare or support God’s work. Lazy people do not support God’s work, nor do they have the intent to do so. They are full of excuses and treat the support of God’s work as someone else’s responsibility. It cost the Son of God everything to bring us into the household of faith. In this House, we are stewards, not freeloaders.

The Crime Of Slander. The evil servant slandered his master by calling him tight-fisted, dishonest and unethical. He dug a hole for himself with his own words, trying to excuse his failure to perform his duty on a false characterization of his master’s ethics. The master then judged him more harshly on the basis of his expectations, not on the master’s true character.

The Crime Of A Criminal Plot. The evil servant was counting on his master not returning. Perhaps he thought that by burying the gold, neither the authorities nor the heirs would discover the loss, and the servant could steal the gold for himself. Upon the return of his master, that plot failed, and he was held accountable for his deliberate failure.