Principle Number 6
The most neglected art of creating wealth Part 1
Pastor Maselo Mosomane
“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: 16-18.
Let us look closely at the above verses of scripture. What did these servants do with their master’s money? We are told that the first one “TRADED with the same, and made them other five talents.” Verse 16. Listen to verse 17 about the second servant: “And likewise he that had received two, he also GAINED other two.”
Let us bring these two verses together and observe something very important for there is treasure hidden in there waiting to be discovered. The two servants went out and traded with their master’s money. When they did that; something happened. They gained money equals to what they started with. He who received five gained five more talents. He who received two gained two more. Their action attracted more money. This is a kingdom principle. This is the kingdom economy.
The kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven; it doesn’t matter what you call it - the two describe the same thing. The kingdom of God is GAIN and not loss. I will say it again; the kingdom of God is profit. Heaven is gain. Heaven is profit and not loss. Heaven is progress and not retrogression. Heaven is increase and not decrease. Heaven is plus and not minus. Unlike the world, heaven operates on the law of profit and profit; not profit and loss.
When you got saved, you where ushered into the kingdom of profit – the kingdom of God. It was gain to you. You did not lose anything but you gained it all. You gained eternal life. You gained divine health, divine supply, love, joy, peace, and so goes the list. The kingdom of God is a kingdom of gain, a kingdom of profit.
We are taught the laws of increase in the kingdom of God. We need to develop ourselves in the application of these laws in our day-to-day lives and start enjoying all what is rightfully ours. Gain makes things better. Gain makes it possible for people to have life and have it in abundance. It comes along with joy. Remember, “the joy of the Lord is (our) strength” (Nehemiah 8:10b).
Jesus said the first two servants TRADED. The word, trade is a commercial term. Trading is a process of buying and selling for profit. A trader would then be one who earns a living by buying items from one person and selling them to another. His business is to find out what the needs of the people are and then find suitable products to meet those needs. People are not just citizens to him but a market. His number one job is to find a market-related product and meet that need. He may specialize with one product or keep a variety of products. This sometimes involves intensive traveling, locally and or internationally.
A trader can also be called a merchant. Many bible translations refer to traders as merchants or dealers. In our modern days, a trader may be referred to as an agent or a representative. We must be careful when we use these terms for at times these two words; agent and representative are used interchangeably; yet they are not the same.
Not loosing context of our discussion, a representative will be one who is employed by a company to sell its products. He is a company salesman and qualifies for employee benefits. His remuneration may be a package made out of a small basic income and commission or commission only – this will vary from company to company. Not so with an agent. An agent is self-employed. He enters into an agreement with a supplier to sell his goods to prospective customers for commission. He is independent and can enter into such agreements with more than one company. He receives no benefits from any of these companies. An agent may also be called a freelance.
Most businessmen of our time are traders. They are at times called dealers or retailers. They gather a variety of goods and sell to local residents. Their enterprise makes most of them very rich.
King Solomon was a businessman. Since his office as a king occupied most of his time, he employed people to manage his businesses. He had a fleet of ships. He would send them out at different intervals to go and do business with far and near countries. After a certain period his fleet would come back loaded with the treasures of the nations. “For the king had at sea a navy of Tharshish with the navy of Hiram: once in three years came the navy of Tharshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks. During his reign silver was as common in Jerusalem as stone, and cedar was as plentiful as ordinary sycomore in the foothills of Judah. The king’s agents controlled the export of horses from Musri and Cecilia, and the export of chariots from Egypt. They supplied the Hittite and Syrian kings with horses and chariots, selling chariots for six hundred pieces of silver each and horses for one hundred and fifty each.” 1Kings 10: 22,27-29. (Good News Bible - Today’s English Version). How does this fare with your religious background?
In addition to his other sources of revenue like tributes, his international trade policy made him very rich. “So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom” (1Kings 10:23) I am inspired by verse 27. “During his reign silver was as common in Jerusalem as stone” Can you imagine! There was no country as prosperous as Israel during Solomon’s reign.
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