Being Honest About Our Fears

Scripture — Luke 19:12-21 (NSRV)

So he said, “A nobleman went to a distant country to get royal power for himself and then return. He summoned ten of his slaves, and gave them ten pounds,_ _and said to them, ‘Do business with these until I come back.’ But the citizens of his country hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to rule over us.’ When he returned, having received royal power, he ordered these slaves, to whom he had given the money, to be summoned so that he might find out what they had gained by trading. The first came forward and said, ‘Lord, your pound has made ten more pounds.’ He said to him, ‘Well done, good slave! Because you have been trustworthy in a very small thing, take charge of ten cities.’ Then the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your pound has made five pounds.’ He said to him, ‘And you, rule over five cities.’ Then the other came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your pound. I wrapped it up in a piece of cloth, for I was afraid of you, because you are a harsh man; you take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’”

Devotion

Today is the first Monday in the season of Lent. I have written this devotion with the hope that it will help you deepen your relationship with God in this special season of reflection and preparation.

Today’s devotion is based on a familiar parable of Jesus, though Matthew’s version of this “Parable of the Talents” is more well-known (Matt 25:14-30). The basic plot begins with a man who, when he went on a journey, entrusted various amounts of money to his slaves. He told them plainly to “Do business with these until I come back” (Luke 19:13).

When the master returned, he received a report from the slaves about what they had done with his money. Two of the slaves impressed the man with a solid return on his investment. These slaves were rewarded with significant authority in the master’s domain.

But one of the slaves returned to the master only what he had originally given to that slave. The slave explained that he wrapped it up for safekeeping, saying, “I was afraid of you, because you are a harsh man; you take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow” (19:21). The master rebuked the man for not following the directions he had been given. The master took the money from the slave and gave it to one of those who had been faithful.

Luke’s version of this story includes many curious and challenging details that I don’t have time to explore here. But the basic story is clear, as are several implications. I want to focus on one here because it’s something to which I can relate personally. Perhaps you can too.

I’m talking about what held back the third slave from doing what his master had told him to do. Why didn’t he “do business” with what had been entrusted to him? We don’t have to guess at an answer to this question because Jesus has the slave explain his motivation. “I was afraid of you,” he said. Fear held him back. His fear was based on his perception of his master as harsh and exploitative. Whether that was a fair evaluation of the master, we don’t know. What we do know is that fear kept the slave from being faithful to what had been entrusted to him. Fear kept him from doing what his master told him to do.

When I think of my own stewardship of what God has entrusted to me, I know there are times I let fear hold me back from faithful obedience. Sometimes, for example, I sense in my heart that God wants me to reach out to someone in love, but I decline because I’m afraid of how that person might react. Or I remember occasions when I knew that God was calling me to something risky, but I let my fear get the better of me. In my head, I knew that God would be faithful, but my heart was governed by doubts.

All of us have fears, and some of these may be sensible. If, for example, when you’re hiking in the woods, you encounter a grizzly bear, you’re wise to be afraid. But when we allow our fear to get in the way of obeying God, when we’re afraid that God won’t help us, so we fail to heed God’s instruction, then we have allowed fear to keep us from serving God with all that we have and all that we are. Not only does our inaction fail to honor God, but it also keeps us from experiencing the fullness of abundant life in God’s kingdom.

As we follow Jesus through the season of Lent, may God help us see our fears clearly, confess them honestly, and confront them faithfully. May we be set free from all that keeps us from living each day under God’s gracious reign. Remember these words from 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.”

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: Risk: The Parable of the Ten Minas (Luke 19:11-27).