THE KINGDOM PRINCIPLES OF MONEY

Principle Number 2

Establish the right mindset about money – Part 3

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)

This businessman we are reading about knew something about money and business management. He knew something about profit and loss. He understood spiritual laws. He knew the law of delegation. He understood the law of multiplication and increase. He knew that what you don’t use you loose. He was financially literate and His story caught Jesus’ attention. Jesus included it in His sermon and it later became part of the bible. Every bible ever printed contains this man’s account. Think about it.

Our religious background forbids us from talking about money in the church. We don’t talk about money in the church; we only collect it. We are taught that money is the root of all evil. Money is said to belong to the devil – in fact it is thought to be the devil himself and therefore anyone who has money is viewed as a sinner. Many times the scripture is quoted out of context in order to discourage us from having anything to do with money because we are Christians. I wonder who said Christians do not need money. Is there perhaps another currency exclusively reserved for Christian that I do not know about?

Well, Jesus talked about money and business in His preaching. This did not bother Him. He seemed to be comfortable with commercial terms like TRADE, PROFIT, LOSS, BANKING, INVESTMENT and INTEREST. The bible too, is full of such verses about money. In fact, the word money appears hundred and forty times in the bible. It has appeared so many times that it would be unwise to ignore it. You see; if by any chance you happen to miss it at its first appearance, be of good comfort, the show is not over yet. You will still have more opportunities to pick it up as it is graciously presented to you time and again in the rest of the scriptures. Relax, be still, be at rest and know that another presentation is scheduled somewhere in the next verse or chapter. Just keep on reading, don’t stop.

In the ancient world bartering was a means of exchange. Bartering, by definition, means swapping. For instance, if you had a sheep and needed a bag of maize meal, you would look for someone who has a bag of maize meal and negotiate. If he has need for a sheep and the value is acceptable to both parties, a transaction would then be entered into. The problem with this system of trade was that values were not standard. Values depended on the need for the commodity at steak. Transactions would then depend on the need for what one has by the prospective consumer. A seller or exchanger would oftentimes take days, weeks or even months before he could locate someone who had a need to exchange with him for the goods he had.

This system of exchange had many flaws and a great need existed for its improvement: hence our present monetary system. In our modern world today, we use money as a means of exchange and find it to be a better system of trade since it is universally accepted. It is by far a better exchange commodity than anything that was used in the past. Its simplicity and portability makes it a multipurpose article of trade to run our day-to-day business. In Rome, silver coins were minted as early as in the year 269 before Christ. The usage of money, however, existed earlier elsewhere, as in Lydia and Greece. The first coin ever to be minted in the United States was minted in Philadelphia in 1792. The introduction of money has made life very easy. Trading can take place anywhere any time and both trader and consumer are happy.

We cannot “live” without money. Our bodies are physical and need material things for their nourishment. With money we buy all kinds of material things necessary to sustain our bodies. We use money to buy food, clothing and shelter. We pay our bills, educate our children and afford automobiles. Are there still many things one can get without spending money? I just cannot imagine life without money. As a matter of fact, we have come to a stage where it is a dreadful thing to die without money. A considerable amount of money is needed to run a funeral. Why can’t we open our eyes to these simple facts?

What concerns me most is that we all know these simple facts; but as soon as we ascend the podium or occupy the church pew we get transformed into something else. Why should money be so bedeviled when people have to work for it; but glorified when it is offered to the church or preacher? Why do we call it Satan when we have to work and earn it but thank God for it when it is given to us? Why do we demonize money but make it sacred when it is in the offering basket? Why do we call it all sorts of names when it is in another man’s pocket but brag about it when it is in our own? No, let us be realistic. “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth?” (Galatians 3:1) I think Paul’s statement to the Galatians is most appropriate to our situation today. Who bewitched us?