Read today’s texts first: Genesis 47 & 48; Psalms 10; Luke 19
- The reward for faithfulness - little, more, then much!
- Rewards are for service, not seniority.
I’ve never been a fan of employee unions, especially since watching our local Teamsters drive Langis Foods (my place of employment for 9 years) into bankruptcy. I never understood why advancement was awarded solely on the basis of seniority – a concept that tends to undermine employee initiative and productivity.
Fortunately God’s kingdom promotes both of those values, with no regard for status or seniority. At first, when reading about Jacob switching hands to give Joseph’s younger son Ephraim the first-born blessing over Manasseh, I thought, “typical Jacob.” He was the younger brother who preferred the younger sister, Rachel, and favored his younger sons, Joseph and Benjamin. But it also seems to be our Lord’s M.O. (modus operandi), often choosing leaders who were the least in lowly families (ie. Gideon and David). Being the “baby” of the family (at my advanced age now, I still hear that term from my older brothers), I like the fact that birth order is not a factor in God’s family.
Status doesn’t seem to matter either. Jesus often hung out with those on the fringes of society, like Zacchaeus in the Luke reading. Talent, wealth, popularity, looks, even height – none of the criteria the world uses to select leaders seem important to the Head of the Church.
The parable that follows illustrates that God gives responsibility on the basis of initiative and productivity. It’s that recurring theme that if you are faithful in a few things you get to be ruler over many things – little, more, then much!
“I’m thankful Lord that You don’t judge me for those things over which I have no control – birth order, looks, intelligence, or lack thereof. But You do look at my heart, my zeal for You and the things You care about. Protect me from a mentality that expects a reward for seniority instead of service.”
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