“Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents.” – Matthew 25:16
To explain how the Kingdom functions, Jesus used illustrations as analogy to communicate divine truth. In this narrative that this text is extracted form, He uses the story of a business man travelling to a far country, who delegated his enterprise to his servants. He had prepared them to oversee this enterprise. This entrepreneur invested in the servants expecting a dividend. The narrative then explains how the servants earned a dividend for their investment; they went and traded with the same. It is so surprising to know that Christ utilizes entrepreneurial concepts in communicating Kingdom principles. He states that the Kingdom is like a man travelling to a far country. With all these investments, the men could only increase by trading. They did not increase by prayer alone or fasting, or conjuring any spiritual rhetoric. Their piety did not increase them. It had nothing to do with their spirituality. They could be engaged in extreme religious rituals and yet not increase.
Many believers are financially challenged because they don’t demonstrate this. We expect divine intervention without any diligence to utilize what He has given us. Many are bewildered in their financial dilemma. They are sinking in their turmoil even though they are passionate for God, diligent in serving and exemplary in their character. Their pursuit of spirituality has not produced the financial dividend the scripture promises. They serve God shackled in debt and their faith is subjected to compromises.
Our wrong mindset of the Kingdom has left many believers in financial challenge, living a subservient lifestyle not befitting the citizens of the Kingdom. Until we are awakened to the fact that our increase is our responsibility, we shall be passive waiting on God. There must be a paradigm shift in all our thinking to radically mobilize the people of God to take responsibility for their increase. There is no amount of prayer that will increase you. Until you go and trade you will not increase.
To trade is to exchange value. However, many believers will not go and trade. We are not supposed to be trading in the house of God. We must not commercialize our faith. His house must be a house of prayer (Isa 56:7; Matt 21:13). Therefore, we must go and trade. The going precedes the trading. The great commission talks about going into the world and making disciples of all nations (Matt 28:18-20). We must go to the world and trade.
Trading means you identify your wealth and communicate value to your target market. Research those who need it, prospect and present, negotiate and sell. Those are entrepreneurial concepts that have to do with trading. If the Kingdom of God is based on this concept then we can only increase when we master this trait. We must go to the market place and do business. If we need to increase, it is time for us to increase as Kingdom citizens.
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~ Reindorf Mantey
(President, Spiritpreneur Network)
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