On Thursday, April 26^th, True Grits will be serving the best pretzels on campus in honor of the prestigious Pretzel Day that snackers hold so dearly to their hearts.

This day started in 2003 when Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell wanted to “acknowledge the importance of the pretzel to the state’s history and economy.” Pennsylvania isn’t just known for its cheese steak. Pretzels have played a key role in developing the economy and providing a salty snack for people ever since they were first developed in 610 AD (According to The History of Science and Technology by Bryan Bunch and Alexander Hellemans). There is even a Pretzel Museum in Philadelphia!

What kind of pretzel do you like? There are hard pretzels, soft pretzels, cheese pretzels, sweet pretzels, twisted pretzels, pretzel sticks, pretzel M&M’s, and more! This very simple snack has been adapted and reinvented to suite a wide array of tastes and preferences.

Join True Grits during their lunch hours on April 26^th for a delicious hot pretzel complete with toppings from the toppings bar! With all the possibilities, there’s bound to be a pretzel you can enjoy.

Matthew 25:14-30 (NIV)

14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. 15 To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. 17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’
21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
22 “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’
23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
24 “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’
26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
28 “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags.
29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Reflection
There is a TV show called the “Undercover Boss,” where a CEO goes undercover as an employee in his own company. The CEO is usually so far removed from the workforce that the employees don’t recognize him and just work as they do normally, with some more faithfully than others. But occasionally, an employee who is less than faithful recognizes the CEO. Oh boy, once that realization hits, how quickly everything changes - his attitude, motivation and work quality improve ever so drastically.

Here in this parable, it wasn’t necessarily the gold that motivated the servants, but it was whether or not the servants really knew the master. And the servants’ reactions revealed whether they really did know their master. For the first two, they were well acquainted with the master’s ways. Because there was no doubt that their responsibility was to increase the gold, they immediately went out and did just that. They were good and faithful stewards of what was entrusted to them. But the third one, while he thought he knew the master, he really didn’t. He made wrong assumptions about the master and thus failed to please him.

Response
As we seek to know more of God and all of His wonderful and loving ways, not only will we know what to do with all He has given to us, our heart desire will also be to be His good and faithful servant. Let’s start with confession, confessing that we need to know our Master. Let’s continue on with thanksgiving and worship, and let’s seek to please and serve Him by being faithful with all He has entrusted to us.