"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
This verse comes right after the parable of the talents. That parable is hard to understand sometimes. Because it is using money as a symbol, it is easy to get caught up in that, and say... well, of course the person who was given more money made more money, and the one who was given almost nothing had to protect it so as not to lose it. Why would the boss (symbolic of God) take away everything just because he didn't double his money? Are we buying our way into heaven now?
But of course, God doesn't do crazy things like allow himself to be bribed, so what is this story really trying to say, and especially this verse? Why would God take away from me if I have nothing? Today I was thinking about that, and what struck me is that it isn't about stuff. It isn't about stuff at all. If I have more stuff than you, God doesn't care at all if I multiply it or divide it or add to it or subtract from it. We only get into that stuff mindset because we're hypersensitive to money and what seems to have value to us... but when God talks about talents in the parable, he isn't talking about money talents or even really the what-we're-good-at talents. He's talking about who we are. And if I come from the premortal life to this life and I stay exactly the way I am, and learn zilch about myself or the world or grow at all, then *that* is rejecting the gift that God has given me. The opportunity that we have to be here on this earth and to learn and to grow and to become so much more than we are. And yeah, maybe we have different opportunities in this life... some 10 some 5, some 1. And maybe we learn different lessons. But the point is that we take what we have and we run with it. We don't sit around moaning about how we got shafted and throw away that gift of life. Even if there's only one thing we can do here, or one lesson to learn, that's what we're here for, and who we have the opportunity and the gift of being able to become. ... And who knows. Maybe the person with one opportunity already learned everything else in the premortal existence and needs to learn less. :) I have no idea how any of that works, but neither does anybody, so we can't assume that if we're disadvantaged here that we were disadvantaged there. All we can say, really, is that it is another obstacle, which is another opportunity to grow and overcome and become better.
And so yeah, whether it is 10 or 1 in the end, God is going to reward us by how we dealt with what we were given in life... not by how many it was. Not by our financial success. Not by our pile of stuff. By who we became. Today, let's stop complaining about where we are. Let's take what we have and run with it. Make it into the best sort of life. Bring happiness to others and ourselves. Be everything that we can possibly be. :) That's the happy ending.
Matthew 25:29
This verse comes right after the parable of the talents. That parable is hard to understand sometimes. Because it is using money as a symbol, it is easy to get caught up in that, and say... well, of course the person who was given more money made more money, and the one who was given almost nothing had to protect it so as not to lose it. Why would the boss (symbolic of God) take away everything just because he didn't double his money? Are we buying our way into heaven now?
But of course, God doesn't do crazy things like allow himself to be bribed, so what is this story really trying to say, and especially this verse? Why would God take away from me if I have nothing? Today I was thinking about that, and what struck me is that it isn't about stuff. It isn't about stuff at all. If I have more stuff than you, God doesn't care at all if I multiply it or divide it or add to it or subtract from it. We only get into that stuff mindset because we're hypersensitive to money and what seems to have value to us... but when God talks about talents in the parable, he isn't talking about money talents or even really the what-we're-good-at talents. He's talking about who we are. And if I come from the premortal life to this life and I stay exactly the way I am, and learn zilch about myself or the world or grow at all, then *that* is rejecting the gift that God has given me. The opportunity that we have to be here on this earth and to learn and to grow and to become so much more than we are. And yeah, maybe we have different opportunities in this life... some 10 some 5, some 1. And maybe we learn different lessons. But the point is that we take what we have and we run with it. We don't sit around moaning about how we got shafted and throw away that gift of life. Even if there's only one thing we can do here, or one lesson to learn, that's what we're here for, and who we have the opportunity and the gift of being able to become. ... And who knows. Maybe the person with one opportunity already learned everything else in the premortal existence and needs to learn less. :) I have no idea how any of that works, but neither does anybody, so we can't assume that if we're disadvantaged here that we were disadvantaged there. All we can say, really, is that it is another obstacle, which is another opportunity to grow and overcome and become better.
And so yeah, whether it is 10 or 1 in the end, God is going to reward us by how we dealt with what we were given in life... not by how many it was. Not by our financial success. Not by our pile of stuff. By who we became. Today, let's stop complaining about where we are. Let's take what we have and run with it. Make it into the best sort of life. Bring happiness to others and ourselves. Be everything that we can possibly be. :) That's the happy ending.
No comments:
Post a Comment