Revisiting the Spiritual Sponge Principle

As I’ve admitted before, I’m not a handyman in any sense of the word. Mechanical genes my grandfather passed on to my father and uncle skipped over me. I still have a considerable assortment of tools inherited from my dad, but his skills didn’t come attached to them. 

 

Even though I’m the equivalent of a craftsman with two left feet, I appreciate what tools can do. I can hammer a nail (sometimes) and turn a screwdriver when necessary, but I’m wise enough to entrust any task of greater complexity to someone who knows what they’re doing.

 

One versatile tool I’ve found very handy might not be the first that comes to mind. It’s useful for washing a car, wiping up spills, cleaning windows, removing children’s artwork from walls, and a host of other everyday tasks. You might have guessed I’m referring to the humble sponge.

Sponges come in many shapes and sizes; they’re extremely useful. That is, until they’re not. Sponges can soak up lots of liquid, but when saturated they become basically useless. Try as you will, a sponge won’t soak up another drop. But we don’t throw the sponge away, do we? No, we just squeeze the sponge’s contents into a bucket or onto the ground and voila! We’re good to go again.

 

My purpose isn’t to sing the praises of sponges. But long ago I discovered something I call “God’s spiritual sponge principle.” It’s the idea that the Lord will entrust to each of us only as much spiritual riches as we’re willing to use. If we don’t put into practice what we’ve learned, He won’t give us more. Apparently, He detests spiritual hoarders.

 

How do I know this? I believe it’s clearly taught in the Scriptures. The New Testament book of Philemon isn’t one we often hear taught on Sundays. One reason is it consists of a single chapter and only 25 verses. Despite its brevity, one of its verses encapsulates in a handful of words this spiritual sponge concept.

 

The apostle Paul writes to someone named Philemon, described as “our dear friend and fellow worker,” and several other people. In verse 6 Paul says, “I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.” This seems to indicate that as we exercise our faith – whether evangelistically with non-believers or in sharing what we’ve learned with fellow believers – we grow in our understanding of God’s truth.

 

This phrasing is from an early edition of the New International Version; other Bible versions translate this statement somewhat differently. But it seems consistent with what the Bible teaches elsewhere. 

 

For instance, writing to the Church in Philippi, Paul admonishes, “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed – not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence – continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to do according to His good purpose” (Philippians 2:12-13). He’s telling them to work out what the Lord has already worked into them.

 

Then there’s Jesus’ parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30, in which a wealthy man leaving on a journey entrusts property into his servants’ care. He gives them differing amounts to oversee, one five talents, another two talents, and the third one talent. Upon returning the man asks each for an accounting of how they used what he gave them to manage.

 

Servants 1 and 2 put their money to work and gained more for their master. Commending them, the rich man tells both, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things….”

 

The third, however, had simply hidden his talent, explaining, “I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground” (Matthew 25:24-25). His master wasn't buying the excuse, however. He took the single talent from the servant and gave it to the one who had gained the most.

 

“For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him,” the master declared. Then he gave the chilling command, “throw the worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 

 

Much could be unpacked from that passage, with different theological conclusions. But one thing seems clear: God gives each of us some measure of spiritual riches – gifts, talents, opportunities. He expects us to put them to use for His glory, not to hoard or hide them. 

We’re His “spiritual sponges,” and the Lord wants us to apply the biblical teachings He gives us, utilizing those principles and truths to further His kingdom and serve people He brings into our lives. We’re not called, as one preacher termed it, to “sit, soak and sour.”