Can My Interpretation of Matthew 25 be Found in Other Passages?

      I’m sure some of you are questioning my interpretation of the three parables in Matthew 25: Parable of the Ten Virgins, Parable of the Talents, and Parable of the Judgment of the Nations. I have stated that they provide foundational Biblical Worldview principles that speak to our responsibility to care for ourselves, and those who have genuine needs. I would also suggest that principles found in these parables are at the core of what has been called the Protestant Work Ethic—our responsibility to steward well all that God has entrusted to us.
     To address those legitimate questions, let me lean into a fundamental principle of Biblical interpretation: let the Bible interpret the Bible. If I find a principle in one passage, I should be able to find it in other verses. If I can’t then I am probably misunderstanding the passage.
     The Bible has a lot to say about personal responsibility and the basic idea of having a personal work ethic. Here is a sampling of those passages:

• Genesis 2:15 “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” Work has always been part of God’s plan. Human dignity is integrally tied to one’s unique gifting, calling, and willingness to use them for God’s glory. God wants every human being to have a clear sense of who they are, understand their unique purpose, and be actively serving in His Kingdom.
• Proverbs 6:10-11 “A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest— and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man.” God’s not opposed to rest! In fact He gave us one day a week in which we are commanded to rest. I believe God is opposed to those who choose to rest every day of the week—the lazy.
• Proverbs 12:11 “Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits lacks sense.” God is not opposed to creative initiatives, in fact His creativity is seen in all of creation. I believe He is opposed to trivial fruitless pursuits.
• Proverbs 12:24 “Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor.”
• Proverbs 13:4 “A sluggard’s appetite is never filled, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.”
• Proverbs 14:23 “All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.”
• Proverbs 24:30-34 “I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of a man lacking sense, and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns; the ground was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down. Then I saw and considered it; I looked and received instruction. A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.”
• Galatians 6:9 “Be not weary in well-doing for in due season you shall reap if you do not faint.” Work was so engrained into me that my problem is learning to take a day of rest.
• Colossians 3:23 “Whatever you do, work at it with all of your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” I was taught that if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right.
• II Thessalonians 3:6-12 “In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers and sisters, to keep away from every believer who is idle and disruptive and does not live according to the teaching you received from us. For you, yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate. For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: ‘The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.’ We hear that some among you are idle and disruptive. They are not busy; they are busybodies. Such people, we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the food they eat.”

     Did I convince you that the principle of personal responsibility is Biblical? The third parable in Matthew 25 also includes our responsibility to help those who cannot help themselves. But, there are qualifiers and exceptions to this principle that our culture is missing today.

• Galatians 6:2-5 “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For each one shall bear his own load.” There is a different Greek word behind our word “burden” in verse two and our word “load” in verse five. “Burden” refers to circumstances so significant that we cannot handle them alone. “Load” refers to common day-to-day challenges of life that we are expected to handle on our own. We need to learn how to differentiate between the two. Our culture has permitted people to turn the safety nets we have put in place to care for the “burdens of life” into hammocks for those who choose to not be responsible for their own “day-to-day load.”
• Mark 7:9-13 “You reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ But you say, ‘If a man says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban”’ (that is, a gift to God), then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother, making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down.” Jesus reminded the Pharisees that they had a duty and responsibility to care for their parents—it wasn’t society’s responsibility.
• I Timothy 5:3-9 contains instructions on differentiating between widows with family who can provide for them and those who are widows indeed. “Honor widows who are really widows. But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show piety at home and to repay their parents; for this is good and acceptable before God. Now she who is really a widow, and left alone, trusts in God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day. But she who lives in pleasure is dead while she lives. And these things command, that they may be blameless. But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” Paul affirms the responsibility to care for parents and adds those of our household as well. I have seen situations where a family WAS trying to hold an irresponsible family member accountable, but our society intervened and enabled them to avoid their personal responsibilities. Both the family and the individual became victims of misguided “help.”

     I will admit that what I have written might be viewed as simply identifying problems without providing any solutions. To which I respond, before you can address a problem, you must admit it exists. Do you agree with me that our culture has an unbiblical worldview when it comes to personal responsibility? If you do, then we can begin to discuss solutions.

Yours in Christ,
Mark R. Elliott, AMS