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What You See is What You Get
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January 29, 2006
Rev. Rich Knight
Matthew 14-30
In December, we looked at the second coming of Christ, when the Kingdom of God comes to this
earth.
We said one of the reasons for believing in this doctrine is that it’s mentioned
so many times in the New Testament and not just in the Book of Revelation. (over 300 times
in the New Testament)
Matthew 24 and 25 are two long chapters devoted to the second coming
but what’s interesting is that Jesus’ point in these teachings is not simply for
us to believe that one day the Kingdom of God will come in all it’s fullness and
glory.
His point is how we should live now if we believe that, if we believe that there
really is a Heaven and an eternal Kingdom where God reigns. - how then shall we
live?
If you’ve been in church for a while you’ve undoubtedly heard a number of sermons
on this passage.
In Jesus’ parable, a Master is preparing to go on a trip.
He calls his three servants together, and he gives them each different amounts of
talents (money) - one gets five, one gets two, and one gets one.
Now we’re never told why they don’t all get the same number of talents, but we
know that it’s a fact of life.
You may know that Wendell (our Director of Music Ministries) and Mozart
share the same birthday.
That’s like if Bill Belichick & I shared the same birthday.
Remember the movie, Amadeus about the composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart?
One of the storylines in the movie is the relationship between Mozart and Salieri.
Mozart had all the talent in the world, and Salieri had just a fraction in
comparison.
And he wondered why God didn’t give him more talent like he gave Mozart. -
I know just how he felt after working with Wendell!
In the parable, the three servants received three different amounts of talent.
A talent back then was worth a very large sum of money. One talent =
fifteen years of wages.
They each received plenty but different amounts.
One truth of the story is that God is not so much interested in how much talent
we have, as he is interested in what we do with the talents God gave us!
I remember a woman in Pennsylvania who didn’t go to church much, but, she loved
to watch Billy Graham.
One day when I visited her, she said to me: “I’ll visit your church and if you
can preach like Billy Graham, I’ll come back.” - I was 22 years old.
But of course I can’t preach like Billy Graham.
I can’t counsel like Dr. Phil.
I can’t administrate like Jack Welsh.
I can’t lead like a Swartzkoff or an Eisenhower.
But God is not calling me to be somebody else.
God is calling me to be me, and you to be you.
And God is not going to judge us on the quality of our abilities (because that's
his doing), God is interested in the quality of our efforts.
It’s the servant who does nothing who gets punished.
Another truth taught in this passage is that there will be an accounting of
what we’ve done with what we’ve been given.
When the Master returns and comes face to face with the servants, he wants to
know what they've done with the talents they’ve been given.
The Master in the story of course represents Christ himself, and so Jesus is
teaching that one day we will come face to face with him and with the question,
“What did we do with what God gave us?”
This is not a biblical doctrine that we talk about a lot.
It seems to run contrary to grace.
And yet it’s clearly taught in the Bible.
The next verses in Matthew 25 tell the parable of the sheep and the goats, where the
Messiah puts the sheep on his right and rewards them, and puts the goats on his
left and punishes them.
What is the difference between the sheep and the goats?
- what they did for the poor! “I was hungry and you gave me something to eat.
I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless and you took care of me.”
Our deeds matter on that final Day.
Romans 14:10, 12 - “We will all stand before the judgment seat of God, and each
of us will be accountable to God.”
This is one of the themes of Rick Warren’s book, The Purpose Driven Life.
“Every act of our lives strikes some chord that will vibrate in eternity.”
Warren says, God is noticing our faithfulness and plans to reward us for it
in eternity.
James 1:12 - “Blessed is anyone who endures temptation. Such a one has stood the
test and will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who
love him.”
Warren says “At the end of your life on earth you will be evaluated and rewarded
according to how well you handled what God entrusted to you.”
I wish that wasn’t the case, don’t you?
But it’s clear in this parable - the Master comes back and wants to know -
“What have you done with what I entrusted to you.”
The one servant is called “wicked and lazy” and he is punished.
But the other two took what they had been given and put it to use for the Master.
At the Master’s returning, they are commended and rewarded - “Well done, good and
faithful servants. Enter into the joy of your Master.” In Matthew 16:27 it says
"For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will
repay everyone for what has been done."
Well, those are the primary teachings of this passage:
1. We each have different gifts and talents. God is interested in the quality of
our efforts, not the quantity of our talents.
2. We will have to give an account someday for what we did with what God gave us.
That’s probably enough for one day, but I’m a preacher and we never know when to
stop.
3. So let me share with you another truth found in this passage, that is not a
traditional teaching from it.
The truth is this: What You See is What You Get.
What you see spiritually is often what you get spiritually.
One of the hard parts of the parable is the harshness of the Master towards the
lazy servant who did nothing with his talent.
But if you think about this principle - what you see is what you get - it begins
to make sense.
It says in verse 24 - Then the one who received one talent also came forward, saying, “Master,
I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not scatter seed, so I was
afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here it is.’ But his Master
replied, “You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I
did not scatter? Then give me that coin back.”
“If that’s what you thought of me, then that’s how I’ll be for you.”
What you see is what you get.
“You knew that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter?”
- that’s what you thought of me
Jesus is teaching us that what we see is what we get.
How we envision God usually determines how we experience God.
If we envision a harsh, punishing, vindictive God, then that’s how God will be for
us. - and so when something bad happens we see it as punishment from God.
If we envision a distant, uninvolved God, then that’s likely to determine our
experience of God - distant and uninvolved. - What you see is what you get.
If you envision a God who cares for you, who loves you, who walks by your side,
who speaks to you in many and various ways - through creation, through music,
through the scriptures, through friends.
If you can envision a God who loves you, you will see signs of his love.
This is why theology matters.
This is why our doctrines matter.
This is why we study the scriptures to get the clearest picture we can get of God.
And this is why God came to us in Jesus - to show us the face of God.
What is God like? - God is like Jesus. Thank God.
What you see is what you get.
It’s true not just spiritually but also emotionally.
I remember the first wedding I ever performed. It was over 20 years ago.
I found out then and there that wedding receptions are not very relaxing for
ministers (which is one of the reasons why I seldom ever go - the other reason
is time).
But the reason why the receptions are not relaxing is that the family usually
sits the minister with their family member who is most involved in their church.
Well, at my first wedding reception as a minister, the Family Member Most
Involved in Her Church sitting next to me said, “Where did you go to seminary?”
“Princeton,” I replied.
“A lot of nuts come out of Princeton Seminary,” she said.
Then she told me about her Pastor in Ohio - the nutcase.
Someone mentioned Doctors - “My doctor is an idiot,” she interjected.
The subject of Dentists came up - “My dentist is cruel,” she said.
We talked about our Neighbors - “My next door neighbor is the most selfish person
in the world.”
On and on this went - it was the longest wedding reception I’ve ever attended.
I eventually came this close to saying, “Mame, the problem in your life is not
your Pastor, your Doctor, your Dentist, or your Neighbor. The problem in your
life is you!”
“You’ve got to change your focus, your perspective.”
What you see is what you get.
If we go around thinking the worst of other people and judging them without
mercy or grace, we can find fault everywhere and see a pretty miserable world.
What you see is what you get.
Philippians 4 - “Beloved, whatever is true; whatever is honorable; whatever is just;
whatever is pure; whatever is pleasing; whatever is commendable; if there is
any excellence, and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these
things!”
In the Children’s Message a few weeks ago, I showed the Dot on the piece of paper. “What
is this?” - dot? - paper!
You can spend this week focused on what’s wrong with life, or you can look for
what is good, for what is right, for what is beautiful, for what is of God.
Tony Campolo says “Jesus never saw a Prostitute.”
Teaching at the University of Pennsylvania he mentioned Jesus and how he hung out with anyone and
everyone, and how the church has had trouble living up to that.
And he mentioned that Jesus even ministered to Prostitutes.
A Jewish student raised his hand and said, “Jesus never saw a Prostitute.”
Tony - “Yes he did. Sinful woman brought to him.”
“Jesus never saw a prostitute, because when he looked at a woman involved in
prostitution, he didn’t see a prostitute, he saw a child of God.”
This week, may you have the eyes of faith
to see life as God sees it
to see others as God sees them
and to see yourself as God sees you as a child of God.
Think about it.
Let’s pray.
Lord Jesus,
Give us your vision for our lives. Make our faith a way of seeing life as
you see it - from Heaven’s perspective. Thank you for the promise of your
return - that one day your justice and peace will reign upon this earth.
Help us to prepare for that day by using the talents you’ve given to us -
in different ways, according to our gifts, but in harmony with one another
and with you, the Author of Life, the Lord of the Kingdom. In your name.
Amen
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