The bible tells tale of the familiar parable of the Talents. Three men are given a gift of money by their master. The master leaves on a long journey and what unfolds is a story of how two of the men doubled their money and one decides to play it safe.
Personally, this parable is more than just a story on personal stewardship. Rather, deep within the words of this parable I feel the cry of God’s heart for His people. A lion’s-roar bellowing within the depths of His love that we might live lives of unrestrained, uninhibited and unfettered freedom. A life so enriched by the Father’s all-encompassing, overarching, care for us that we would discover just how safe it is to be 100% care-less as we walk though this life.
Big words, right? Honestly, they feel big to me. Yet, God’s heart for His people is often bigger than we are able to appreciate…until we experience it.
The first man we’ll examine from this parable is the one I’ll call, Mr. Play-It-Safe. Not only is he harshly punished by the master, we also see that he holds some false-beliefs about the nature of God’s heart. Specifically, it says he believed God “hates careless ways” and that He “makes no allowances for error“.
Actually, the beliefs held by the Mr. Play-It-Safe seem to reflect more about his own discomfort with trusting in the goodness of the master than how that master actually feels toward his servants.
Mr. Play-It-Safe has concluded the master hates carelessness. Yet, we know from many other scriptures how much God loves it when His people walk in faith. Taking risks and stepping out in faith will often look careless to us and, perhaps, careless to those around us. Yet, something in the heart of God loves it when we, as maturing sons and daughters, abandon all of our “cares” to Him and grow to a place where we trust his “care for us” more than we fear the mistakes we might make if we step out to take risks.
Matthew addresses this pursuit of care-less-ness when he said,
“Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, CARELESS in the CARE OF GOD“
Mathew 6:26
The harshness of the master toward Mr. Play-It-Safe demonstrates the fiery passion with which God longs for us to enter into a maturity of relationship with Him whereby we can live free, unfettered and careless lives in the care of God. A place of sonship where we are so convinced of God’s care, protection and intent-for-good in our lives that we are ridiculously free to be outrageously care-less. A people so rooted in the belief all things will work together for our good that fear has no power to hold us back.
Mr. Care-less will personify the other two men in this parable. Men who were care-less compared to Mr. Play-It-Safe and invested what was given to them in an attempt to provide the master with a return on his investment. Men who took action, trusted in the goodness of the master and risked what they were given.
Carelessness to our refined adult sensibilities sounds more like irresponsibility. Yet, the parable given here seems to elevate the person who deeply understands the care of God over their life. A trust in God’s care that they are free to be care-less where others are care-full.
Mr. Play-It-Safe sounds like an opinionated guy. He concluded the master was a harsh man and made assumptions about his views on being careless. Yet, the men who took risks and trusted in good-natured care of the master were promoted from servants to (business) partners.
Transitioning from servants-of-God to partners-with-God is sonship. He longs for us to rule and reign with Him on this earth. You can glorify servanthood all you want. God makes it pretty clear in this parable and throughout the Old and New Testament that He’s looking for a partner and a bride. People who trust Him AND people He trusts.
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
Galatians 5:1
Despite the rather rigid beliefs of Mr. Play-It-Safe, God has made room for us to grow out of servanthood and into partnership. God understands we are all in process and learning how to come out of fear and step into faith. The second mistaken belief of Mr. Play-It-Safe was that God “makes no allowances for error“.
Matthew confirms how much God loves it when we are mature enough to be care-less in the care of God. God extends incredible grace toward us as we grow from being a fearful servant into being a trusted partners. Paul also speaks of this grace in 1 Corinthians 13:4 where we find a few more reenforcing truths debunking this idea that God “makes no allowances for error”.
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Paul’s description of true love also defines God’s incredible nature toward us. When God asks us to be patient in our love, he also chooses to be patient. When he says we are not to be easily angered, He chooses to be slow in His anger…and so on.
With that in mind, let’s let God’s definition redefine Mr. Play-It-Safe’s definition of God that falsely claims he allows for no mistakes. Using 1 Corinthians as our foundation we can say these things confidently about God’s nature…
- Love is patient. God’s nature is to be unrelentingly patient as we learn to step out of a play-it-safe life and into risk-taking life.
- Love is kind. God’s nature is to be kind toward us when we identify more with the fearful servant than the care-less partner. That same kindness takes us by the hand to lead us into the unfettered freedom of being partners with Him where the care of God is our foundation, not fear. Helping us make the transition as we risk more and more with Him as we advance through this life.
- Love is not easily angered. God’s nature demonstrates he is slooooooowwww to anger. He understands the journey from fear-based servanthood into faith-filled sonship takes time and that we’ll make mistakes along the way. He is not easily angered by these attempts to grow into a life built on risk-taking. In fact, he supports it.
- Love keeps no record of wrongs. God is not sitting around waiting to thump you when you make mistakes and then hang them over your head every time you meet with Him. He values you and your freedom too much to keep holding your wrongs against you. (Important for me and my fellow perfectionists out there!)
The very nature of God’s heart is to lead us into lives of unrestrained, uninhibited and unfettered freedom. He longs for a people so convinced of His loving care for them that they feel free to be care-less in how they live this life. He died so we might have this kind of freedom. Perhaps this explains the strong anger the master has toward Mr. Play-It-Safe. He is passionate about the freedom He purchased for His people and will not settle for simple servants. He longs for risk-taking, care-free, and care-less partners in this work He is doing on the earth.
Don’t be disheartened if you identify strongly with Mr. Play-It-Safe. The heart of God is big and His incredible grace has already made space for you journey from servanthood to partnership. Perhaps use the next week, or month, to simply meditate on the Goodness of God. Saturate your mind with thoughts on His goodness until you’re convinced of His good care for you. Be so convinced of his care for you that you, too, can begin to live a care-less life!
In the next article we’ll take a closer look at Mr. Care-less…in the meantime, here’s a great starting place for meditating on the Goodness of God.