This morning as we were getting the kids ready for school, Lisa (Mrs Feather) and I were discussing what the day’s schedule held. Our daughter has a district honors chorus recital today and wouldn’t be home until late in the evening. We are pretty much homebodies much of the time, particularly on Friday evenings. But, our local high school football team, Fayette County Tigers, is 9-0 and the final game is this evening. Their coach, Tommy Webb, is a strong believer and a man I am honored to work with in ministry.
Now, I didn’t go to Fayette County High School. My interest in the games are to enjoy some good football and to visit my students. When talking about the game this evening, Lisa mentioned that “we are regional champs and get home field advantage for the first two playoff games”.
That “we” caught my attention. We own property in Fayette County. We drive by the high school 5 days a week. But, we didn’t play in 9 winning games. We didn’t suit up, we didn’t practice, and we didn’t work out. Even if we had done all of those things, we still wouldn’t have been eligible, because we aren’t on the team.
Each player on the team was given a list of requirements when he tried out. There was a list of expectations and responsibilities. While each member of the team was given the list, the expectations and responsibilities were personal. Each individual player must meet the requirements in order to remain eligible to play. Just because all his buddies met the requirements doesn’t automatically make him eligible to play.
In Matthew 25, Jesus tells us about three servants. The master had eight talents. Now a biblical talent weighed around 125lbs. If this was a talent of gold, then the value was around $1,517,299 per talent at today’s exchange rate. He gives one servant 5 talents, another 2, and to the last he gives 1 talent. The master then leaves on a journey.
On his return, he asks to see an accounting of the assets left to be managed by the servants. The first and second servants had doubled what had been given to them. For their faithfulness, the master commends them (Matthew 25:21,23). But the third buried the talent that had been entrusted to him. This servant was eternally punished (Matthew 25:30).
The slothful servant, despite being part of the group, did not receive credit for the faithfulness of the other two servants. Their faithfulness was not accounted to him. His obedience had to be personal.
Are we sitting in the pews hoping that the faithfulness of the congregation will be accounted to us in glory? Are we taking credit for the work of the group while personally doing little to advance God’s work here on earth?
[...] Obedience must be personal. · Impersonal obedience = personal disobedience [...]