#occupytilicome

I had a full couple of days of meetings and lunches.  Conversations ranged from personal stuff to the Occupy movement and other current events to church divisions over the view of Bible.  And one friend said something like… Ya’ know?  I can’t be worried about all that.  I just need to be obedient to what the Lord asks me to do.  I just need to do what the Bible says.

So…it got me thinking, what does the Bible say about Occupy?  I did a quick word search in the King James Version on Biblegateway.com…and it led me to the parable that Jesus told about the 10 Minas, in Luke 19.  A businessman had to leave and gave each of his 3 servants 10 minas and said

‘Occupy till I come.’ (KJV), which the NLT translates as ‘Invest this for me while I am gone.’ and the NIV states ‘Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back.’ (Luke 19:13)

After becoming king, he returns, and this is what he finds…

1. One servant had doubled his money….and he was given 10 cities to manage.
2. The second servant increased by 50%…and he was given 5 cities to manage.
3. Then, there was the third servant, who had basically hid his minas under the mattress.  It didn’t even gain interest.  The king then took all his minas and gave them to the first.

In vs. 26, Jesus goes on to say

‘…and to those who use well what they are given, even more will be given. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.

Whether we think that is fair or not, it’s the way Jesus told it.  We may think…but at least he didn’t LOSE any of his minas by playing the stock market.  But, nope…that is not the way it goes.

So…back to my friend today.  She is choosing to invest ALL her minas everyday in any way that she can.  In this day when you can’t pause for a second without hearing or reading something about occupy this or that.  I am challenged by ‘Occupy till I come.’  Til Jesus returns, I need to put my money, my life, my time, my talents, my gifts, my everything.  I pray that the Lord will reveal what I am holding back….what I am putting under the mattress…what I am afraid to put out there.

What about you?  What are you holding back? What are you not using fully for the Lord til he returns? Join me in the discussion here, on FB or by tweeting… #occupytilicome.