“Put this money to work,” he said, “until I come back.”
Luke 19:13b
Many people are surprised to read about God in economic terms, much less in the terms of capitalism. They do not associate God with business in any way, shape, or form. He is God of the sanctuary, not God of the marketplace. His domain is a church altar, not a business counter.
While He is a spiritual God (John 4:24), He never created matter to be separated from its spiritual origins. He is the Source of both. One is the root and the other is the fruit. That’s why when materialism is cut off from its spiritual roots, it becomes cold, impersonal, and unfulfilling—regardless of how much of it you make or have in the bank.
Therefore, as the ultimate Owner of all of the earth’s wealth, God invests portions of His wealth in His people. Because of His love and grace, He makes a specific deposit in each person in order to make a profit for His honor and glory—as well as for the good of other people.
One of the ways we worship the Creator is by being good stewards of the creation He has entrusted to us. Therefore, our spiritual faithfulness is revealed through our material faithfulness. That means that our worship and our work are to be synonymous.
The parable of the ten minas in Luke 19:11–27 brings together the inseparable relationship between the spiritual and material. The master put resources in the servants’ hands that tested and brought to light the motives of their hearts. This business parable from the lips of the Lord Jesus is filled with practical principles about how we are to invest our lives and resources until the Lord returns.
God is a generous, benevolent investment capitalist. Because of His love, mercy, and grace, He liberally invests His possessions in each of our lives. He entrusts and invests life, time, talents, salvation, spiritual gifts, and opportunities to each of us. God invests in us so that we can invest in others. He blesses us as He did Abraham, so we can be a blessing to others.
As a result of His investment in us, He expects us to “redeem the time,” “buy up every opportunity,” “occupy until He comes,” and “do business until He returns.” He expects us to take what He has invested in us and use it to create all the spiritual and financial profit we can for His Kingdom and glory.
Because of His grace, He gives each of us equal opportunity to be faithful, to be involved, to invest, and to multiply His investment in us. If He has given you an entrepreneurial spirit, business acumen, or the ability to make money or create wealth, then He wants you to be His missionary in the marketplace! He wants you to be a wise capitalist and leverage your opportunities and finances for His Kingdom and glory.
One day we will each face Him personally to give an account—either through our own death or at His Second Coming. What will you hear from Him at that time? I trust that it will be, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” I hope you will go to work tomorrow and all the rest of your life as a Kingdom entrepreneur committed to leveraging every opportunity for His glory and the good of others!