Finding the Starting Line(s)
How do we know when we’re ready to get started?
In Matthew 25, Jesus tells a story of three servants who are each entrusted with a specific amount of money by their master before he leaves for a long trip. The first man, who received five bags of silver, invested the money and earned five additional bags. When his master returned, he gave him back ten bags of silver. The second servant, who received two bags of silver, did the same thing. By the time his master returned, he had four bags of silver ready to give back.
The third servant’s experience, however, was different. When his master returned, he only had the one bag of silver to give back. He was afraid that he would lose his master’s money, so he hid it in the ground. The master was not pleased and responded by calling the servant “wicked” and “lazy” before taking his one bag of silver and casting him out of the kingdom.
What’s always interested me about this story is how the man’s inaction ran in contrast to his interpretation of his master’s abilities. Listen to the servant’s words, taken directly from Matthew 25:24-25 (NLT): “Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.’”
This doesn’t make sense to me. How is it possible for the man to know that his master could harvest where he didn’t plant and gather crops where he didn’t cultivate, yet choose to do nothing with the money his master entrusted him with? Somehow, there is a striking disconnect between the man’s beliefs and his actions.
The same is often true in the world today. Generally, there are two reasons for inaction:
- You don’t know what to do
- You know what to do, but aren’t doing it
In my experience, the second reason is often a much greater hindrance than the first. Usually, people know what they need to do to lose weight, start a business, have better relationships with their family, cultivate greater financial health, or grow closer to God. What holds them back isn’t a lack of certainty about what they should be doing, but it’s their willingness to do the thing that will move them forward.
We’ve spent the last few weeks talking about how to put our faith in action, and as we wrap up this discourse, there’s one glaring question remaining: where do we start? The problem with this question is that it can hold people back from beginning because of how it unintentionally creates the allure of a “perfect” starting point. This false narrative holds us back and keeps us in a place of perpetual discernment.
Rather than constantly mulling over where to begin, it’s better to act before the plan is perfect. You don’t stop learning and improving at the moment when you put the plan in motion – it’s a never-ending process that you’ll come back to time and time again. As we learn from the Parable of the Talents, inaction – not imperfection – is the greatest deterrent for many people’s spiritual pursuits. Let’s escape the allure of inaction by being willing to take steps forward even when the path isn’t yet fully clear.
I’ll leave you with a quote from Zig Ziglar that’s always resonated in my mind: “If you wait for all the lights to turn green before starting your journey, you’ll never leave your driveway.”