Principle Number 2
Establish the right mindset about money
Pastor Maselo Mosomane
“For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money.” (Matthew 25:14-18)
Jesus said; “the kingdom of heaven is as a man traveling into a far country.” Luke 19:12 puts it this way: “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.” In John 14:3 Jesus promised that He was going to prepare a place for believers and to “…come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” Jesus is talking about His second coming. He had already told His disciples about His death, burial and resurrection.
He likened Himself to a man taking a journey, as Luke puts it: to receive for himself a kingdom. The emphasis in this passage is His second coming and how believers ought to engage themselves while He is away. Like this man who had gone “to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return,” Jesus has gone to His Father, the God of all creation, in heaven to receive for Himself a kingdom and is coming back to set up that kingdom among the living. This will fulfill what the bible said in Revelation 11:15; “the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!”
Many of us cannot put up with Jesus’ preaching style. The way He presented His sermons differs completely from our religious methodology. For instance; how could He take the story of an ordinary man to explain the kingdom principles when religiously instructed people like the Pharisees where there to illustrate the point even better? I mean Caiaphas, the high priest was there; Annas, his father-in-law who was also the high priest was there too. Nicodemus, a member of the Sanhedrin was there; Gamaliel, a doctor of law and a member of the Sanhedrin was there too – just to mention but a few. How could He compare Himself with a businessman? Compare Himself with a shark and a crook - a swindler? Wait a bit! I mean we all know how most businesspeople behave themselves; especially when the stock exchange is misbehaving or the recession is hitting hard; let alone when they are to take a long journey and leave their estate in the care of someone else. How can this man trust these three guys with his business while he is away when he could not trust anyone when he is around? Hold it Preacher!
Let us not forget what He said: “not as the world gives do I give to you”. (John 14: 27) For “My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55: 8-9)
When God gave me this revelation, I was shocked. With my religious background, I could not envisage Jesus talking about money and the kingdom of heaven simultaneously as if the two were synonyms. Well, despite our religious upbringing, when Jesus compares something with heavenly things, we better be listening. Something extraordinary always comes out of something ordinary. Some things are too ordinary for ordinary people to take note of, yet their significance is extraordinary.
This ordinary man knew something that religiously instructed people did not know. Jesus chose this man’s story because religious people did not have any story to explain the kingdom principles of money. The same goes for our generation today. Christians have no financial story to tell. There is little or none to learn from them about money. Christians are not interested in money. They say money is a secular commodity. When they read the newspaper, they would rather read about sports than financial report and wonder why they are poor and have to run their lives and ministries on handouts. Christian children do not have role models in the church concerning financial matters. They have no one to look up to. But this unreligious man was already operating the kingdom principles even before he knew the kingdom. (I do not read anywhere in the bible where he was ever converted to the kingdom).
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