The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Luke 19:26-27 (ESV)  “‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.’”

Jesus told a story of a “nobleman” (who represented himself) and his interactions with three distinct groups. In reality, there were only two groups in the beginning of the story: his servants and the people of the kingdom he was to receive. To the each of his servants he gave a large amount of money to invest while he was gone. Unlike a similar sounding parable in Matthew, each of these servants received the same amount of money.

When the nobleman returned, he found some of his servants had invested wisely, and at least one had not invested at all. Each servant received a proportionate share of the new kingdom based on the fruitfulness of his investment. The servant who did not invest his mina had it taken away and given to the one who had the most. The bystanders noted how unfair this was, but Jesus made a clear point: “To everyone who has, more will be given.” This may seem unfair from one perspective, but a good investor will quickly see this as wisdom. Isn’t a portfolio stronger if it has more invested in higher yielding companies?

Jesus’ point is clear. At the outset, there are two types of people: those who are his servants and those who are not. Yet, as the story rolls, we see that first group split into those who faithfully use what their Master has given them to make a difference and those who do nothing. Note that the nobleman does not kill or disown the hoarder. Even though he did nothing with his master’s money, he remained a servant. He simply lost his reward.

In the end, there are three types of people (with all due credit to Sergio Leone): 1) The Good – Jesus’ servants who faithfully use the talents and opportunities he has entrusted to them to make an impact on the world; 2) The Bad – Those who reject Jesus as King as face eternity apart from him (see verse 27); and 3) The Ugly – Jesus’ servants who could and should be part of The Good but waste their gifts and opportunities on selfishness and indifference. Which are you?