The Faith Factor

Q: What is the one word of Hebrew that every Christian knows?

A: Amen.


You use the word all the time. What does it mean?






Rabbi Daniel says:


AMeN, being both the noun faith as well as the verb believe—as in “I believe”—helps us understand this most crucial of lessons regarding economic comfort. A believer might utter “I believe” in the context of worship, while an investor might use exactly the same phrase to explain his choice of investments. (Buried Treasure, p 109-110)


How does economic comfort relate to faith? Consider a baby sitter who gets paid at the end of the night, a minimum wage worker who receives a paycheck once a week, a salesman working on commission, a contractor who gets paid at the end of the job, and a farmer sowing a crop in the spring. What is the expression of faith—if any—for each of these people?






Does faith mean that success will eventually come? Rabbi Daniel says:


No, of course not. However it does mean the without faith, no farmer would plant anything and no investor would ever risk his carefully accumulated capital.


The good Lord appears to have arranged matters so that faith, the ability to clearly see what is still invisible, is rewarded. Why would He do this? Possibly in order to reward Faith in Him. Religious Faith refers to the ability of the faithful to see God clearly. (p 107)






Eugene Peterson puts it this way in the parable he calls “The Story About Investment”:


It's also like a man going off on an extended trip. He called his servants together and delegated responsibilities. To one he gave five thousand dollars, to another two thousand, to a third one thousand, depending on their abilities. Then he left. Right off, the first servant went to work and doubled his master's investment. The second did the same. But the man with the single thousand dug a hole and carefully buried his master's money.


After a long absence, the master of those three servants came back and settled up with them. The one given five thousand dollars showed him how he had doubled his investment. His master commended him: 'Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.'


The servant with the two thousand showed how he also had doubled his master's investment. His master commended him: 'Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.'


The servant given one thousand said, 'Master, I know you have high standards and hate careless ways, that you demand the best and make no allowances for error. I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and secured your money. Here it is, safe and sound down to the last cent.'


The master was furious. 'That's a terrible way to live! It's criminal to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least? The least you could have done would have been to invest the sum with the bankers, where at least I would have gotten a little interest.


Take the thousand and give it to the one who risked the most. And get rid of this "play-it-safe" who won't go out on a limb. Throw him out into utter darkness.' (Matthew 25:14-30, The Message)






What roles does faith play in this story?






How does Peterson’s translation change your understanding of the story?






What do you ever risk? Are you a “play-it-safe”?






Closing Thought: Rabbi Daniel concludes:


Needless to say, both Judaism and Christianity place more emphasis on Faith than many other religions and thus benefit distinctively from the strengthening of the national faith muscle. The Bangladeshi peasant may possess some gold, but it is hidden in his mattress. It takes great faith, a practiced faith muscle, to hand that gold and all the time and efforts it represents to a bank or an investment vehicle. With this scene multiplied by millions of peasants, we can see how a country can be impacted by faith of the lack of it. Without faith, that gold remains in the mattress and Bangladesh remains mired in poverty. (p 108)