Clout – Matthew 22:1-14

A Forbes magazine contributor talks about digital world Klout. “Klout is the brainchild of a San Franciso-based startup that aggregates your following, the number of times you are re-Tweeted or otherwise mentioned, and the number of times you post and who reads them (to mention a couple of data points in the algorithm) to come up with a Klout score—basically it identifies how influential you are online.” Justin Bieber has a score of 100 while the Aflac Duck scores almost 50.

Sam Fiorella was recruited for a VP position at a large Toronto marketing agency. With 15 years of experience he was nevertheless caught off guard when his interviewer asked him for his Klout score. He had no idea what a Klout score was.

The interviewer showed him that his score was 34. He didn’t get the job. Fiorella spent the next six months working hard to boost his Klout score, and got it up to 72. As his score rose, so did the number of job offers and speaking invitations he received. ‘Fifteen years of accomplishments weren’t as important as that score,’ he said.

In a sense, this is a variation of the “It’s who you know that matters”. What is your clout with God? How do you get clout? Jesus tells us.

And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.”’ But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.

“But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.” (Matthew 22:1-14 ESV)

Jesus has one more parable about the religious leaders and any in Israel who will reject their king Messiah.  The generous invitation has been made to rejoice in the king and his kingdom as he is married to his people (this was a common theme of the kingdom, a wedding feast), but the invited guests (Israel) refuse to come and are punished.  Then the king invites any and every one (Gentiles), providing them wedding garments as a proof of invitation.  Jesus is offering the kingdom to all nations and all people, bad and good, for each needs salvation, each needs a change of garment, the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ.

At the wedding, however, there is an interloper, someone who has come in but is not dressed properly, another like the religious leaders who make a claim on the kingdom but who teach a false doctrine about it, rejecting therefore, the king Messiah.  Eternal punishment is his lot.  Not all who are called are chosen.  God has made a universal call for all to enter the kingdom, but only those who are chosen, elected by God, will enter.  Are we seeing ourselves as those who deserve to be received by God because of our personal merit, or as those who have a relationship with God by His doing, clothed with His righteousness because ours is so deficient?  If the latter, then we are properly dressed. You’ve got clout. His clout.