Christians in the developed world usually forget that so many of the
parables of Jesus deal with money. The usual suspects for our parish
theological discussions are topics like church structure, or sex, or
the general matters of biblical authority. We tend to consider what
Jesus said about money only during stewardship or fund-raising times.
However,
during these last two months of global financial anxiety, suddenly the
way Jesus talks about money has some striking application. "You cannot
serve God and Mammon" has become self-evident. The parable of the
"unjust steward" who "made friends for himself with unrighteous mammon"
also makes a lot of sense when assets in our own time have been
de-valued (Luke 16:1-13).
It is the parable of the talents that
I am fascinated with today. Again, during usual economic times,
Christians tend to interpret that parable figuratively, so that
"talents" are our God-given gifts and abilities. The lesson is that we
are to use those for greater glory and the kingdom of heaven.
But
what if the parable of the talents is really about literal finance and
economics, after all? I think it is. We all remember the story. A
wealthy master went on a long journey and left one asset manager with
five talents, another asset manager with two talents, and a third asset
manager with one talent. When he returned, the manager with five
talents had traded and made five more. The manager with two talents had
traded and made two more. The timid and fearful third manager, with one
talent, said, "I knew you to be a harsh man, reaping where you did not
sow; so I was afraid and I went and hid your talent in the ground.
Here, you have what is yours." (Matthew 25:14-30).
Today, maybe
the first thing to admit is that if this scenario had been played out
in the last six months of the United States, the manager who hid his
talent in the ground would probably be the only one ahead right now!
But
the power of this Jesus story is that the managers traded; they engaged
others. They risked relationship and trust. According to my meager
financial expertise, one of the primary problems in our time is that
banks and businesses are too scared to offer loans, not confident
enough to trade. With no credit and no trust, economic transaction is
paralyzed.
This parable of Jesus is about overcoming fear and
taking the risk to grow and to invest. Jesus is talking about the
kingdom of heaven, but he is also talking about building up the economy
in general! In fact, the word for "economy" in the Greek Bible means
the management of a household; it means "stewardship!" Our economy
should be the way we manage our cultural and political and financial
household.
The key word in Jesus' parable is "trade." The asset
managers had the courage to go out and trade with what had been
entrusted to them. They took risks. They engaged in relationships. Good
business, and good economy, is always about good relationships, not
about money, or the "mammon god." Good economy is always about trusting
relationships. In Jesus' parable, the asset manager who loses out is
the one who was afraid, so afraid that he was unable to take the risk
of economic relationship.
In the uncertain situation of our
present time, Jesus' parable reminds us to engage in relationships -
not just our domestic or familial or friendly relationships"”but our
business and financial relationships, too. Maybe especially our
financial relationships! This is not the time to hide our talent in the
ground. This is the time to use whatever we have, no matter how great
or small, to build up trusting and trading relationships. Jesus said
this would be like the kingdom of heaven.
Sam Candler
2 December 2008
Sam Candler is Dean of the Cathedral of St. Philip in Atlanta, Georgia. Contact him at scandler@stphilipscathedral.org.