As I Knew You

Recently, in direct response to my prayers (as I had no funds left with which to complete my building project) the Lord gave me (through a person, of course) the gift of some stock. Had it come to me as a check, I may have deposited it in the bank without much further thought, but when it’s stock, one has to decide when to sell and when to hold, and so on. This got me thinking about the parable of the talents, and set me to reading and re-reading that passage.

As you know, the parable involves three men and their master, who gave each of them some money to take care of while he was gone. The first two took the money and did stuff with it—trading or some such—and each had doubled their money. The third took his and put it in a hole in the ground. When the master returned, he was pleased with the first two, and angry with the last, going so far as to take away the money he’d been given, and putting it into the hands of one of the others. This morning, something caught my eye.

In a couple translations, the "wicked" servant is quoted as saying to his master, "I knew you as a hard man [emphasis added]." Other translations say he "knew he was" a hard man, but the first phrase struck me as being more likely. What it means is that he had a perception of his master as being a hard man. The master’s response was to ask why he hadn’t acted on that perception. If he reaped where he didn’t sow, why didn’t the servant put the money in the bank, so he could reap where he hadn’t sown, and collect interest? The answer, unfortunately, is that the servant’s perception of his master—as a hard man—made him afraid. In his fear, he cowered and was paralyzed and did nothing at all.

I cannot tell you how true that is.

There are untold thousands of people who believe that God is a "hard man." In their fear, they work and sweat (dig a hole in the ground) and live defensively. They can’t even comprehend "sharing in their master’s happiness," because they don’t perceive their master as being happy. And, well, frankly, He’s not particularly happy with them.

Whatever our perception is, it’s of utmost importance. How we see God, or what we know Him to be, even if incorrect, impacts everything we do. It determines whether we’ll put God’s gifts to work (initiate progress) or whether we’ll do the (defensive) work ourselves. It determines whether we’ll experience the happiness of our master, or whether we’ll live in darkness, with weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Those who "know their God" (and may I add, "as He really is") will be strong and do amazing things. Those who "know Him as a hard man" will live in fear, immobile.

You will live as you know Him.

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