Defiant Slave

There comes a time when you have to decide for yourself.

As they were listening to this, he went on to tell a parable, because he was near Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. 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.' He said to him,'I will judge you by your own words, you wicked slave! You knew, did you, that I was a harsh man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? Why then did you not put my money into the bank? Then when I returned, I could have collected it with interest.' He said to the bystanders,'Take the pound from him and give it to the one who has ten pounds.' (And they said to him,'Lord, he has ten pounds!') 'I tell you, to all those who have, more will be given; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them--bring them here and slaughter them in my presence.'" - Luke 19:11-27

The three slaves found themselves in a bit of a mess.

They belong to a powerful man who has no qualms about killing off his enemies, so they find they have little choice but to do as he says.

And yet one defied him.

What this one did denied the owner a return on his investment, which was worse than not trying to raise more money with it.

It was as if he was telling his master, here, you get back what you give and no more.

So, who is in a position of power here?

The master sought power and yet it was the slave who demonstrated power over him.

Many interpretations of this parable say that this is about putting God's grace to work and gaining a return on it, but I think Jesus is teaching something different here.

He may be showing us that we can stand up to power in a small way and make a big impact.

Of course, I cannot know for sure what the message truly is, and that may be ok.

In the end, we do what we believe is right and we live with our consequences.

Sometimes we find ourselves a bit defiant.

More to come...