“A ship is safe in harbor, but that's not what ships are for.”
LEVITICUS 4-6
1The Lord said to Moses: 2“If anyone sins and is unfaithful to the Lord by deceiving a neighbor about something entrusted to them or left in their care or about something stolen, or if they cheat their neighbor, 3or if they find lost property and lie about it, or if they swear falsely about any such sin that people may commit— 4when they sin in any of these ways and realize their guilt, they must return what they have stolen or taken by extortion, or what was entrusted to them, or the lost property they found, 5or whatever it was they swore falsely about. They must make restitution in full, add a fifth of the value to it and give it all to the owner on the day they present their guilt offering.(6:1-5)
MATTHEW 25:1-30
24“Then the man who had received one bag of gold 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. 25So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’26“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? 27Well 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.28“ ‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. 29For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 30And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
1The Lord said to Moses: 2“If anyone sins and is unfaithful to the Lord by deceiving a neighbor about something entrusted to them or left in their care or about something stolen, or if they cheat their neighbor, 3or if they find lost property and lie about it, or if they swear falsely about any such sin that people may commit— 4when they sin in any of these ways and realize their guilt, they must return what they have stolen or taken by extortion, or what was entrusted to them, or the lost property they found, 5or whatever it was they swore falsely about. They must make restitution in full, add a fifth of the value to it and give it all to the owner on the day they present their guilt offering.(6:1-5)
JOURNAL
If there were ever any doubt about what God desires us to do with our lives, Jesus removes it in the parable of the talents. God is not indifferent to how we live, what we do with what we are given, or why we choose to act or not act. He takes our stewardship seriously. Not only our actions, but our motivations. Fear does not excuse disobedience. Caution does not justify burying what God has entrusted to us.
Leviticus makes this unmistakably clear. God demands accountability not only for outright theft, but for deception, passivity, and failure to make things right once guilt is realized. Restoration is required. Full restitution is required. God is showing us that our choices matter because people matter, because truth matters, and because obedience matters. Grace does not lower the standard. It restores us to it.
Jesus carries this same truth forward in Matthew 25. The servant who buried his talent was not condemned for immorality or theft, but for fear. He acted as if preservation was obedience. As if returning what was given without loss was faithfulness. But the master calls him wicked and lazy, not because he failed, but because he refused to try. Fear kept him from giving his best, and God does not treat that lightly.
William G. T. Shedd said, “A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are for.” Neither are we. God did not create us to protect potential, but to invest it. To risk it. To multiply it. Not at the expense of others, but through effort, courage, and faith.
Gratitude, then, is not optional. It is the fuel for faithful living. If I live as though this life is precious and limited, I am far less likely to waste it on fear, distraction, or worry. Fear pulls my focus toward outcomes. Obedience pulls my focus toward effort. When I fixate on results, I become the servant who buries the talent. When I focus on faithfulness, I become free.
God does not ask me to control the harvest. He asks me to plant, tend, and give my best. The blessing of the outcome belongs to Him. Where I have stumbled in the past is in trying to write the script ahead of time, deciding what success should look like, and shrinking back when it did not align with my expectations. That, too, is fear. And fear masquerading as wisdom is still disobedience.
My calling is simpler and harder than I want it to be. Fan into flame the gift God has placed within me. Give my best in obedience. Release the results to Him. The Spirit God has given me is not timid. It is powerful, loving, and disciplined. God takes my choices seriously because He believes deeply in what I can become.
And in the end, that tells me something essential. God is not trying to limit me. He is trying to bring out the very best in me.
If there were ever any doubt about what God desires us to do with our lives, Jesus removes it in the parable of the talents. God is not indifferent to how we live, what we do with what we are given, or why we choose to act or not act. He takes our stewardship seriously. Not only our actions, but our motivations. Fear does not excuse disobedience. Caution does not justify burying what God has entrusted to us.
Leviticus makes this unmistakably clear. God demands accountability not only for outright theft, but for deception, passivity, and failure to make things right once guilt is realized. Restoration is required. Full restitution is required. God is showing us that our choices matter because people matter, because truth matters, and because obedience matters. Grace does not lower the standard. It restores us to it.
Jesus carries this same truth forward in Matthew 25. The servant who buried his talent was not condemned for immorality or theft, but for fear. He acted as if preservation was obedience. As if returning what was given without loss was faithfulness. But the master calls him wicked and lazy, not because he failed, but because he refused to try. Fear kept him from giving his best, and God does not treat that lightly.
William G. T. Shedd said, “A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are for.” Neither are we. God did not create us to protect potential, but to invest it. To risk it. To multiply it. Not at the expense of others, but through effort, courage, and faith.
Gratitude, then, is not optional. It is the fuel for faithful living. If I live as though this life is precious and limited, I am far less likely to waste it on fear, distraction, or worry. Fear pulls my focus toward outcomes. Obedience pulls my focus toward effort. When I fixate on results, I become the servant who buries the talent. When I focus on faithfulness, I become free.
God does not ask me to control the harvest. He asks me to plant, tend, and give my best. The blessing of the outcome belongs to Him. Where I have stumbled in the past is in trying to write the script ahead of time, deciding what success should look like, and shrinking back when it did not align with my expectations. That, too, is fear. And fear masquerading as wisdom is still disobedience.
My calling is simpler and harder than I want it to be. Fan into flame the gift God has placed within me. Give my best in obedience. Release the results to Him. The Spirit God has given me is not timid. It is powerful, loving, and disciplined. God takes my choices seriously because He believes deeply in what I can become.
And in the end, that tells me something essential. God is not trying to limit me. He is trying to bring out the very best in me.
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