How many of you have heard the expression “use it or lose it?” This common idiom obviously refers to the phenomenon whereby if you don’t continue to practice or use a skill, you might lose the ability altogether. This phrase can apply to many facets of life. For instance, if you have learned a foreign language, but don’t use it for a long time, there is a good possibility that you will forget it. How many of you took a foreign language in high school? How many of you can still speak the language? That’s what I thought! Use it or lose it!
The phase can also apply to more general cognitive functions. When I was in the eighth and ninth grade, I was pretty good at algebra. But if I ran across an equation now, I would be completely clueless. Likewise, I consider myself to be a pretty good driver (at least above average), but I doubt if I could pass a written driving exam. How about you? Use it or lose it!
You have probably also heard this slogan used to describe vacation policy at work. Many employers have a “use it or lose it” policy which means that once an employee accrues a certain number of vacation days, they must use the vacation time or lose the vacation time.
Another area where this saying unexpectedly pops up is sexual health. Did you know that a recent Finnish study showed that men who had sex at least once a week were half as likely to develop erectile dysfunction as men who had sex less frequently? Well, you know what they say, use it or lose it!
Although most of you are familiar with this phrase in these areas of life, did you know that the concept of “use it or lose it” also applies to our spiritual lives in the kingdom of God? This is the subject of today’s scripture reading from Luke 19:11-27, where Jesus tells his disciples the parable of the ten minas.
Now that Jesus has passed through Jericho, he is rapidly approaching Jerusalem and his ensuing suffering and death on the cross. Since his time on earth was quickly coming to an end, he felt the urgency of preparing his disciples for life and ministry after he was gone. So, he tells this parable to help them understand that the kingdom of God will not be fully revealed when he enters Jerusalem. Instead, he will depart and return to consummate his kingdom at a later time. In the meantime, the disciples are to be about the king’s business!
The King’s Context
To properly understand this parable, we must know the historical context. The Jewish historian Josephus tells us the story of when Herod the Great died in 4 B.C, it was obvious to almost everyone that his son Archelaus would take over his throne in Judea. However, there was only one man in the entire world who had the authority to crown Archelaus as king: Caesar, the Emperor of Rome. Although Archelaus began to rule immediately upon the death of his father, his royal authority had to be officially recognized and ratified by Rome. So Archelaus made the long journey to Rome, where he expected to be crowned as king.
Unfortunately for Archelaus, there was active opposition to his monarchy, and when he arrived in Rome, he discovered that some of his own family members were vying for the throne. Even worse, a delegation of fifty Jewish leaders came all the way from Jerusalem to persuade Caesar that Archelaus was unfit to be king. (This is similar to how the political pundits push how certain presidential candidates aren’t fit to govern our country.)
As it turned out, Caesar gave Archelaus the opportunity to prove that he was worthy to be the king. Not surprisingly, when Archelaus returned to Judea, he executed swift punishment against the men who rebelled against his rule. He went away as a contender, but he returned as king ready to exercise his royal authority.
This famous episode from Israel’s history happened not long after the birth of Jesus Christ. It was still fresh memory thirty years later and since the king’s old winter palace was on the road from Jericho to Jerusalem, it was only natural for Jesus to think about Archelaus, and it seems to form the backdrop for the parable that Jesus tells here about his own kingship. (Ryken 316)
The King’s Departure (12-14)
Jesus introduces his parable by saying that “a man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king.” Before he left, he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas (one for each servant) and told them to put his money to work until he returned. A mina was a form of currency that represented a little more than three-months wages. It wasn’t an enormous sum of money, but it wasn’t chump change either. The servants were commissioned to multiply the master’s money until he returned.
In addition to the servants, there are subjects who hate the ruler and do not want him as king. As the Jews did with Archelaus, the subjects in this parable send a delegation to those making the selection to inform them of their complaint.
As with all of Jesus’ parables, the characters and storyline represents real people and events. In this case, the man of noble birth who becomes the king represents Jesus. The journey to a distant country represents Jesus’ departure from earth after his death, resurrection, and ascension. The servants represent his disciples (both the original disciples and anyone else who follows Jesus). The subjects who rebel against the king’s authority represents the Jews who rejected Jesus as king (and anyone else who has rejected Jesus as king). And the minas and mission to multiply the kingdom represents the resources that Jesus gives his disciples for ministry until he returns to earth.
The first point of this parable is that there is a distinction between servants and subjects in the kingdom of God. Servants are those of us who have willingly bowed to Jesus’ authority over our lives—those of us who have freely submitted to the King’s sovereignty—those of us who have repented from our sins and trusted in Jesus Christ for the salvation of our souls—those of us who desire to serve him out of gratitude for everything that he has done for us.
But there are many people in our world today who are still living as subjects rather than servants in God’s kingdom. These are the people who flat out reject Jesus’ authority over their lives—they refuse to submit to his sovereignty—they either don’t believe in Jesus’ death and resurrection or they don’t think that it is important for them—they insist upon living life on their own terms and forming their own spirituality. They don’t want anyone else telling them how to live their lives.
Actor Brad Pitt recently gave an interesting interview to the German magazine Bild in which he opened up about his spiritual life–or lack thereof.
BILD: Do you believe in God?
Brad Pitt (smiling): “No, no, no!”
BILD: Is your soul spiritual?
Brad Pitt: “No, no, no! I’m probably 20 percent atheist and 80 percent agnostic. I don’t think anyone really knows. You’ll either find out or not when you get there, until then there’s no point thinking about it.
Earlier this year Pitt also opened up about religion when he spoke to Rolling Stone about how he felt “stifled” growing up in a religious community (he was raised Southern Baptist). “It was too much of what you shouldn’t be doing instead of what you could be doing. I get enraged when people start telling other people how to live their lives. It drives me mental.”
How dare anyone tell Brad Pitt how to live his life, even God! How about you? Have you submitted to God’s sovereignty or are you still rebelling against it? Are you a subject or a servant in the kingdom of God?
The second point of this parable is that while Jesus’ servants wait for his return, he wants us to use all of the resources he has given us to expand his kingdom. He wants us to recognize that everything we have is a gift from him and he wants us to invest our time, talent, and treasure in ministry to the people around us. He wants us to be involved in the ministry of the church and to be engaged in our communities. He has called and commissioned every one of us to serve him? Do you sense God calling you to some specific ministry? Will you do it?
The Kings Return (15-27)
As the parable continues, Jesus gives us great incentive to be faithful servants of God’s kingdom. When the nobleman returned as king, he demanded that each of his servants give an accounting of their service while he was gone. The first servant reported a tenfold multiplication of the mina and the king rewarded him with the governorship of ten cities. The second servant reported a fivefold multiplication of the mina and the king rewarded him with the governorship of five cities.
The third servant handed the king his same mina and offered him an excuse and an accusation. His claims that the king was a hard man and reaps what he does not sow were completely unfounded. The king’s treatment of the first two servants shows that he is anything but a hard man. This lack of loyalty shows that this “servant” isn’t really a servant at all. He doesn’t know the king for who he really is and doesn’t have a real relationship with him.
So, the king judged this wicked servant by calling his bluff, “If you knew I was a hard man, why didn’t you deposit it in the bank where it could earn at least a little interest?” You see, this servant was really just lazy and careless.
Then the king told those who stood by to take the man’s mina and give it to the one who had ten. He offers a lesson in spiritual capitalism when he says, “I tell you that everyone who has, will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” Do you see what Jesus is saying here: use it or lose it!
And he concludes with a dramatic declaration of judgment for those subjects who did not submit to his authority. The image of being slaughtered represents spiritual death in hell. This is, indeed, the bitter end for everyone who rejects Jesus—eternal separation from God in hell!
Friends, this parable is showing us that when Jesus returns to the earth, there will be a great day of reckoning and we will all stand before the him and give a report on our service to him. He will look us in the eye and ask the question, “What did you do with what I gave you?” How will you respond?
Will we meet him with reports of faithful and fruitful service? Or will we spit and sputter with excuses and accusations?
Will he reward us for our service or will he discipline us for our carelessness? Will we gain abundantly more than what we already have, or will lose what we’ve already got? The choice is ours: use it or lose it!