Jesus response to viewing women as a possession that provides a service...

This week we are answering a fundamental question that every man who desires to experience love and lasting relationships has to answer. And that question is this: how do you as a man view women? Do you view women as a possession that provides a service? Do you view women as a potential servant that meets a need? Do you view women as a commodity that decreases in value and worth over time?

Yesterday, we talked about the reality that in our culture, women are more often than not viewed as a possession that provides a service. Popular culture views women as a commodity and places enormous pressure on women to raise their value in the eyes of men by how they look and how they perform.

 

Unfortunately, this is not a new phenomenon; this view of women as a possession has been around for thousands of years. As a matter of fact, in the Jewish and Roman cultures of the first century, women were viewed by men in an incredibly negative manner. Women were treated as servants who were expected to obey their husbands in almost every aspect of their lives.

In the Roman culture of the 1^st century, it was not unusual for men to have multiple mistresses or for men to engage in sex with prostitutes so as to avoid the responsibility of having children or raising children. In addition, unlike today, most adoptions in Roman society did not occur when children were babies. In Roman culture, you would never adopt a baby. So, in the Roman Empire, female babies were often left on the street or taken to the garbage dump after being born to die of exposure.

And it was into the male dominated culture that treated women as possessions, and in some cases, less than human, that Jesus entered into humanity. It was into this culture that Jesus began to engage and treat women in ways that left his disciples scratching their heads. That is why when Jesus engaged in a conversation with a Samaritan woman in John chapter four, his disciples were so confused. Why would Jesus even take the time to engage a woman in such a conversation? I mean, just look at her; she’s a woman.

That is why the Jewish religious leaders were so offended when Jesus engaged a woman in Luke Chapter 7 who was caught up in a lifestyle of sin. They were offended because no self respecting man would let a woman enter into their party, especially one who was used over and over again by men as a possession. They were offended because no man would extend grace in such a way to such a woman. No self respecting man would allow a woman to provide financial support and be a part of His movement. And then Jesus called His closest followers together and said the following in John 13:34:

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

To which His Jewish disciples probably looked around and asked “what do you mean you want us to love one another as I have loved you? Does that include the women? You mean you want us to treat the women like you have treated the women? Yes, you are to treat the women just like I treated the women. Jesus, when you say all men will know, you mean just the men right? You mean the women to? Yes the women too”.

Then after Jesus died and was raised again; after the birth of the church at Pentecost, early followers of Jesus began to proclaim the claims of Christ and message of the gospel throughout the Roman Empire. As the church began to spread throughout the empire, letters were written to these early churches. In one of these letters, which is in our Bible today as the book of Ephesians, a man named Paul said the following in Ephesians 5:25:

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved

the church

To which these early followers of Jesus, who lived in a Roman culture that dominated and subjugated women probably said “wait a minute, I have a question. What do you mean that we are to love our wives as Christ loved the church? Didn’t Christ die for the church? So are you saying we have to be willing to die for our wives? I can’t treat them as a possession that provides a service? I can’t treat them like a servant that meets a need? Yep. That’s what I am saying”.

Then, Peter, who was the leader of the early followers of Jesus, wrote a letter to followers of Jesus that were scattered throughout the Roman Empire. And as part of this letter, Peter makes a statement to early followers of Jesus that best summarizes how we are to view women.

Tomorrow, we will look at this statement and the timeless answer that it provides when it comes to how men are to treat women…

How do you, as a man, view women?

 

During the month of February at the church where I serve we are discovering what the Bible has to say about love and lasting relationships. This week, I would like for us to focus on the men. And the reason that I want to focus on the men is because there is a fundamental question that every man who desires to experience love and lasting relationships has to answer.

 

And that question is this: how do you as a man view women? Do you view women as a possession that provides a service? Do you view women as a potential servant that meets a need? Do you view women as a commodity that decreases in value and worth over time? How do you as a man view women?

Now if I was to ask every man to answer that question our loud, I am almost 100% sure that not a single man would answer yes to any of those questions. But instead of asking you to answer that question verbally, what answer would I receive if I looked at the playlist on your I-Pod? What answer would I receive if I looked at the cookies on your computer? What answer would I receive if I looked at the last ten movies that you rented?

You see, the reality is that in our culture, women are more often than not viewed as a possession that provides a service. Now if you do not think that is the case, then just spend a few minutes thinking back at the commercials that were portrayed to men during the Super Bowl last Sunday. If you do not think that is the case, just take a minute and look at the magazines as you check out at the local grocery store.

Are not those magazines dominated by articles about how a woman can provide the best service to her man? How you can look your best? T.V. and magazines portray women as possessions that provide a service to men. Popular culture views women as a commodity and places enormous pressure on women to raise their value in the eyes of men by how they look and how they perform.

Unfortunately, this is not a new phenomenon; this view of women as a possession has been around for thousands of years. As a matter of fact, in the Jewish culture of the first century, women were viewed by men in an incredibly negative manner. Josephus, who was a first century Jewish historian, stated that women were to be held to be inferior in all matters. Philo, who was a Jewish philosopher, refers throughout his writings to women and female traits as examples of weakness. A Jewish literary work of the times states that “better is the wickedness of a man than a women who does good”. And one of the Jewish prayers of the day included one in which a Jewish man thanked God that he was not a woman.

And then there was how women were viewed in the Roman culture of the first century. The Roman culture of the first century was male dominated cultures where women were treated as possessions. Roman law did not regard women as equal to men.

 

Women in Roman culture could not vote or hold political office. Women were treated as servants who were expected to obey their husbands in almost every aspect of their lives.
 

Women received only a basic education, if any at all, and were subject to the authority of a man. Traditionally, this was their father before marriage. After marriage, authority switched to their husband, who also had the legal rights over their children.

Women were viewed as a possession that was responsible to provide a child for heir, but not too many children. As a matter of fact, the birth rate among the ruling class declined to such an extent that the Roman emperor Caesar Augustus, who is mentioned in the accounts of Jesus birth, passed a series of laws intended to increase it, including special honors for women who bore at least three children. Those who were unmarried, divorced, widowed, or barren were prohibited from inheriting property unless named in a will.

In the culture of the 1^st century, it was not unusual for men to have multiple mistresses or for men to engage in sex with prostitutes so as to avoid the responsibility of having children or raising children. In addition, unlike today, most adoptions in Roman society did not occur when children were babies. In Roman culture, you would never adopt a baby. So, in the Roman Empire, female babies were often left on the street or taken to the garbage dump after being born to die of exposure.

And it was into the male dominated culture that treated women as possessions, and in some cases, less than human, that Jesus entered into humanity. It was into this culture that Jesus began to engage and treat women in ways that left his disciples scratching their heads.

Tomorrow, we will look at what Jesus and His followers said and did that cause men in the first century to scratch their heads…

What Does Walking In Love Look Like?

This week, we have been looking at a prevalent and powerful myth about love and lasting relationships called the right person myth. Yesterday, we looked at a section of a letter in the Bible called the book of Ephesians that revealed for us a timeless truth when it comes to love and lasting relationships. And that timeless truth is that love and lasting relationships are the result of becoming the right person, not finding the right person. Unlike the right person myth is celebrated by our culture and spread by Hollywood, the Bible reveals for us the reality that love and lasting relationships are the result of becoming the right person.

Love and lasting relationships are not the result of people falling in love. Instead, love and lasting relationships are the result of people who walking in love by giving those who they are in relationship with what they need most when they deserve it the least.  Andy Stanley conveys this timeless truth this way: “You need to become the person that the person you are looking for is looking for”.

Now you might be thinking to yourself “well Dave, how do I know when I am becoming the right person? How do I know when I am walking in love? How do I know that I am giving someone what they need most when they deserve it the least?” If those questions are running through your mind, I have some good news for you.

In another letter that is recorded for us in the New Testament of our Bibles called the book of 1 Corinthians, we see the Apostle Paul unpack what walking in love practically looks like in our day to day lives. So let’s look at this section of this letter together, beginning in 1 Corinthians 13:4:

Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

In these verses we see Paul reveal the qualities that characterize the life of a person who is walking in love. When Paul states that love is patient, the word patient literally means to bear up under provocation without complaint. A person who walks in love is longsuffering in their dealings with those around us.

When Paul states that love is kind and is not jealous, he is revealing for us the reality that a person who walks in love is positively gracious and generous as they serve others. Instead of rivaling for position or recognition; instead of wanting what others have or not wanting others to have what they do have, a person who walks in love focuses on reflecting Christ’s grace and generosity to others.

When Paul states that love does not brag and is not arrogant, he is explaining that a person who walks in love does not have an exaggerated self concept that results in one being full of themselves and in one taking pride in their own accomplishments.

In verse 5, Paul explains that love does not act unbecomingly. In other words, a person who walks in love does not behave disgracefully or dishonorably with poor manners. In addition, a person who walks in love does not seek its own; it does not seek one’s own advantage or benefit by being insensitive and careless.

A person who walks in love, Paul explains is not easily irritated or provoked into sudden outbursts of anger. When Paul states that love does not take into account a wrong suffered, he is painting a word picture of a scorecard. Paul’s point here is that a person who walks in love does not keep a scorecard as to keep track of all the times that one has been offended.

Paul then continues in verse 6 by stating that love does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices in the truth. What Paul is communicating to us in this phrase is that a person who walks in love is driven to be excited about the truth of the Christian life and to rejoice in what is good, proper, and right when it comes to how they relate to God and one another.

Paul then concludes his description of the qualities that characterize the life of a person who is walking in love by stating that love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. To bear all things means to protect and guard others from exposure to harm.

When Paul uses the phrase believe all things, he is reveal that a person who walks in love has no suspicion or cynicism. To hope all things, for Paul, involves having a positive outlook on the future, regardless of our current circumstances. Paul then concludes by explaining that Biblical love endures all things. In other words, a person who walks in love is not fickle, but instead holds on and remains faithful.

So are these the qualities that characterize how you conduct your life when it comes to your relationships? Would the person that you are seeking to experience a loving and lasting relationship say that those are the characteristics that mark your life? Would the people around you say that those are the characteristics that mark your life?

Because these are the characteristics of a person who is focused on becoming the right person and that conducts their day to day life that reveals and reflects the love of Christ in their relationships with others. And the timeless reality is that love and lasting relationships are the result of becoming the right person, not finding the right person.

So how are you attempting to experience love and lasting relationships?  Are you attempting to experience love and lasting relationships through the right person myth that is celebrated by our culture and spread by Hollywood? Or are you attempting to experience love and lasting relationships by becoming the right person that the person you are looking for is looking for?

Love and lasting relationships are the result of becoming the right person, not finding the right person...

This week, we are looking at a prevalent and powerful myth in our culture when it comes to love and lasting relationships, called the right person myth. Yesterday, we discovered that while the right person myth states that the secret to finding the right person in to find the right person, fall in love, and fix all your hopes and dreams on the person for fulfillment, the right person myth is just that a myth.

Now a natural question that comes to mind is “well Dave, if the right person myth is a myth, then how am I supposed to go about dating so that I can experience love and lasting relationships? If the right person myth is wrong, then what is right? Is there an alternative?”

 

If those questions are going through your mind, I have some good news for you. And that good news is that in a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the Bible called the book of Ephesians, we see a man named Paul provide for us an alternative to the right person myth. So let’s look at that alternative together, beginning in Ephesians 5:1:

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.

Here we see the Apostle Paul command the members of the church of Ephesus, and followers of Jesus throughout history, to do two things. First, Paul commands followers of Jesus to be imitators of God. In other words, as followers of Jesus we are to reveal and reflect Christ in our character and conduct. Paul then provides a second command that unpacks specifically how followers of Jesus are to reveal and reflect Christ: and walk in love.

Now when Paul uses the word walk here, this word, in the language that this letter was originally written in, literally means to live out or conduct one’s life. In other words, Paul here is commanding followers of Jesus to live lives that are characterized by a selfless and sacrificial love that places others before ourselves. Just as Jesus placed fallen and broken humanity before Himself and allowed Himself to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful lives, so that God the Father could treat us as though we lived Jesus perfect life, as followers of Jesus we are to live lives that are characterized by a selfless and other centered love.

And it is in Paul’s commands that we discover the alternative to the right person myth when it comes to love and lasting relationships. First, we see that instead of focusing on trying to find the right person, the Bible calls us to focus on becoming the right person. As followers of Jesus, we are to focus on becoming like Christ in our character and in how we live out our relationships with God and with others.

 Second, as we are focusing on trying to become the right person, instead of trying to fall in love, we are to walk in love. You see, unlike our culture, which views and talks about love as though it were a noun, the Bible talks about love as a verb. Here is a clear and simple definition of love that the Apostle Paul is talking about here: Love is giving someone what they need most when they deserve it the least. Biblical, selfless, sacrificial, other centered love is active.

Third, we see that instead of fixing your hopes and dreams on the right person for fulfillment, we are to fix our hope and dreams on Christ for fulfillment. You see, if I were to fix all of my hopes and dreams on Julie to meet all of my needs; if Julie was to fix all her hopes and dreams on me to meet all of her needs, we have set one another up for failure. We have set one another up for failure because both Julie and I are flawed, broken people who will fall short.

There is only one person who can meet your deepest needs and bring fulfillment to your life, and that person is Jesus. To place any other person in a position where they must meet all of your needs is to make them an idol and is to set them up for failure.

But what happens if you follow these steps and the relationship does not work out? What if you are focused on becoming the right person, walking in love, and are fixing our hope in Jesus to meet our needs and the relationship does not last? Well, according to the Bible, then you have not become the right person.

Instead of thinking the right person was really the wrong person, the key question becomes “Am I the right person?” Instead of pointing the finger at someone else, the Bible calls us to point the thumb at the person in the mirror. So, if the relationship does not work out, then you simply go back to step one and begin to the process to become the right person.

And it is in this passage that we see revealed for us a timeless truth when it comes to love and lasting relationships. And that timeless truth is this: Love and lasting relationships are the result of becoming the right person, not finding the right person. Unlike the right person myth is celebrated by our culture and spread by Hollywood, the Bible reveals for us the reality that love and lasting relationships are the result of becoming the right person. Love and lasting relationships are not the result of people falling in love.

Instead, love and lasting relationships are the result of people who walking in love by giving those who they are in relationship with what they need most when they deserve it the least.  Andy Stanley conveys this timeless truth this way: “You need to become the person that the person you are looking for is looking for”.

Now you might be thinking to yourself “well Dave, how do I know when I am becoming the right person? How do I know when I am walking in love? How do I know that I am giving someone what they need most when they deserve it the least?” If those questions are running through your mind, I have some good news for you. In another letter that is recorded for us in the New Testament of our Bibles called the book of 1 Corinthians, we see the Apostle Paul unpack what walking in love practically looks like in our day to day lives.

Tomorrow, we will look at what walking in love looks like…

The "Right Person" Myth...

During the month of February, we are going to look at the idea of love and lasting relationships. And regardless of your age and stage of life, regardless of your marital status, this series of posts is designed to bring you to the place where you are better equipped to experience love and lasting relationships.

Today, I would like for us to address and attack perhaps the most prominent and powerful myth about love and lasting relationships. This myth is celebrated by our culture and spread by Hollywood. The myth that I would like to address and attack is the right person myth. You see, as far as our culture is concerned, the secret to finding love and lasting relationships is to find the right person. If you would just find the right person everything else would fall into place.

And this myth is the central theme to almost every romantic comedy made in Hollywood. So let’s take a minute and expose the myth of the right person. To help us do that, I just want you to take a minute and think of your favorite romantic comedy movie. Guys, if you are like me and are not into chick flicks, think of the last romantic comedy movie that you were forced to watch. Do you have a movie in mind? Now think of the plot of that movie as we look together at the right person myth.

The first step to love and lasting relationships according to the right person myth is that you have to find the right person. You need to be on the lookout; you need to be on the hunt; you need to be scoping out all the potential candidates. You need to be at the right place at the right time to find the right person. You need to be wearing the right clothes, you need to work out and stay in shape, you need to look and act the right way.  

Then, according to the right person myth, after you find the right person, the second step is to fall in love. For the right person to be the right person, there has to be love there; there has to be that ooey, gooey feeling; you heart just beats faster around them; you can’t stop thinking about them; there just has to be that chemistry. There has to chemistry emotionally. And there has to be chemistry physically. You know that chemistry that you just can’t keep your hands off of one another. There is an uncontrollable passion to be together and to “be together”.

Then, according to the right person myth, after you find the right person, after you fall in love, the third step is to fix your hopes and dreams on that person for fulfillment. Because the right person will meet all of your needs. The right person will be that knight in shining armor that will fill that empty space in your life and satisfy the deepest desires in your life.

But what happens if the person you are with does not meet all your needs and fulfill all the deep desires of your life? Well, according to the right person myth, then you have not found the right person. Who you thought was the right person was really the wrong person. According to the right person myth, the key question becomes “Is he/she the right person for me?”.

And if it was not the right person, then according to the right person myth, the relationship “was just for a season”, “guess it was not the right one”,  or “he or she’s not coming through for me”. So, if the relationship does not work out, then you simply go back to step one and begin to search again for the right person.

Now, let me ask you this question: Have I just described the plot of the romantic comedy that came to your mind? Is that not the plot of almost every movie from Hollywood? You see, this myth is celebrated by our culture and spread by Hollywood. But unfortunately the right person myth is just that, a myth. And the reason why the right person myth is a myth is in the results.

Here are some statistics that bear out the utter failure of the right person myth: In 2009 alone approximately 16.4 million relationships ended in a divorce. In addition, the group entitled “divorced” is the fastest growing segment of the population in the U.S.  Finally, 1/3 of divorced women live below the poverty line.  

Now a natural question that comes to mind here is “well Dave, if the right person myth is a myth, then how am I supposed to go about dating so that I can experience love and lasting relationships? If the right person myth is wrong, then what is right? Is there an alternative?” If those questions are going through your mind, I have some good news for you. And that good news is that in a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the Bible called the book of Ephesians, we see a man named Paul provide for us an alternative to the right person myth.

Tomorrow, we will look at that alternative…

The Date That Dominates February...

February 14^th, or Valentine’s Day, dominates the month of February. Valentine’s Day dominates February because Valentine’s Day seems to provoke something deep within all of us. Valentine’s Day can provoke strong responses. Some love and look forward to February 14^th, while others loath February 14^th and cannot wait until the month of February is over. But have you ever wondered why Valentine’s Day can provoke such strong responses? What is it about Valentine’s Day that paints such a powerful picture within us? 

I believe that Valentine’s Day dominates our culture in a way that few other days in the year can because Valentine’s Day places before us a powerful picture of what could be. And what Valentine’s Day provokes and places before us is the desire for love and lasting relationships. You see, human beings are relational beings. All of humanity was created for relationships; we were created for a relationship with God vertically and for relationships with other horizontally.

That is why the most painful emotion is loneliness. Loneliness is the most painful emotion because when we are lonely we are outside of what God designed us to be. Our hearts are designed to love and be loved. Our hearts were created to experience lasting relationships. And deep in the core of our beings, we crave love and lasting relationships.

Yet, while our culture craves love and lasting relationships, there is an increasing sense in our culture that love and lasting relationships are unattainable. There is an increasing sense of skepticism that one can truly experience loving relationships that will last a lifetime. This is especially the case amongst those in the gen x or millennial generation, who have looked on as their families were negatively impacted by the increasing rates of divorce. Those who are in their 40’s or younger have seen the devastation of the decline of healthy, lasting marriages and many have come to the conclusion that it is better not to marry than go through the pain and strain that comes from broken relationships.

So, are lasting relationships no longer possible? Are love and lasting relationships attainable anymore in the fast paced, short attention span culture that we live in today? What chance do singles have when it comes to love and lasting relationships?  

To answer these questions, we are going to spend our time together in the month of February in a sermon series entitled love and lasting relationships. During this series, we are going to discover what the Bible has to say about love and lasting relationships. We are going to discover how we can experience love and lasting relationships. We are going to discover how men and women are to treat one another when it comes to love and lasting relationships. We are going to discover the role that sex has in love and lasting relationships. And we are going to discover what we need to know before we make decisions regarding love and lasting relationships.  And as we go through this series, our hope and our prayer is that God would move in our heads, our hearts, and our hands, so that we would be able to experience love and lasting relationships.

Now you might be thinking to yourself “What does any of this have to do with me? I’m married, or I’m divorced; I don’t have single people problems, I have different problems. So how is a series going to help me?” If those questions are going through your mind, I just want to let you know that those are fair questions to be asking. And my answer to those questions might come as a revelation to you. For those of you who are married and are having marriage problems, here is the thing; you do not have marriage problems.

No one on the planet has marriage problems. You have single people problems and now you are married. You see, the reason why you are having marriage problems is because marriage only enhances the strengths and weaknesses that you had when you were single. You have a problem being honest in your marriage because you had a problem with honesty when you were single. You have a problem being faithful in your marriage because you had a problem with faithfulness when you were single. You are a slob in your marriage because you were a slob when you were single. You do not have marriage problems; you have single people problems and now you are married. And just because you are married that doesn’t mean you should not be dating. You just are dating your husband or your wife instead of your boyfriend or girlfriend.

So married people, this series has everything to do with you. Divorced people, this series has everything to do with you. Regardless of your age and stage of life, regardless of your marital status, this series is designed to bring you to the place where you are better equipped to experience love and lasting relationships.

Tomorrow, we will look at a powerful and prominent myth regarding love and lasting relationships…

When it comes to responsibility, we are responsible and accountable for the response-abilities we have been given...

This week, we have been looking on as Jesus told a parable, which is an earthly story that reveals a deeper spiritual truth. In this parable, there are two characters. The first character Jesus refers to as a man, who represents Jesus. The second characters are the man’s slaves, which represents us. Jesus explains that this man, just prior to leaving on a trip, calls his slaves and entrusts his possessions to them. Jesus explains that the man gave one of his slaves five talents, another of his slaves two talents, and a third slave one talent.

 In other words, this man divided his possessions among his slaves and gave them the responsibility to take care of his possessions while he was away on his trip. Wednesday, we saw that unlike the first two slaves, the slave who received one talent revealed his irresponsibility with what he was given. Instead of taking responsibility for the talent he was given, the third slave chose to make excuses and play the blame game. The slave rationalized and made excuses for his irresponsibility and shifted the blame instead of owning up to his irresponsibility. However, as we discovered earlier in this series, when we make excuses; when we play the blame game, the result is conflict and shame.

Today, we will see this reality revealed to us in verse 26-28. Now so often we read verses like these in the Bible as though we are reading a chemistry book. Instead, we should read the Bible like we would a novel. Place yourself in this scene watching this confrontation as we look at these verses together:

"But his master answered and said to him, 'You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. (So, is that who you think I am. Well if that is who you think I am.) 'Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. (But that is not what you did, because you do not even know me.)  'Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.'“For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. "Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Now as soon as you read verse 28, for some, your immediate response was “wait a minute, that’s not fair. I mean the one slave already has ten talents. Shouldn’t the talent go to the slave who has four talents? Shouldn’t the master redistribute the income so that everyone has the same? That would be fair.

But the timeless reality is that life is not fair. As a matter of fact, fairness is not a biblical value. Nowhere in the Bible will you see the concept of fairness. What you see everywhere in the Bible is the concept of rightness. The reality is that there are some people who are five talent people; there are some people who are two talent people; and there are some people who are one talent people. God gives talents and resources how He wants and to who He wants.

And it is in this parable that we see revealed for us another timeless truth when it comes to the issue of responsibility. And that timeless truth is this: When it comes to responsibility, we are responsible and accountable for the response-abilities we have been given. The timeless reality is that just like this parable, God gives the talents He gives to whom He chooses with the expectation that we will be responsible with the talents we have been given on this earth. Just like the slave who was given the one talent, our lack of responsibility can reveal the reality that we do not know God or care to know or be responsible with what God has given us.

Because, as far as Jesus is concerned, the issue is not how much talent have you been given. The issue is how responsible are you with the talents that you have been given. God is not fair, but God is right and God is just. God gives the talents He gives to whom He chooses to give.

And God’s standard is the same for all when it comes to how He measures the results. God’s standard is that the results of our lives reveal the reality that we have been responsible with the talents we have been given. God does not expect the two talent person to produce five talent results. But God does expect that the two talent person produce two talent results.

But not only is God not fair when it comes to the talents we have been given. God is not fair when it comes to the results that we receive for our responsibility. Whether we are five talent people or two talent people, the result for being responsible with the talents we have been given is the same. Because, when it comes to responsibility, we are responsible and accountable for the response-abilities we have been given.

So here is the question: What are you doing with the response-abilities that you have been given? Are you being responsible with those response-abilities by taking the opportunity to use the talents and resources you have been given?  Or are you being irresponsible with those response-abilities by making excuses and playing the blame game?