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Playing It Safe
“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money” (Matthew 25: 14–18 NIV).
The man in Jesus’ parable who received the least amount of gold was so afraid of angering his master that he dug his talents in the ground. In his mind, he was being a good steward by playing it safe. “No harm done,” he probably thought and forgot all about it. What he (or she) didn’t think about was that playing it safe was THE LAST THING the master wanted. You see, the servant got it all backward, and the master was so upset at him for playing it safe that he called him “wicked”. See verses 26–27: “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”.
Why is the master so upset at the servant? The master knew the servant was full of fear, lazy, and missed the…
