My Kind of Christianity

[China Cat Sunflower]

For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. Matthew 25:29 (KJV)

This text is part of the moral of a parable about a king who entrusted a portion of his wealth to three servants while he went away on a journey. Each of the three were entrusted with an amount of capital according to his capabilities. The servant who was entrusted with five talents of gold used it to make another five in profit, the man with two likewise invested his talents and made another two in profit. But the servant who had been given only one talent resented the fact that he had been given so little, and so hoarded his one talent instead of investing it. Now here is the rest of the story:

Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. Mathew 25:28-45 (KJV)

Here we see the point Jesus is making through the parable. The unprofitable servant has failed to act, he just sat on his talent. Thinking that his financial status and ability level were so meager that his master surely had no reason to expect him to produce results, he was content that he had at least satisfied his minimum responsibility in burying his one talent so that it would not be lost. The last act of the story is the final judgment. Here we see that the King in the story is himself the servant of a much greater master, the ultimate master of the universe-God. Every servant is accountable to the King for his actions, and those who have done nothing with what they have been entrusted are weeded out like goats being separated from sheep. The sheep on the right hand are presented to God for their reward, and the goats are sent to their reward with the Devil.

What sort of profit does the King expect his servants to show that he can present to his Master? What entitles one to inherit "the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" on the day of judgment? Matthew 25 makes the answer obvious: each person is judged by what he has done for his fellow humans. From those to whom more ability (monetary or in terms of talent and charisma) has been given, more is expected, but some level of return is expected of all. Those who do nothing with what they have been given share the same lot as those who are actively evil. What little goodness they have has died because it was not shared.

Consider this:

What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works, can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. James 2:14-17 (KJV)

James is saying that talking the talk without walking the walk is the same as doing nothing. Faith, as motive, is realized in action (works), otherwise faith is meaningless. This is why James says that:

Pure religion, undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. James 1:27 (KJV)

God's criteria for a share in the Kingdom, his measure of righteousness is in a person's actions toward others. Matthew chapter 5 makes it clear that righteous action, proactive goodness and kindness is to be dispensed without regard for whether the recipient is good or evil.

Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye, do not even the publicans (the hated tax collectors) the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others, do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. Matthew 5:44-48 (KJV)

What God considers achievable perfection for humans is blind, active kindness. That is, after all, is what it means to love one's neighbor as one's self, is it not?

Jesus said unto him, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." Matthew 22:37-40 (KJV)

The Psalmist says of the righteous man: “But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” AHHH!, so the essence of the law is that the nature of God's perfection is put into action by the righteous in the form of neighborly love and kindness to others, all others without regard to their status, or even whether they are good or evil. This is what it means to be "the light of the world." (Matthew 5:14)

But Psalm 1 reveals a secret: "And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." So the reward of the righteous isn't just a heavenly reward. For those who delight in the law and obey the call to love in action, for the light bearers there is an earthly reward as well. Everything they do prospers because it is part of the conduit through which they multiply and spread the light, and so they are enlightened and enriched in the process of giving.

Christians who dismiss this core philosophy as naive and impractical demonstrate that their religion isn't much more than base idolatry. These hollow psuedo-religionists are the ones described in 2nd Timothy 3:5 as: "Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof..."

Chris

 

[lunamoth]

I like your essay on this China Cat. Faith without works is dead, as the saying goes. And of course while this is easy to say it is not so easy to do, or to do consistently. I think of this every time I get short with my kids after they've been pushing my buttons all day long (because, after all, that is what kids need to do to learn, and how I respond is soooo important. yet, by the end of some days the fruit of virtue are eaten to the core and the best thing to do is for us all to go to bed and try again the next day.)

I think you are right that the effects of our faith are found starting in this world. I see no reason to beleive that when Jesus spoke of eternal life that he meant starting after you die. But the trap is that bad things do happen to good people with no reason, and v.v.. And don't forget the parable of the prodigal son, who squandered the famiily fortune and left home. When he returned did he get his 'just reward,' as seen from the eyes of his brother? It's not an easy formula. But it is grace. Christ invites us to see things differently, and respond differently. Our beliefs color our worldview, which in turn color our individual actions, which in turn change the world. So, how we believe really is very important.

The thing I'm left wondering about is your last paragraph. Who are these Christians who dismiss Christ's message? We are all imperfect, fallible humans living in a fallen world. We make mistakes, sometimes big ones. We sometimes make these mistakes as a group. It is easy to paint in broad brush strokes strawmen for people we want to dismiss or demonize, or at least define as 'not me:' "If that's a Christian then I'm not!" But, we are all in the boat together and we all have our flaws. Christ invites us to respond differently. Love each other, warts and all.

cheers,
lunamoth

 

[Quahom1]

I would like to present another option to this parable (though I like your version from a "business" sense).

Each servant is given a measure of understanding about God. A knowledge if you will and an ability to reach out to others and share that knowledge. The first servant with five talents, takes that knowledge and invests it in others who have the potential to understand, and as a result ten people come to understand God.

Likewise the second servant takes his understanding and ability (though not as great as the first servant), and he invests in others, resulting in six coming to understand God.

The third servant has a personal knowledge and understanding of God...but he decides to keep it to himself, so no one is brought in to understand and know God. He is afraid to invest what he knows, therefore he doesn't bring in even one other person into the family of God.

With the first servant, where there was one with great potential, there are now 10 standing before heaven's gates.

With the second servant, where there was one with some potential, there are now six standing before heaven's gates.

With the third servant, where there was one with limited potential, there is only one standing before heaven's gates. He will not be let in, because he did nothing with what he had. To him the Lord will say, "I don't know you, for you never invested in others (who are me)".

Do you see how the parables blend in with eachother?

Christianity is not a free ride into heaven. Even the man on death row who comes to accept Christ before his death, affects those around him who witness his acceptance (even he has at least two talents).

The poor woman who had two pennies to her name and puts them in the offering box for others, gives all she has for others to benefit (she has at least two talents). For those who know her and know her plight, yet witnessed what she did, are affected by her actions and investment...in others.

The servant with one talent, doesn't even do that much. He keeps what he knows to himself. So no one but he, benefits.

Christ does not want selfish people. He can't do anything with them.

Those that give what they have, because they want to share what they know, that my friend, is my kind of Christianity.

 

[BlaznFattyz]

talents are what gift you have been given and use them and not everyone has the ability to bring others to christ. some people are blessed with money and giving it to the church is their gift. others have the gift to be a pastor, while others simply raise a family and share the gospel with their son or daughter, others work as parking attendants at their church. but whatever you do it has to be in tune with your heart or it is a waste. one can go to church every sunday and tithe, but if the intention is to be blessed automatically as a result for going, or to go reluctantly, that is a waste. to say you love and forgive others and turn the other cheek, and are a follower of christ, yet condemn others who are on death row to die, that is a waste. to give to charity in the name of god but call the paper to write an article about yourself, that is a waste. but when one praises god regardless if he is rich or poor, healthy or sick, and has a personal relationship with jesus christ, then doing something for the glory of god will tug at your heart and you should act at some point in your life. the disciples certainly said many things regarding this, but i will put at the forefront of my mind the things said to the thief on the side of jesus at the cruxification. although jesus only knew him for a few minutes, he could see the truth in his words as well as his heart. too bad the peace the thief found were the last seconds of his life as his fellow man had condemned him to death, had he found christ earlier he might have had a chance to build up riches in heaven; however, the good part of the story is he found jesus christ just in time and is going to paradise with him. the story of the thief still speaks today in the bible, and maybe his gift is to remind us to live a good life and not wait to the last minute to acknowledge christ with sincerity.

 

[China Cat Sunflower]

I'm sorry I've been so busy that I haven't had time to get back to this. I'm laying a hardwood floor in my house and I promised my wife I'd have it done befor Easter: lot's of people coming over for the traditional egg hunt.

I've only got a minute right now, but I wanted to respond to this:

The thing I'm left wondering about is your last paragraph. Who are these Christians who dismiss Christ's message? We are all imperfect, fallible humans living in a fallen world. We make mistakes, sometimes big ones. We sometimes make these mistakes as a group. It is easy to paint in broad brush strokes strawmen for people we want to dismiss or demonize, or at least define as 'not me:' "If that's a Christian then I'm not!" But, we are all in the boat together and we all have our flaws. Christ invites us to respond differently. Love each other, warts and all.

I thought about deleting that last paragraph because it kinda negates the whole rest of the post, being nakedly judgemental and all, but I left it in because it demonstrates how hard it is to really live up the what Christ said about unconditional love. It proves to me that I've got a lot of work to do, and I'm just as big a hypocrite as anyone else. It's humility inducing (hopefully), and that's a good thing I think.

Also:

And don't forget the parable of the prodigal son, who squandered the famiily fortune and left home. When he returned did he get his 'just reward,' as seen from the eyes of his brother? It's not an easy formula.

That kinda goes with that parable about the workers in the vineyard. The ones who showed up to work early didn't like the fact that the ones who came later got the same reward. There's a higher principle at work than just a simple quid pro quo, as you rightly point out.

Chris

 

[Quahom1]

...That kinda goes with that parable about the workers in the vineyard. The ones who showed up to work early didn't like the fact that the ones who came later got the same reward. There's a higher principle at work than just a simple quid pro quo, as you rightly point out.

Chris

I find the parable here quite simple to understand. There are those of us who accept Christ as savior from the beginning of our life time, and those of us who accept Christ as savior in the 11th hour. Yet both receive salvation at the end of the day...

Why do we both get "paid" the same? Because, it isn't an earned wage. Salvation is a gift that those who accepted long ago, should be joyous over those who accept it a the last second, not jealous...

very smart man, this Jesus...

v/r

Q