Extreme Ownership

In his 2015 book, “Extreme Ownership,” author Jocko Willink defines the title concept as follows: “On any team, in any organization, all responsibility for success and failure rests with the leader. The leader must own everything in his or her world.  There is no one else to blame. The leader must acknowledge mistakes & admit failures, take ownership of them, and develop a plan to win.” 

Is it possible that “Extreme Ownership” could be a BIBLICAL concept? Can “Extreme Ownership” be applied, not just to church LEADERS, but to every one of us as individual Christians? Is it possible that God expects each of us to assume an attitude of EXTREME OWNERSHIP to our lives?  And if we did, what difference might it make?  What difference might it make in how we approach the rest of this day?  

GOD HAS MADE AN EXTREME INVESTMENT IN EACH OF US

In Matthew 25, Jesus tells the parable of the talents. Parables like this one illustrate how the nation of Israel was unfaithful with the trust that God had invested in them, so the “Kingdom” was taken away from the Jews and given to the church. On a more personal level, this story illustrates how God views the gift of LIFE that he has invested in me and you. 

“He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone…in proportion to his ability” (Matthew 25:14,15)

Some of our translations use “talents” instead of “bags of silver”. A Biblical talent was calculated by weight and was approximately 75lbs.  So, in today’s terms (silver at $60 per ounce), 75lbs of silver was worth about $72,000.  Even the “1-bagger” got a LOT of money. Our lives represent an extreme investment by God. The 5-bagger received over $360,000.

“God breathed the breath of LIFE into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person” (Genesis 2:7).

If we’re alive today, and I trust that most of us are, God gave us our lives. LIFE is the most valuable gift we’ve ever received. God created us. In fact, the Bible teaches that God created us in his own image. “God man in his own image” (Genesis 1:27). What does that mean? Theologians list attributes of human beings that might constitute the God image.

1. Personal consciousness

2. Intellectual capacity

3. Linguistic capacity

4. Volitional capacity (Free will)

5. Moral/ethical capacity

6. Creative capacity

7. Emotional capacity

8. Religious/Spiritual capacity (worship)

Look at that list.  Think about it for a minute.  God has invested a lot of “capacity” in us, hasn’t he?  We are “high capacity” type beings.  That list does not apply to your pets.  Your goldfish doesn’t have personal consciousness.  “How do you know, Steve?”  Stop it. When you feed your goldfish, he doesn’t put his fins together and bow his head and thank God for what he’s provided to nourish his little fish body.  Why not? Because they don’t have intellectual, verbal, or religious capacity.  God has put a lot into us that he has not put into any other kind of creature. We are here “on purpose.”  God, specifically, deliberately, and intentionally invested in each of us the gift of life, human life, made in his image.

GOD EXPECTS A RETURN ON INVESTMENT

“After a long time, their master returned from his trip and called them to give an ACCOUNT of how they had used his money” (Matthew 25:19). The servants were ACCOUNTABLE to the master for what they did with his money – in proportion to their abilities.  The 2-bagger was not responsible for the 5-bagger’s return on investment because they had different abilities. What God expects of us is TAILORED to us, who we are, what our strengths, gifts and limitations might be.  But clearly, the master expects a RETURN on his investment,

“Each of us will give an account of ourselves to God (Romans 14:12)

“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13)

Why are we accountable to God?  Because we’re created in his image.  Image-bearing is not just having high CAPACITY and POTENTIAL.  It’s about USING that potential to the glory of God. This, TOO, is what it means to be an image-bearer of God. Image-bearing is FUNCTIONAL.  We REPRESENT God on earth.

God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, SO THAT they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’ So, God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number, fill the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:26-28). This is called the DOMINION MANDATE. Adam and Eve lived in the garden. They cared for it. But the rest of the earth needed subduing. GOD COULD DO THE JOB HIMSELF, but he chose to create human “imagers” to do it for him. He issued the decree; they were supposed to make it happen. They were to do that by multiplying and following God’s direction.  There is nothing we do that God could not do himself.  But he has not chosen that method.  Rather, he tells the US what his will is and commands his loyal children to get the job done.  That is the concept of stewardship. A steward is entrusted with his master’s business. In Jesus’ parable, the servants were entrusted with their master’s money to invest it. The master could have invested it himself. But he chose to use them. God could have filled the earth with people and subdued it himself. But he chose PEOPLE to do that. God could have directly preached the gospel to all creation himself. But he chooses to work through the church.  God could magically put a check in the mailbox every month, but he chooses to have us work for it. That’s the way God rolls.  As God-imagers, we OWN God’s mission for the earth, the kingdom, and the o life he has entrusted to us.

“What are mere mortals that you should think about them…Yet you crowned them with glory and honor. You gave them authority over all things” (Hebrews 2:6-8). God expects us to use our lives productively. All of it.  From the cradle to the grave. In ALL aspects of life. 

“Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (I Corinthians 10:31)

“Whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus” (Colossians 3:17)

There’s a scene in the movie “Rocky” where Rocky yells at the gym owner, Mick: “I’ve been coming here for six years and for six years you’ve been sticking it to me.  I want to know how come.”  Mick: “You don’t want to know.”  Rocky: “I want to know.”  Mick: “Okay I’m gonna tell ya.  Cause you had the talent to become a good fighter, and instead of that, you became a leg-breaker for some cheap 2nd rate loan shark.” Rocky: “It’s a living.”  Mick: “It’s a waste of life.” Mick was angry that Rocky had wasted his potential and settled for something unworthy.

I wonder if this movie scene captures the master’s emotion in Jesus’ parable. He’s angry at the lazy servant because he gave that servant a life, he expected a return on that investment, and the servant wasted his potential.

AN ATTITUDE OF EXTREME OWNERSHIP GIVES GOD A RETURN ON INVESTMENT

“Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more.”

“Master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest, and I have earned two more.”

“Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back” (Matthew 25:20-23)

One of these things is not like the others.

One of these things just doesn’t belong.

Can you tell me which thing is not like the others?

By the time I finish my song.

Can you tell which servants practiced extreme ownership and which didn’t?  The 1-bagger was making excuses, blame-shifting, and gaslighting.  Remember what extreme ownership is?  Taking responsibility.  No excuses. No blaming. Learn from failures and plan to improve.

In this parable, are you the servant with 5 bags, 2 bags, or 1 bag?  Some of us may be inclined to say “1 bag” because first, it sounds humble, and secondly, it allows us to rationalize a lack of godly ambition.  “I don’t know much about God, or the Bible or the church, but after all, I’m just a 1-bagger.”  “I’ve never given much money to the Kingdom, but I’m just a 1-bagger.”  “I’ve never invited anyone to church but I’m just a 1-bagger.”  “I’m not doing squat for the Lord, but I’m just a 1-bagger.” 

Here’s the thing: most of us are 5-baggers. At minimum, we are 2-baggers.  I’m not talking about being a soloist, or an instrumentalist, or a gifted speaker, or a wealthy entrepreneur, or an amazing author…although some of those things may be true of you.  We are 5-baggers. Here are five “bags of silver” that God has gifted to Christians that no Old Testament saint ever received.

1) The gospel – the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

2) Salvation by grace, through faith, at baptism, for good works. Our sins are forgiven.  We stand in the grace of God.  Everything we do is from that position of strength.  We do not operate out of guilt or fear; we operate out of gratitude, courage, and boldness.

3) The entire BIBLE. We have unprecedented access to the Word of God. We do not have to wonder or guess what God’s will is for us. We don’t need an expert to explain it to us. We’re not waiting for someone to translate it into our language. We can read or listen to it every single day.

4) The indwelling gift of the Holy Spirit.  He is God inside of us providing both the desire and the power to live a life of maximum spiritual impact.

5) The church, the kingdom of God, is built on the foundation of the Apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus as the chief cornerstone.

God has not handed us one or two or three bags of silver; he has handed us the KEYS TO THE SILVER MINE.

Where am I to exercise extreme ownership? My attitude. My family. My health. My spiritual growth. My job. My church. My ministry. My time. My money. All of it. I will not blame-shift. I will not make excuses. I OWN it.  We want to step back, take stock, and ask, how can I give God a maximum return on investment from my life, from this day forward. 

Don’t be anxious about extreme ownership. Reaching our full potential in life is not a grind. It was the lazy servant who wound up grinding his teeth in the dark.  The hard-working servants entered the joy of their master.  The more return on investment we give to God, the more fun, joy, and fulfillment we get to experience.