11. While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once.
12. He said:“A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return.
13. So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas.‘Put this money to work,’ he said,‘until I come back.’
14.“But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say,‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’
15.“He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.
16.“The first one came and said,‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’
17.“‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied.‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’
18.“The second came and said,‘Sir, your mina has earned five more.’
19.“His master answered,‘You take charge of five cities.’
20. “Then another servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth.
21. I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.'
22.“His master replied,‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow?
23. Why then didn’t you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?’
24.“Then he said to those standing by,‘Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’
25.“‘Sir,’ they said,‘he already has ten!’
26.“He replied,‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away.
27. But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them―bring them here and kill them in front of me.”
In the reflection, they say to "always keep a positive mind, and avoid negative thinking." This is a great statement that one can always use in all aspects of their lives. But what if God is the cause of the negative thinking? Sometimes this is what I feel. I'll explain why. Sometimes you get caught up in a secular lifestyle, that when you keep a positive mind you might make decisions like going to the beach with some friends instead of church. There are no negative reasons why you shouldn't go. Except for the fact that you're Christian, and Christians go to church. It is because of God that you think of more negative reasons, like you should be going to church and praising God, not going to the beach and praising the sun.
This is when I realize how powerful Satan is. In a way, I'm fighting for Satan (trying to find a reason not to go to church), and doing all the heavy work while he is just sitting in the back taunting me. He makes me blame God, instead of thanking him. I feel like I've done enough for God sometimes, and instead of God saying you have done enough, it is Satan constantly saying it, which is exactly what I want to hear. Even though Satan can be this huge power, he is nothing compared to God.
We talked about temptation last week in cell meeting. Today, I realized all my temptations want me to escape reality. The thing is, my reality is spending my weekdays at school and work, and weekends at church. So when you think of no negative reasons for falling into temptations, just realize that is exactly what Satan wants you to think. And if you weren't a Christian, it would be true. However, we are Christians. And that is much more of a blessing then a burden.
Tag: Matt
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