Did Jesus Teach Risk-Avoidance?
I think it’s incredibly unfortunate that we do not call The Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25: 14-28) what it really is: The Parable of the Dollar Bills. Talents were just a unit of money! Jesus wasn’t making an analogy about singing or playing the guitar! He was making an analogy to investing.
Yes, it was a spiritual analogy but we miss the point. All of Jesus’ parables reflected the TRUTH of the natural. In this parable Jesus is teaching us two things: what he believed to be a very obvious truth about the natural, along with implications that could be drawn from it about the supernatural.
One guy was given $5,000, another $2,000 and the third started with only $1,000. In the parable, Jesus tells us the first two PUT THEIR MONEY TO WORK for them and doubled their money. Notice they didn’t work for money, as most of us do. They did what the rich do: they “put the money to work” for them. Indeed, this is the very definition of the poor/middle class versus the rich. The poor/middle class work for money; the rich “put the money to work” for them.
Jesus said, “You can’t serve two masters.” Which person is on top of the master-servant relationship with money: the one who works for money…or the one who has money working for him? Think about it! I know your mind works just like mine and you want to quickly pour out all the teaching you’ve heard in church. But set that aside and just think honestly about it.
It is clearly implied that the men in the parable who earn the commendation of their master had to take some risks to double their money. Because the third guy comes flat out and says, “I was afraid to take risks so I just hid the money.” He’s clearly drawing a contrast to himself and the other two investors. Reading between the lines he says, “I saw those two other guys taking risks with their money and it scared me to death. What if they risk and lose? What would be the consequences? They might be dire! I wasn’t willing to risk it so I played it totally safe.”
Does Jesus say playing it safe is the spiritual path? NO! He says it’s lazy! He actually says playing it safe is “wicked.” He calls the guy worthless. Worthless! Wow. That’s pretty wild, isn’t it? The parable even says settling for putting your money in a bank to earn a little bit of interest is just that: settling. It’s okay, but it doesn’t earn a whole lot of commendation.
Jesus was impressed, not with the cautious risk-avoidance guy—he was impressed with the risk-takers. He was pleased with those who “put their money to work” and doubled it. He wasn’t impressed with the “barely getting by guy.” He clearly thought that mindset was “wicked, lazy and worthless.” His words, not mine! Ouch! I don’t know about you, but that’s not what I’ve been taught in church for the last 30 years. I was taught that the love of money is the root of evil. True enough. But it doesn’t follow that people who are working for money love it any less than people who put money to work for them.
My recent trip to Mozambique (with Food for the Hungry) changed me forever. There, I came face to face with raw poverty once again. I had seen it in Lima, Peru. In the garbage city outside Cairo, Egypt. I’ve seen as bad as it gets, believe me. In other places around the world. Remember, folks, I’m the girl who went to school in Camden, New Jersey and lived in West Philly. So there’s no need to tell me about poverty in America. I get it. I was in Biloxi, Mississippi BEFORE Katrina and wept over what I saw in some areas. But this trip to Mozambique was different. This time I saw poverty for what it was: an evil from the pit of hell. I came back a different woman.
Shortly after my return, a personal trainer I had worked with while preparing for my marathon contacted me about a brand new direct marketing company he was getting involved with called efusjon. It was a ground floor situation and, although there were no guarantees, he thought it was worth taking a shot at it. I shared that inside information with those of you in my circle of influence. No one took me up on it 
Lots of people absolutely HATE network marketing. I used to be one of them and I still hate one-on-one selling. But in this economy, a lot of sharp, hard-working people are out of work or need extra income. I predict that will raise the caliber of people entering into the direct/network marketing industry. I mean, come on, Amway is advertising on TELEVISION and calling themselves Amway instead of “this business”! It’s a new day! I also believe the internet will revolutionize the industry in dramatic ways (efusjon is at the cutting edge of that change). As a result, the image may very well become more positive.
In any event, I like Richard (the trainer guy) because he’s smart, hard-working and he gave me a chicken that lays an egg every day without fail. So anyway, I decided to take the risk and sign up. I decided to put my new understanding of The Parable of the Dollar Bills to the test and see if “putting my money to work for me” might yield better results than hiding it the freezer or putting it in the bank for .0002% interest.
My first month, I earned almost enough to pay my mortgage. I just found out that I’ve already earned enough in April to pay my mortgage and my electric bill. You have no idea what an answer to prayer that is. No idea!
I cannot and absolutely, positively will not promise anyone else the same results. Repeat: I’m not promising anyone anything because I can’t predict the future. It’s a relatively new company trying a radically new approach—it may work, it may bomb. Who knows?
It’s a risk.
I’m not trying to “sell” you anything. I’ve already met my quota and am making money in efusjon. If you join or don’t join, it won’t make much difference to me. Well, okay, $5 a month. But if you think I’ve written all of this for $5 a month, you don’t know me very well.
I’m trying to get you to think differently. To recognize that a LOT of our “sacred cows” need to be sacrificed on the altar if we are going to make it through these tough economic times. Chief among them is the false belief that working for money is somehow more spiritual that putting money to work for you.
In the Parable of the Dollar Bills, Jesus commended those who “put their money to work” and doubled it. He condemned the wicked, lazy, worthless guy who refused to take any risk whatsoever.
If you’d like to learn about the two businesses I have personally “risked” investing in, email me: donna@donnapartow.com
I’d encourage you to prayerfully consider “putting your money to work” in one of these businesses and seeing if you can’t double your money and earn the high praise of your Master: “’Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness” Matthew 25:23
If not one of these, a side business of your choosing. Now I need to stop writing blog posts and go finish writing Making Money From Home. It is due to the publisher on May 1st. I better get cracking!!!
