Christian Liberals & Progressive People of Faith

It really does not matter how much you achieve, but you have to do something. The lord says to the servant who simply buried the money in the ground, "Hey, passbook savings interest would have been acceptable. But you did nothing." Indeed, if the servant had said, "I tried a risky investment and it didn't pay off, I lost money on it", I suspect that would have been acceptable. Think of Revelation 3:15-16, "I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth."

No, the parable is not about "I will bless whoever makes a killing on Wall Street." It's "I will bless whoever tries to make the best of the gifts he or she has." Indeed, Christ's attitude towards wealth is shown in Matthew 19:21-24:

Jesus said to him, ‘If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ When the young man heard this word, he went away grieving, for he had many possessions.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.’