Hi everyone,

I’m not afraid to say that, as I was growing up, I was afraid of my dad. Like downright scared. I never knew when I’d set him off (I did a lot of bad things). I never knew when he’d catch me doing something wrong (like I said… bad things). I never knew when he’d call me aside and lay the down the wrath that was my dad.

Don’t get me wrong, he never beat me or anything (aside from maybe a small tiny slap on the wrist at times), but that guy can yell. And even for a kid who could be a bit rambunctious, his yelling was too much for me. So I’d always have to walk on eggshells around my dad. I never wanted him angry at me, and that was hard because it was like he was angry at me all the time (remember how I used to do bad things…?)

And so I kind of carried that in my own parenting. I try hard to not portray that level of anger and harshness. I am super intentional when I talk to my kids to stay calm, rational, and even a little loving. I do everything I can to make sure that my kids aren’t afraid of me like I was afraid of my father.

But what happened? They’re afraid of me anyway, I can see it in their eyes whenever I ask them for something or tell them that something they did isn’t cool (in the nicest way possible) or even when I have to raise my voice to get their attention (like if they’re crossing the street without paying attention to the speeding car headed their way). They’ve at one point even called me the “scary dad.”

Sigh. What a bunch of ingrates.

Here are the readings for next week:
Zephaniah 1:7, 12-18
Psalm 90:1-12
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
Matthew 25:14-30

This is another confusing parable, and thankfully the last one (I think) for a while. What is confusing about it is that the third servant did everything we would have done if given an exorbitant amount of money (a talent was worth about 20 years’ worth of wages), we would have protected it with our lives. Because if we lost it, it’s lost. And he was punished for it anyway.

He said that he was afraid to lose it. That tracks. He said that his master is a harsh man. That was proven by his master’s subsequent actions. He had excuse after excuse why he did what he did. And to us, they all made sense.

Except that… well they were just that: excuses. This guy let his fear take hold. He told himself that his master was mean and harsh when really, his master was super generous and kind. I mean, why else would he just give out that crazy amounts of money without any explicit instructions?

In his fear, the third servant missed his master’s intention not to punish, but to bless. In his fear, he mistook his master’s generosity for cruelty. In his fear, he misunderstood his master and didn’t see the grace, the trust, and the sheer love that the master had for them all.

What an ingrate. Let’s see our master for who our master is: kind, generous, and loving. Now and always.

Thanks be to God! Have a great week, everyone!