You Napped? Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant.

Dear Writer, Are you tired?

Most Jesus-followers who write and speak, do so while also holding down jobs, shepherding families, serving in home congregations, and maintaining ourselves and our homes.

For any of us tempted to perfectionism, overdrive, or people-pleasing, this can be a recipe for constant exhaustion and at least minor bouts of overwhelm verging on despair.

We know all too well the parable of the talents. A man goes on a journey and gives one servant 5 talents. The servant trades them and makes 5 more. To another, the master gives 2 talents so the servant trades for 4.

To the third servant, the master gives 1 talent. This servant digs a hole and hides this single talent in the ground. It doesn’t go well for this servant when the master returns. He receives a reprimand about being “wicked and slothful.” His single talent is given to the first servant and he is cast into the outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. Whew!

The phrase the motivates us all is the one the first two servants hear from the master when he returns. “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’” Matthew 25:21 esv

We hear this often when a Christian known for service dies. People are sure he or she is hearing, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” and the rest of us consider how we can increase our efforts on behalf of the kingdom.

We are to invest what God has entrusted to us in His service. We certainly aren’t supposed to bury what He intends us to use for His glory.

This parable should inspire us to use our writing or speaking gifts for Him. But, it’s not a command to exhaust ourselves or burn out for God.

Each of the first servants were content to double their talents. The one with five then had ten. The one with two then had four. God didn’t chide the one with four because he didn’t have ten. Neither did he scold the one with ten for not tripling his talent. Ultimately, this parable isn’t about performance or results but about obedience and faith.

Two servants did what was expected. They followed instructions. They obeyed. Remember that the master knew the servants. The number of talents were distributed “to each according to his ability.” We have different capacities. God only expects from us what He knows we’re able to give.

Not only do the two servants obey, they express faith in the goodness of their master by acting. We know this because the third man acts out of fear and mistrust. Rather than trust that the master knew what he was doing, the third servant disobeys, refuses to even try investing his talent, and then blames the master for his failure.

Again, this isn’t a parable about performance and achievement but about obedience, faith, and relationship. Two servants clearly had a different relationship with the master than the third.

What does this have to do with watching out for exhaustion and burn out in our pursuit of serving God with our writing and speaking?

First, remember our first responsibility is to be God’s child, a friend of Jesus, to belong to and with Him. We are to live “yoked” with Jesus so that He does the heavy lifting. Not only has He done everything needed for our salvation but He also promises that when we work yoked with Him, we’ll find rest for our souls. Matthew 11:28-30 esv “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Second, God rested on the seventh day and He gifted us a day of rest each week. More than that, He designed us to need sleep. Within our very makeup is His clear communication to rest. Resting and recharging, especially in our culture, is an act of faith and it testifies that we trust God to provide as we work within our design. He doesn’t require us to “burn out for Him.”

What can this look like in the writing/speaking life?

I’ve made it a practice to bring my planner/calendar to my morning time with God. Once I’ve read my Bible and spent time in reflection, worship, and prayer, I look over my day with Him. I ask Him to show me opportunities for rest and to warn me of commitments I’ve made out of fear, personal ambition, or pride. At the end of each week, I reflect with Him on how it went and what the next week would look like if I’m trusting and obeying Him. That’s why this blog is about the writing-with-God life.

A second practice is to invest in rest and reimagine the phrase from this parable. If we were the servants and our master’s business was raising prize-winning horses, we wouldn’t expect to receive praise for running his horses into the ground in pursuit of the prize, would we? When I take the opportunities for rest God provides, I imagine hearing Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” I do this because rest is part of what He’s commanded and it’s part of stewarding what He’s entrusted to me.

I also say this when writing/speaking friends take a rest or vacation. I say to them, “Well done! Great work taking God seriously enough to rest.”

Resting may mean I take on fewer projects or pursue smaller opportunities closer to home. That’s part of trusting that it’s fine if the 100% return on my talent is smaller than that of another writer/speaker’s return.

How about you? What practices help you rest? What disciplines will keep you writing or speaking until He returns?

Rest and enjoy the view. It’s a long climb, my friend.

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