And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. Finally he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.' But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.' And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

I need you to hear something today that might sting a little, but it needs to be said. These tenants were not bad farmers. They were wicked ones. And there's a difference.

A bad farmer can't produce. A wicked farmer produces but refuses to render. The tenants in this parable were so good at what they did that the fruit they produced caused them to become greedy with it. They weren't wicked because they were lazy. They were wicked because they were hoarders.

Now watch this..when the master sent servants to collect what was his, the tenants didn't just say no. They beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. And when the master sent even more servants, they did the same to them. Finally, the master sent his own son, thinking surely they would respect him. But when the tenants saw the heir, they said to themselves, "Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance."

Here's what I'm seeing. The progression of violence reveals the progression of entitlement. It didn't start with murder. It started with a small decision to keep what didn't belong to them. And once you convince yourself that the vineyard is yours, you will fight anyone who threatens your claim to it... even the owner's son. PHEW!!!

And I'm not just talking about the Pharisees Jesus was addressing. I'm talking about us. Because when our faith, our growth, and our transformation is for ourselves alone, we become the tenant that says, "The vineyard is mine."
And once we've said that in our hearts, we start resisting every voice that calls us to render.

So let me get personal for a minute. I asked myself, "Scott, how have you made pastoring about you?" And here's what I wrote.

• I love how God has produced in me the love in making room for others to feel accepted, but I fail to render it when it becomes all about my need to feel loved. 
• I love how God has produced in me a love to work hard in serving others, but I fail to render it when it becomes all about my need to feel appreciated. 
• I love how God has produced in me a love to invest in others, but I fail to render it when it becomes all about my need to feel significant.

Can I just say... that's a hard mirror to look in. But it's an honest one.

And here's what makes it so dangerous. The slide from steward to owner doesn't happen overnight. It happens one harvest at a time. One act of keeping instead of giving. One season of consuming instead of rendering. Until one day you look up and you're fighting to protect what was never yours to begin with.

Tomorrow we're going to see what happens when the master finally responds, because the fruit doesn't just reveal the problem. It becomes the proof of something far more consequential.

Write down one area of your life where you've been holding on too tightly. Then pray over it and physically open your hands as a posture of surrender. Ask the Lord to show you what rendering looks like in that specific area this week.