Playing It Safe?
Therefore He said: “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business till I come.’ But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We will not have this man to reign over us.’ “And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Luke 19:12-15 (NKJV)
Jesus told a parable to show us what to do until He returns again. And if you read the entire parable, you’ll see that one servant played it safe and it did not work out very well for him at all.
Today, there are many people who know that things are very wrong with society, government, and the world, but they will not speak up or do anything about it. They are playing it safe, so to speak. In the passage above, the man who went away to receive his kingdom, which represents Jesus, told his servants to do business on His behalf until He returned. The King James Version says, “Occupy.” rather than “do business,” but the meaning is clear. Jesus expects us to run things until He returns, and He expects a profit, or that we increase the kingdom for Him. He has given each of us something to work with and He expects us to use what we have to increase the Kingdom of God on the earth.
Now more than ever, we must be promoting the Kingdom and Kingdom values. We cannot sit by and allow the enemy to have more and more influence and dominion. We have been given authority over the enemy and we are to use it. We must pray and use our authority to speak failure to every plan of the enemy. we are to call down evil rulers in the name of Jesus. We must speak that righteousness and justice prevail in the United States and the world. And on top of that, we must encourage others to do so as well.
Also, we are to be the ones running things on the earth until Jesus comes back for us. We cannot shrink back in fear or indecision. We cannot assume others will take care of business. We are to be taking places of authority in government- whether it is on city council, on the local school board, or in the state or federal legislature. And if you know that you are not called to take office, then be sure to be present at council meetings, school board meetings, etc. to make your voice heard. We are not called to rest until He comes. We are called to occupy and take over.
Think about what it means for one nation to occupy another one. It means that one nation has taken over control of the other nation. We are to occupy, not be occupied by someone else!
Playing it safe is the least safe thing you can do. If you are not making an effort to combat the gender nonsense we are seeing, the pro-abortion craziness that is still alive and well among us, or the many other wicked agendas being pushed on us, you are NOT occupying. And if you are a pastor who is not addressing society’s problems from the pulpit to encourage your congregation to stand and fight it, let this be a warning to you. There is a day coming when we will all be called to give an account for what we did or did not do while Jesus was gone from the earth. Those of us in ministry have a higher level of accountability before the Lord. Do not put yourself in the place of the wicked servant who played it safe, because playing it safe is the worst thing you can do.
