Don’t sit on your assets!

Several years ago my family and I went to the Catalyst Conference where representatives of Hope International gave everyone in attendance $10 and asked each one to invest it and return it and the earnings to them by a certain time. Hope International would use the money to invest in micro-finance in developing nations. Since there were about 12,000 people in the room that was an amazing investment.

On the way home we talked about what we each could do to turn our $10 into something worthwhile to send to Hope International. But what could one do with $10? Then we started asking what we could do if we pooled our resources and worked together on one big project. Suddenly the possibilities became clear. We would invest in the ingredients for baked goods and have an auction and concert for the church the weekend before Thanksgiving. We raised about $800 to send to Hope International.

We learned lessons about teamwork and pooling assets. But we also lived a principle of the kingdom Jesus taught. That is, don’t sit on your assets!

An asset is something you have that can be used or invested to make money. We usually think in terms of money or equipment, but an asset is anything we can use for growth and improvement of some kind. An asset is invested.

God has invested grace in us. He has given us gifts and abilities, and creativity. And he has given us an incredibly productive field in which to invest.

A couple of examples from Scripture help us to see we don’t need much to be powerful. A widow, about to lose her two sons to indentured slavery because she can’t pay her bills, takes her last oil and sees it multiply into enough to sell to pay all her debts. The disciples coughed up five loaves of bread and two fish, and saw Jesus multiply it to feed a multitude.

With these little things that make a huge difference God also gives us responsibility. He will hold us accountable for what we have done with what he has given, so don’t sit on your assets!

Jesus told a story to illustrate that. The kingdom, he said, is like a man entrusting valuable coins to his servants as he traveled. They were entrusted with varying amounts according to their skills and abilities. One servant had five coins, another two, and the third one.

Two of the men thought of what they had as an asset. Using skill and creativity each invested what he had and each doubled his money. The third servant, however, thought of his trust as a liability. He wanted to minimize risk of loss and buried it in the ground for safekeeping. There was no creativity or skill, only fear that it may be lost. He sat on his assets.

Upon his return the boss was pleased two of his servants had been so industrious. “Excellent!” he exclaimed. “You are a good and faithful servant! You’ve been faithful over a little. I’ll put you in charge of much. Come, celebrate with me.”

But the boss was not happy with the one who sat on his assets. “You evil and lazy servant!” He went on to say that if the good-for-nothing knew the boss expected investment and growth he should have at least opened an interest-bearing account. The boss took away what he was managing and gave it to the five-coin guy to invest. Moral of the story: Don’t sit on your assets!

Jesus finished that story with a summary that makes me a little unsettled. “Those who have much will receive much more, and they will have more than they need. But as for those who don’t have much, even the little bit they have will be taken away from them.”

That is directed toward anyone God has given anything to in the kingdom. We are about his business, and entrusted with money, skill, and creativity. We have assets at hand that can be invested into the work of the kingdom. And growth is expected.

We are the embassy of God’s kingdom, and that means we work for him. We look into this field ripe unto harvest, full of opportunity, and look for the most productive ways to invest our assets. We have a great building and financial capacity. We have people living in all the major subdivisions, and we have gathered on any given Sunday the skills and creativity to amazing things. We have financial people, media people, and business people. We have people who can design things, make things, and fix things. We have access to the schools and to city government. These are all powerful assets. How can we put this to work for the kingdom?

To be a member in our church we promise to remain faithful with our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service, and our witness. We promised to invest what we have into the work of the kingdom. That is, we promised to not sit on our assets.

How can we not sit on our assets? First, give. Invest financially in the life of the church. Second, serve. There is something you can do, so get involved. Third, witness. Witness by coming to church regularly, becoming active in a small group, and by inviting others to join. Use your social media – they can be incredibly powerful for much more than showing vacation photos.

Think kingdom. We represent it to this community. We have things in hand now to do that well. Identify them, use them. Don’t sit on your assets.

Matthew 25:14-30 (Proper 28 A)