Stock Options in The Kingdom of Heaven
Just wanted to share a story I shared this weekend. It's actually one of the stories I tell in In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day.
I have a friend, Lee McFarland, who pastors one of the fastest growing churches in America--Radiant Church in Surprise, AZ. In fact, we were both speaking at the same conference this past week in San Diego. I love the story behind the story!
Lee was working for Microsoft a decade ago making six-digits. He also had 16,000 stock options valued at several million dollars. In financial terms, he had it made. And then he started to sense that God was calling him to plant a church.
To make a long story short, my friend gave up his six-digit salary and 16,000 stock options to plant the church he now pastors. His starting salary was $26,000. And I love the prayer he prayed when he quit Microsoft. He asked God to give him one soul for every share of stock he gave up! God is well on his way to answering that prayer!
A few months ago, I watched one of their baptism videos and it was incredible. I watched hundreds of people getting baptized at a water park the church rented. As I watched those people getting baptized, I couldn't help but think about the immeasurable value of a single soul. Certainly a single soul is worth more than 16,000 stock options in Microsoft. In fact, Jesus said a single soul is worth more than the cumulative wealth of the entire world. Then I started thinking about their relational networks. I started thinking about the generational impact their spiritual transformation will have. And here's the thing: all of that impact traces back to one risk. One risk had a domino effect that isn't just changing history. It's changing eternity!
We need a paradigm shift. I think we need to see ourselves as shareholders in the Kingdom of God. And we need to realize that every investment we make earns shares that earn eternal dividends.
I’ve always been intrigued by Philippians 4:17. Paul is thanking the Philippians for their investment in his ministry. He says, "Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account."
Evidently, when we invest in the Kingdom, there is a wire transfer to an offshore bank account--way offshore! We have a heavenly account that gets credited any time we do anything for God.
So Lee may have given up 16,000 stock options in Microsoft, but he has some serious stock options in the Kingdom of Heaven. Not a bad trade!
I have a friend, Lee McFarland, who pastors one of the fastest growing churches in America--Radiant Church in Surprise, AZ. In fact, we were both speaking at the same conference this past week in San Diego. I love the story behind the story!
Lee was working for Microsoft a decade ago making six-digits. He also had 16,000 stock options valued at several million dollars. In financial terms, he had it made. And then he started to sense that God was calling him to plant a church.
To make a long story short, my friend gave up his six-digit salary and 16,000 stock options to plant the church he now pastors. His starting salary was $26,000. And I love the prayer he prayed when he quit Microsoft. He asked God to give him one soul for every share of stock he gave up! God is well on his way to answering that prayer!
A few months ago, I watched one of their baptism videos and it was incredible. I watched hundreds of people getting baptized at a water park the church rented. As I watched those people getting baptized, I couldn't help but think about the immeasurable value of a single soul. Certainly a single soul is worth more than 16,000 stock options in Microsoft. In fact, Jesus said a single soul is worth more than the cumulative wealth of the entire world. Then I started thinking about their relational networks. I started thinking about the generational impact their spiritual transformation will have. And here's the thing: all of that impact traces back to one risk. One risk had a domino effect that isn't just changing history. It's changing eternity!
We need a paradigm shift. I think we need to see ourselves as shareholders in the Kingdom of God. And we need to realize that every investment we make earns shares that earn eternal dividends.
I’ve always been intrigued by Philippians 4:17. Paul is thanking the Philippians for their investment in his ministry. He says, "Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account."
Evidently, when we invest in the Kingdom, there is a wire transfer to an offshore bank account--way offshore! We have a heavenly account that gets credited any time we do anything for God.
So Lee may have given up 16,000 stock options in Microsoft, but he has some serious stock options in the Kingdom of Heaven. Not a bad trade!
6 Comments:
Mark, how are you doing? I listened to your message today (Union Station 930AM) and found it very useful...the story that you blogged is extremely interesting and puts one's own action (or inactions) into perspective...it is helpful to realize that we don't live in a vacuum and that our actions or inactions have an impact well beyond that which we can fathom....similar to a ripple effect from a rock thrown into water...
that being said, I have a question regarding the sermon...I have read Matthew 25:14-30 many times and have tried to make sense of it...again, as you said, the outcome is harsh and the implications are not easy to deal with so it is "best" to focus on other easier messages/parables...I think your read is the most compelling I've heard and certainly more compelling than anything I've surmised....though one verse that I still find the most interesting/troubling is Matt 25:24.
24"Then the man who had received the one talent came. 'Master,' he said, 'I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.'
I find this confusing because the description of the master is not that of an honest man....I read the bold section (if it actually is bold...I'm new to such "tags") to say that the master takes what is not his...clearly a bad person...in fact the language conjures up images of a mafiaso "wetting his beak" on someone else's legit business... if you read further in 27
"Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest." The KJV actually uses the term "usury"
From what I have read, the Christian church that dominated the middle ages in Europe viewed earning money from money (i.e., interest) as a sin..which incidently was why the Jews became the money lenders..they were not adhering to Christianity so their souls were lost already...or so the story goes...Maybe "interest" was not frowned upon in the early church...I'm not sure...but that aside, I can't seem to remedy the master's evil ways and methods...
You did not dwell on this verse this morning as with the others so I'm interested if you have thought about v.24 in the context of the message this morning? Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
Pastor Mark,
I've attended a NCC service every week since the beginning of September 2005. Often, the messages rattle around in my brain quite a bit each week. However, this past Saturday, I was unusually disturbed by the scripture on which the message was focused. I wanted to raise my hand while you were speaking and ask a question because it was like a broken record playing at full volume in my mind while the service continued as normal.
So, the master was thrilled at what "five talent" servant did, happy at what "two talent" servant did, and furious at what "one talent" servant did. How would the master have responded if "one talent" servant chose to take a risk with that talent (instead of hiding it in a hole in the ground) but ended up losing everything. What if, when it was his turn to speak with the master, he had nothing to return. What if he even caused the master to be in tremendous debt?
What would the master say to him? Something worse than, "You wicked, lazy servant! Throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."?
I want to take risks, but I don't want to cause God more heartache and embarrassment than I have already. How will He respond if I risk everything and....fail?
I know you were asking Mark (hope you don't mind me throwing in my 2 cents Mark), but here are my thoughts on this...
Jesus isn't trying to say this is the same way God is (a harsh, mean God).
He's trying to use a situation/story that was realistic, based on their lifestyle back then, and use that to teach a larger lesson.
The master being a tough person fits the story based on how some masters were back then and makes the servant's choice to do nothing make sense.
(Otherwise the servant would just be a completely lazy/bad person that no one could relate to.)
The servant being punished wasn't really that harsh of a reaction.
He got punished because he didn’t even try at all!
Back then, “doubling your investments” was a normal thing ANY servant should've been able to do!
These other guys who doubled their talents weren’t doing some super-star thing! (That should be good news and encourage us!)
Imagine facing God one day and you say, “Hey God, I’ve still got those talents and spiritual gifts you gave me!” God says, “Good! So, what’d you do with them?”
You say, “Oh nothing! But I’ve still got them. I didn’t LOSE them!” Then God says, “You didn't do ANYTHING with them?”
And you say, “No, I didn’t want to fail, so I didn’t do anything - but I protected them!”
God’s not going to be too happy! :)
But, if you still think that’s harsh, think of it this way…
It’s pretty hard to do NOTHING at all for God!
There might be a lot of people who didn’t gain MUCH – or hardly anything – but to gain NOTHING means you must’ve never really believed in Jesus, because you have nothing to show for it.
Even the worst REAL Christ-follower will have at least done and gained SOMETHING!
It’s the same nowadays. That master isn’t more harsh than any business owner.
If you left someone to manage of your store for a month, you expect them to make you some more money by the time you get back!
You don’t want them to say, “I didn’t want anyone to steal anything while you were gone or have to worry about failing you, so I shut down the store for the month you were gone and I gave everyone a vacation.
"We didn’t make any money last month, but your store is still here!"
You’d be mad at that manager! He didn’t do his job! He’d be fired!
Just like the servant he did NOTHING - he buried the talent!
God expects us to do something with the talents and spiritual gifts He’s given us!
He’s given us talents and gifts to manage and he expects us to gain more for his kingdom with them.
He expects us to grow! God wants us to use the talents and spiritual gifts he’s given us for others and for his kingdom the best we can!
When He returns he wants people around us to be better off because of us.
He wants more people to know him because of us.
He wants people to be better Christ-followers because of us!
And, through all of it, He wants US to have grown into who he created us to be by USING the spiritual gifts and talents he gave us!
* If he’s given you the gift of faith, he expects you to have more faith.
* If he’s given you the gift of encouragement, he expects you to have used it to become the best encourager for him you could be!
* If he’s given you the talent of singing, he expects you to be the best singer, for him, you can be!
To Debbie, God expects us to do something - at least try.
Even if we fail and fall, we'll learn something and it was cause us (or what he gave us) to grow.
There's some book about chasing some kind of animal into some hole that talks about risk that has a lot to say about this! :)
You should get it. It's a good book!
Anyway, I hope this helps!
jfiorito,
Not sure I have the same take on verse 24. I don't think it's saying the master is dishonest. Besides that, it's the servant's "opinion" of the master anyways. I think it sounds like someone who is shrewd--and Jesus did say we have to be shrewd as snakes and innocent as doves.
I don't think he's "stealing." It sounds like he's really good at getting a return on his investments.
Mark
Debbie,
Great question.
I think the master would have been fine with the servant taking a risk and losing the money.
I honestly believe the point of the parable is don't not risk.
I've definitely taken some risks and suffered some losses, but I think that is part of life. But we can't let failed risks keep us from risking again.
Mark
Wow. What an amazing story about Lee. If presented with the same options... I hope I could choose to folow God the same way. What an inspiration.
Post a Comment
<< Home