I am an incurable “people watcher.”
His master replied, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Why then didn’t you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?’
24 “Then he said to those standing by, ‘Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’
25 “‘Sir,’ they said, ‘he already has ten!’ Luke 19:22-25
Some people make things happen, other people watch things happen, but many people ask, “What happened?! “
I am an incurable “people watcher.” Rather than look at a magazine in a waiting room, I would rather subtly observe the mannerisms of adults and children around me because I find people interesting, and sometimes intriguing! As a bystander, though, sometimes, we do not understand what is going on around us, because we have not been paying attention.
What about being a Jesus watcher? If Jesus was in that waiting room, what would I see him doing in my life and in the lives of people around me?
A problem with people like me is that I am always observing and analyzing why people do what they do! But do I talk to them? Sometimes they look right at me, and I have to smile. Yes, you caught me watching you…but I am just curious, that’s all…
Do I care to become more than an observer, or a bystander? If I have been watching Jesus, I know that he does not allow me to be a bystander forever. At some point, I have to get into the game, and do something! If I watch Jesus, he was looking into hearts, and seeing something loveable there, a life that he came to save, a person worth salvaging, no matter how many mistakes have been made.
Jesus addressed “those standing by” in today’s passage, and asked them to take action. They were surprised that he involved them at all, I think, but when he instructed them to take away the one mina from a servant who had not done well and give it to a servant who already had ten minas, they questioned why a master would do this. It seemed harsh.
One thing that bystanders do not like to get involved in is controversy. It is interesting to watch but most of us do not “want to get involved” in situations like this.
by Mike Woodard
used be permission