Nougat 21

Psst – hey there; you reading today’s Holy Nougat – what have you been tasked to do by our master?

“The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭25:16, 18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

This is a parable about seed capital. At its most basic, seed capital is about money made available for someone to start a business. It is often used to get things moving (operational) until the business is a viable entity. No matter how agrarian the society to which Jesus spoke was; they knew that there’s a difference between seeds and seed capital.

Hence, as I read this pericope, I couldn’t help but notice that one steward planted the talent in the ground. Now, that would be a good business plan; since we sometimes get gold from the soil. However he was not mining for gold; he was investing it. If his intention was to get returns on his investment; he was in deep trouble!

We also note that there was another steward. And we know that he invested wisely; getting turnaround on his seed capital. Should we assume that they were equally qualified; we’ll quickly realize that something was wrong in paradise! While their competencies might have been similar; their strategies weren’t.

We can spend lots of time thinking about his motives; or unpacking his feelings at being given only one talent. There’s merit in that; in fact, that’s where Jesus took the parable (by sharing the steward’s response to his master). However; I wish to consider momentarily our role in this parable.

What if we received the talent and failed to make the distinction between seed capital and seed? I suspect that there are several of us believers who are trying to get by with either seed or seed capital; investing where we should be planting; or planting when we should be investing! ie we’re trying to fulfill someone else’s purpose.

We can get gold from seeds – when we plant, fertilize and harvest wisely. And with gold, we can get as many seeds as we need; providing we buy rather than plant them! But we ought also ask ourselves; are we called to sow or invest that which has been given to us for this season. There’s one sure way to discern this – ask our master.

I urge us; challenge and encourage us to make some time to sit with our master and get a grasp on what has been set before us. We still have time; it may not be lots of time; but it’s enough for us to maximize our purpose in this season. What have we got seeds, or seed capital?

Selah

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May all we seek be found in Christ