A Parable for the President

Recall that parables were a teaching method used extensively by Jesus to teach His disciples more about the kingdom of heaven. Recall also that President Obama recently invoked a parable to bolster his argument relative to wealth redistribution via a progressive tax system. He quoted from the parable of the faithful servant.

“…For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required…” Luke 12:48b

He was challenged by many for quoting that passage because that parable had nothing to do with money. That specific parable taught that much more is required of a servant who has knowledge of his master’s will than one without such knowledge. The faithful servant would be a good steward of such knowledge even during his master’s absence. The Master in this parable is Jesus and the faithful servants are His disciples.

There is, however, a great parable in Matthew’s gospel that does compare stewardship of the knowledge of spiritual things with the redistribution of wealth. In fact the wording states that the stewardship of such knowledge is like the stewardship of money. The parable to be examined is known as the Parable of the Talents.

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey.” Matthew 25:14-15

The Greek base for ‘like’ means a comparison, more specifically described as ‘just as’, ‘wholly as’, or ‘exactly as’.

A ‘talent’ is a unit of measure. In this parable a talent refers to a significant amount of money. The parable describes how servants, entrusted with differing amounts of their masters assets, use and grow such assets during his absence, or during the present ‘church’ age. The parable ends with the master’s return and the required accounting of the assets entrusted to each servant.

“Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money. After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.” Matthew 25:16-19

The first two servants, although originally given different amounts of the master’s assets, both exercised faithful stewardship and doubled that which was entrusted to them.

The master’s response to both of them:

“…Well done, good and faithful servant(s); you were (have been) faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things...” Matthew 25:21, 23

Now the third servant did not invest the assets entrusted to him, in fact he hid those assets. In financial terms, he took them out of circulation. He attempted to justify his actions by even questioning his master’s motives.

Upon the master’s return he confronted that servant about his slothfulness. The master told his servant that even if he questioned his motives and didn’t want to take a risk, he should have entrusted the assets to his banker and at least earn interest.

“So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest.” Matthew 25:27

The major thrust of this parable is that spiritual insights given by Jesus to His servants must be circulated in order to grow in the same manner as capital productivity.

Jesus went on to say:

“So take the talent from him (the unproductive servant), and give it to him who has ten talents.” Matthew 25:28

Perhaps our president who likes to justify his political agenda with scripture will promote his redistribution position by borrowing the following quote from Jesus.

“For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.” Matthew 25:29

Granted, the above words of Jesus may not reflect President Obama’s position exactly, but at least the parable quoted does address the redistribution of wealth issue.

Funding the Forbidden

Shortly after the demise of the Ottoman Empire after World War I, about the time the Muslim Brotherhood was founded, a pious Muslim saw a need to establish an economic system to fund a resurgence of the Islamic Caliphate. The product of his vision grew rapidly during the 1970s with the high price of oil from the Middle East.

Shortly thereafter, Saudi Arabia began funding numerous mosques, Islamic centers, Islamic colleges, and Islamic schools in non-Muslim countries around the world. Such funding was subsequently managed by new Islamic Banks, i.e. the Islamic Bank of Dubai for example. It is estimated that the number of such banks now exceeds 400 in 75 countries. Islamic banks deal in what is termed ‘Shariah-Compliant Finance’.

Shariah-Compliant Finance (SCF) offers financial instruments that avoid interest and risk, do not deal in illegal Muslim activities such as pork or alcohol, and provide for obligatory tithing (zakat) on the profits generated from such investments. If any SCF instrument is subsequently found to be ‘impure’, i.e. involved in any ‘illegal’ activity, the assets must be liquidated and distributed to a charitable entity designated by a ‘Shariah Advisor’. The process is known as purification. Thus the funds generated by zakat and purification are given to Muslim charities such as the Holy Land Foundation headquartered in Texas.

The ‘designated charities’ chosen by ‘designated advisors’ presents a problem. The Holy Land Foundation has since been shut down by the FBI for funding such terrorist organizations as Hamas.

There are in addition several domestic financial institutions that offer Shariah-Compliant Financial instruments including Barclays, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Citibank, and Goldman Sachs.

It is estimated that there are between $800 billion to $1 trillion Sharia-compliant assets being managed today and the growth rate is estimated to be between 10-15% annually.

During President Obama’s ‘new beginning’ speech in Cairo in 2009 he stated that he would make it easier for American Muslims to fulfill their zakat responsibility. Subsequently, in 2010 he appointed a Shariah-Compliant Finance Advisor. Thus, president Obama is helping to ensure that American Muslims are enjoying their First Amendment rights of religious freedom.

Now consider the present situation relative to governmental mandates concerning the availability of contraceptive services for women. Many interpret the mandates as an assault on religious freedom for Christians. President Obama said that because of his Christianity he endorsed the mandates.

There is an interesting example of birth control cited in the Old Testament. Judah’s firstborn son named Er married a woman named Tamar. Er was killed and according to Jewish law Er’s younger brother Onan was to marry Tamar and father a son with her so as to provide an heir to Judah’s firstborn.

“And Judah said to Onan, ‘Go in to your brother’s wife and marry her, and raise up an heir to your brother.’ But Onan knew that the heir would not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in to his brother’s wife, that he emitted on the ground… And the thing which he did displeased the LORD; therefore He killed him…” Genesis 38:8-10

There is little question how God felt about Onan’s attempt to prevent Tamar’s conception.

The story continues with deceit which resulted in incest, i.e. Tamar was found with child from Judah, her father-in-law. By today’s standards, that would be total justification for a government funded abortion. However, Tamar gave birth and the boy child was called Perez. Why is this relevant?

“The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ…the Son of Abraham: Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah…Judah begot Perez...by Tamar…” Matthew 1:1-3

God had a plan for the human chain for the Messiah and man’s attempts to play God could not thwart that plan.

Many believe that the current mandates supported by the president relative to reproductive services are in essence attempts to usurp God’s sovereignty and prerogatives.

In view of the current controversy regarding these mandates for faith based organizations along with the president’s assistance to Muslims to fulfill zakat, many Christians are confused. Their question is: why is the president more zealous for the constitutional freedoms for religions other than his own?

Forgetting can be Deadly

There are countless lessons in the Bible that can be used as barometers to gauge how we are doing in the present age. Remember the New Testament Apostle Paul stated the experiences of Israel, especially from the time of their redemption from Egypt to their possession of the Promised Land, ‘all happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition…’

At end of the 40 year journey after the Exodus Moses summarized Israel’s experiences and lessons learned during those 40 years.

“Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes…lest – when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them...and your silver and your gold are multiplied…when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage…” Deuteronomy 8:11-13

One of the primary lessons in the above scripture passage is a warning not to forget ‘the LORD your God’ because it is He who delivered Israel from bondage and promised them great blessings. The meaning of ‘forget’ translated from Hebrew means much more than just a ‘slip of the mind.’ Rather it means to be oblivious of/to, from want of attention. Perhaps the most descriptive synonym is neglect. It is a conscious setting aside.

Also in the above passage the term ‘lifted up’ means self exaltation, haughty, lofty, or presumptuous.

Moses reminded the Israelites that God had tested them in the wilderness by making them humble so they would realize that God was the source of their good fortune. In other words, God provided; the Israelites had not achieved.

“...The LORD your God…who fed you in the wilderness with manna…that He might humble you and that He might test you... then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’” Deuteronomy 8:16-17

One of the major political issues today is the right of the individual to pursue and achieve the ‘American dream’. Each of the major political parties offers their ideas on how best to gain personal status so as to be able to obtain grand material possessions. However, can status or wealth be obtained exclusively by personal efforts and/or by governmental assistance?

“And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth…Then it shall be, if you by any means forget the LORD your God, and follow other gods…I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish.” Deuteronomy 8:18-20

Half a millennium later this lesson was reaffirmed in the wisdom book of Proverbs.

“Every word of God is pure…Do not add to His words, lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar…Feed me with the food allotted to me; lest I be full and deny You, and say, ‘Who is the LORD’?” Proverbs 30:5-9

Many compare the redemption of the Israelites from the bondage of slavery in Egypt with the American experience of independence from the political and religious bondage in England. That being the case, how is America doing in light of forgetting God?

During the recent State of the Union address President Obama used the singular personal pronouns ‘I’ and ‘my’ more than 100 times and used the terms ‘we’ and ‘our’ more than 150 times.

Two of his more notable statements were, “Tonight, I want to speak about how we move forward and lay out a blueprint for an economy that’s built to last…” Further in the address he stated, “I’m a Democrat. But I believe what Republican Abraham Lincoln believed, that government should do for people only what they cannot do better by themselves…”

Now it should be mentioned that President Obama did refer to God in his address. At the end of the speech he closed with these words, “Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America.” Invoking God to bless a forgetful nation seems a bit hypocritical. Many are thinking the president’s closing words were but a political token and was far too little too late.

Preach on Brother Barack!

It was refreshing to hear our president make Biblical references on the recent National Day of Prayer. President Obama specifically made reference to the Parable of the Faithful Steward.

There is little question the president was referring to taking money from the ‘haves’ and giving it to the ‘have-nots’ i.e. redistribution of wealth.

From his own words:

“And when I talk about shared responsibility, it’s because I genuinely believe that in a time when many folks are struggling, at a time when we have enormous deficits, it’s hard for me to ask seniors on a fixed income, or young people with student loans, or middle-class families who can barely pay the bills to shoulder the burden alone. And I think to myself, if I’m willing to give something up as somebody who’s been extraordinarily blessed, and give up some of the tax breaks that I enjoy, I actually think that’s going to make economic sense.”

Then he added, “But for me as a Christian, it also coincides with Jesus’ teaching that ‘…For unto whom much is given, much shall be required.’” Luke 12:48b

Even though he may have meant well, his speech writers should have alerted him that his fiscal ideology doesn’t ‘coincide’ with Jesus’ teaching quoted i.e. the Parable of the Faithful Steward has nothing to do with money.

The key to understanding the intended meaning of the passage he quoted is to examine the very first word, i.e. ‘for’.

The Greek base defining ‘for’ is a causative particle following a statement and expresses and/or affirms and explains what has just been stated. A good example is:

“…Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 1:20b

In the above passage the fact that Mary had conceived a Child by the Holy Spirit was the explanation why Joseph should not to be afraid to take her as his wife.

Now let’s examine the specific parable which the President quoted in order to get the actual context.

“And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required…” Luke 12:47-48

Jesus was explaining that once a steward knew of his master’s will but willfully disregarded it during his master’s absence, that steward would be punished severely upon his master’s return. But if a servant/steward did things deserving of punishment without realizing his error, i.e. not knowing his master’s will, his punishment would be less severe. The ‘much is given’ in the teaching is the extent of the master’s will that had been known by and entrusted to the steward. The ‘much will be required’ is the stewardship of the knowledge of his master’s will.

Parables were a significant part of Jesus’ teachings and were used to illustrate and explain the kingdom of heaven. In the present parable of the faithful steward, Jesus is the Master. Matthew records an example of Jesus presenting a parable and then provides an answer as to why He used parables in His teaching.

“Then He (Jesus) spoke many things to them in parables…” Matthew 13:3

“And the disciples came and said to Him, ‘Why do You speak to them in parables?’ He answered and said to them, ‘Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given…Therefore I speak to them in parables…And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive. For the hearts of this people have grown dull.’” Matthew 13:11-15a

Notice the last sentence in the above; it begins with ‘for’ which explains the preceding thoughts.

Thus according to Jesus, His disciples would understand and be enlightened by His parables but those who were not His disciples would not understand them.