Unrealistic Expectations
“So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ _Matthew 25:20
You may not be aware of this, but 92% of professional fund managers fail to beat the Market. That’s right, (you’re quick), there’s a 92% chance that your retirement fund, IRA, and other managed investments will not do as good as a bland, boring ETF that mimics the Market.
According to Investopedia, the S&P 500 (Top 500 companies in the USA) has averaged a 10.26% return per year for the last 50 years. That means that an investor would double their money every 7 years. Do that for a few decades and with no effort except having the discipline to save and you’ve accumulated a nice nest egg.
Ten percent…
That’s reasonable, doable, realistic.
So what’s the standard Jesus sets as the goal for his servants?
Answer: 100%
No, that’s not a typo.
When telling His story to describe the Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus could have used any number to illustrate; He uses 100%.
If someone knocks on your door and askes you to give them your money promising to return it with a 10% return in twelve months, there’s a 92% chance they’re sincerely wrong or outright lying. Best to politely say, “No thanks,” and shut the door.
But the standard Jesus sets is astonishingly unreasonable.
But then Jesus never was reasonable.
Read His sermon on the mount (Matthew 5-7). It is chock full with unreasonable standards (“You’ve heard it said…but I said unto you…”).
“What is God doing in the world? The answer is another question: What are God’s people doing?”
Philip Yancey
So what are some takeaways for today?
- Jesus expects a return on His investment in us. All three traders in this parable said, “Look”. There was something tangible and measurable that they could produce to validate their commitment to the returned Lord.
- Jesus expects an extraordinary return on His investment in us. The Lord only said “Well done” to two of the servants – the ones who produced a 100% return.
The ONE THING for today: I wonder if Christians are like money managers with 92% of them being underachievers? This we can be sure of, most of us could do far better. The question is, are we willing?
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