Biggest Shock at the Bema

In chapter 25 of Matthew's Gospel, we read, beginning in verse 14, For the kingdom of heaven is as a man traveling into a far country, Who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, To every man, according to his several ability, and straightway took his journey. Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, And made them five other talents, and likewise he that had received two, He also gained other two.

But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, And his lord's money, and hid his lord's money. After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, Saying, Lord, thou deliverest unto me five talents.

Behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Thou hast been faithful over a few things.

I will make thee ruler over many things. Enter thou into the joy of the lord. He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliverest unto me two talents.

Behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant. Thou hast been faithful over a few things.

I will make thee ruler over many things. Enter thou into the joy of the lord. Then which he had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art a hard man, Reaping where thou hast not sown, And gathering where thou hast not strawed.

And I was afraid, and went and hid that talent in the earth. Lo, there thou hast that as thine. His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, Thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, And gathered where I have not strawed.

Thou oughtest therefore have taken, put my money to the exchanges, And then at my coming I should have received my own with usury. Take therefore the talent from him, And give it unto him which hath ten talents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, And he shall have abundance.

But from him that hath not shall be taken away, Even that which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness, There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. I will stop there, friends.

I believe the biggest shock for believers at the Bema seat will be how we squandered God's money, how we bought into the modern theory of storehouse tithing and stopped there, how we gave ten percent back to God and kept ninety percent for us, how our money wasn't printed with in God we trust, but rather it was stamped with I, me, and mine. Instead of the money that was entrusted to us being liquid to flow anywhere, there was a genuine need for God. We needed it all for ourselves.

We used God's money to pamper ourselves and ruin our children. We always had to have our hair done at the beauty parlor to pamper our pride. We always had to buy the nicest things to impress our friends.

We acted piously before men, but we gladly got dirty with them by benefiting from sin, by owning shares of mutual funds that owned shares of companies that had anti-God policies. We owned shares of companies that drowned a nation with booze, poisoned them with tobacco, and perverted them with pornography and spent corporate dollars on anti-God agendas. We turned a blind eye to our investments so long as we were getting richer.

And it didn't really matter what means we used to increase our net worth. We let ministries go out of business for lack of support. We let missionaries go unsupported because of our selfish hold on our money.

We didn't care where we were indifferent to the 2200 languages still in need of a Bible in their native tongue. We refused to direct our funds to Bible translation, to Bible distribution, because we needed a newer fishing boat and a newer luxury car. We had to redo our kitchens with fine marble countertops because we didn't want to eat off the old ones.

We willingly squandered God's resources on ourselves and slept well at night because we already gave our 10%. But if Jesus showed up right now in our living room and asked us to do what the rich young ruler would not, we wouldn't do it either because we'd rather die than part with our money. But we will die.

And we will be parted with our money to go to a judgment seat where we will have to give an account to Him who has eyes of fire. When we stand before Jesus, He will ask us why we didn't use His resources to spread the gospel in our generation. He will show us the tribes in Africa who perished for lack of a Bible translation in their native tongue.

And He will want to know why we didn't help fund it with the money He directed into our lives. He will ask us why we needed that brand new pickup truck when the one we had was still able to give us transportation. He will ask us why we felt we needed to live like kings and queens when we were called to be servants.

He will want us to list the reasons why we failed to renounce the ownership of our material goods and give Him an account as to why we acted like those things were ours when they were God's. That they were never to treat these things as belonging to themselves or anything they possessed as belonging to themselves. But because they were bought with a price, they were fully expected to forsake all that they had and deliver everything to Christ as belonging to Him.

That He required them as His stewards to use themselves and everything else for Him and never to think that they had a right to use their time, their strength, their substance, their influence, or anything else which they possessed as if it were their own and not the Lord's. He will ask us why we didn't care enough about the souls of men but we cared more for the comforts of our families. We will try and defend ourselves by saying we did our part with our tithe but He will say it all belonged to me and I made you my steward to fund all these other enterprises to spread my gospel to the ends of the earth.

Jesus will want to know why we hid our Lord's money in our material possessions when the world waited to hear the gospel. Our pitiful 10% we allocated toward eternity will look paltry and naked and bare alongside the investment portfolio in lands and houses and automobiles and boats and things we left behind for ourselves.