Remember As You Play....

The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more.... The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, "Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more." The master was full of praise. "Well done, my good and faithful. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, s now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let's celebrate together!" - Matthew 25:16, 20-21 (NLT)

In many poker tournaments, everyone starts with the same number of chips.  You could be thankful simply to be in the tournament, and have that many chips.  Or you could try to gain more chips, in an attempt to win the tournament.

Which way is the more logical approach for a poker player?  It's clearly the attempt to add to your stack.  And believe it or not, that's the approach Jesus endorses in the parable we've quoted.

We never thought of a poker connection to the "parable of the talents" until we heard a well-known preacher on Christian radio mention the story this week.  He put it this way: we can be satisfied and thankful for the blessings God has given us -- and in reality, we should be grateful.  But God expects more from us than that.  He wants growth in those talents -- looking for the blessings to increase.

Another servant in Jesus's parable chose to settle for the talents he was given. He buried them in the ground (verse 18).  How did the master respond to that approach?

But the master replied, "You wicked and lazy servant!... Why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it... Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." - Matthew 25:26-30 (NLT)

 

Time moves along.  The blinds go up.  Inflation (maybe antes) happens.

 

To paraphrase that radio preacher: it's nice to have $10,000 now - but you don't want to look several years from now, and find you still only have that base $10,000.

 

So with apologies to the people who see Jesus Christ as a quasi-socialist, "give it all away" preacher, the Lord shows here growth can be a good thing.  God plans to reward it in His kingdom, once Jesus returns to Earth.

For the Son of man is coming in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will reward everyone for what he has done. - Matthew 16:27 (Moffatt)

 

Do you play poker defensively - perhaps "playing not to lose"?  Or do you play to advance, grow and hopefully win?  God doesn't object to the growth method - as long as you don't cross a line into being greedy.