"Scared to Death"

Ok, so yesterday I was reminded of a parable in the bible about 3 slaves. They were each given money by their master and told to invest it while the master was out of town. Well, in short...two of the slaves invested their money and made a profit. The third slave was so scared that he would lose what he had been given that he hid it away and gained nothing. When the master returned he praised the two slaves who invested what was given to them and gave them more. But, because the third slave did nothing with what he was given, the master took away the money and punished him. Moral of the story? God has given each of us life, talents, jobs, money and more. I can't tell you how many times I've let fear dictate what I do. (Some of you will be reminded of last week when I said I was "scared to death" of flying.) In a book I am currently reading, the comment was made "we can't wait for the great things in life to come to us, we have to be proactive and strive for the things we desire." We don't always get everything we want, but I think there is truth in that statement. If we do not press on for what we know to be right or the things we want in life, whether for fear or laziness, we could miss out on so much and possibly risk losing it all. It is my hope this week that we will all be encouraged to not let fear control how we invest our lives.

(Parable found in Luke 19:11-27 of the bible)