And he called him lazy. He said: “you knew that I reaped where I haven't sown, and gather where I haven't scattered. You should have deposited the money in the bank at my coming, and I would have received interest. So he took from him, for everyone who has more will be given, he will have abundance. He who does not have, he will take away what he has, so he cast the unprofitable servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth”.
Principle #1 is Quality. What is the kind of motivation in our work?
Principle #2 is Potential.
Now there's another parable that looks the same; but it is not – there’s a vital difference. It's the Parable of the Pounds (Minas), in Luke 19:11 – “Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately. Therefore He said: A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return”. That’s: Jesus has gone to heaven, has received His kingdom, and will return.
“He called 10 of His servants, delivered to them 10 pounds, and He said to them: do business (or trade), until I come.”Here that there are 10 servants, and 10 pounds, so everyone gets one each. So this time, all have an equal opportunity. One of them, with his one pound - he has 10 - he produced 10 from the one; and another one produces five from the one; and another one doesn't do anything - like in the first parable - he just buries it, and hides it.
So notice what the master says, when He comes back, in Luke 19:15 – “wanting to find out how much everyone had gained by trading, he came and said: well Lord, Your pound...” - notice he said: Your pound. It belongs to You, it's an entrustment - it's earned 10. Wow! And He says: “well done, you good servant. Because you were faithful over little, have authority over 10 cities”. The second came and said: “master, your pound has earned five”. Wow! Likewise, be over five cities.
Now notice the difference here: they both had an equal start, but one was far more productive than the other. The one who was more productive received a greater reward. Notice the nature of the reward - it isn't clear, all we know is that it has to do with the responsibility of governance in the kingdom; and it's in proportion to how productive he was - in this life. Think about that - How productive are you?
So he was faithful. To be faithful is to be productive. An opportunity in the eternal kingdom was given to each of the two that were productive - the other one lost the opportunity.
So we get down to the last one; and you think: well man, I didn't get to be a Christian until I was very old - sort of been around a few years, you know, and wasted a lot of my life. You feel: man, I've wasted my opportunities; or: my circumstances have not enabled me to do what I really wanted to do. Many people find themselves in that, and they feel a lot of grief over that.
This will help you then, in Matthew, 20:1, there's another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner, who went out in the morning to hire labourers for his vineyard. When he agreed with the labourers for a denarius a day, he sent them to his vineyard. When he went out the third hour he saw some others, and he said you go out into the vineyard and whatever is right I will give you. Again he went the sixth and ninth hour, and about the eleventh hour he found some still standing idle. He said why are you standing idle here, and they said no one's hired us. He said okay, go to the vineyard and whatever's right, you will receive it.”
“So when the evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said the steward: call the labourers and bring them their wages, beginning from the last to the first. And those who were hired about the eleventh hour, they got one denarius”. Then the others came - the first came, and they thought: I should get more.
What happened was, they got the same - so they complained against the landowner, saying: “these last have only worked one hour, but you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day”. He answered and said: “Friend, I'm not doing you wrong. Didn't you agree for one? I'm giving you what's just”.