CHRISTIAN TRADING
The parable which the Lord here gives of the ten bondmen and the ten pounds, shows us how He would have His servants occupied during His present absence from the earth. The setting up of the kingdom of God is in view, and two things are brought before us by the Lord in connection with this. The first is that He Himself must go to heaven to receive His kingdom, and the second is that He must, when He returns, have capable administrators who shall be able to govern for Him in the kingdom over which He rules.
The Lord was near Jerusalem, and His disciples thought that the kingdom of God was about to be immediately manifested. The prophet Daniel had, however, clearly shown that the Son of man would come in the clouds of heaven to rule (chap 7. 13), and He was going to Jerusalem that He might from thence make His exit from earth to heaven (Luke 9: 31) from whence He will return with power and great glory to reign, Luke 21: 27.
Now whilst He is away the Lord’s bondmen are to prove their worth. In this parable there are ten of them, a complete number, and each has an equal deposit given to him with which he is to trade during his Lord’s absence. This is not with the view of enriching the Lord, for each is allowed to keep what he has gained, the most successful having his gains still further added to. It is written, “the hand of the diligent shall bear rule” (Prov 12: 24); and so here the Lord sets His faithful bondmen over ten cities or five cities, according to their diligence during His absence.
Men of the world trade in order to get gain. They start with a certain amount of capital, and act on certain approved principles, with this end in view. The principles, however, of Christian trading are diametrically opposed to those which obtain in the world’s business transactions, and if we trade for our Master on worldly lines the result will be disastrous. To start with, the man of the world carries on business with his own interests in view, but the Christian trades entirely in the interests of the One to whom he belongs. The man of the world gets gain by buying and selling again; the Christian gets gain by giving freely what his Lord has entrusted to him. The feeding of the five thousand illustrates this in a remarkable way, Matt. 14: 16-21. Then the disciples started with five loaves, and finished with twelve baskets full. This increase was gained by their freely distributing what the Lord placed in their hands. ‘Freely ye have received, freely give’, is the divinely given principle on which the Lord’s servants are to trade, see Isa 55: 1.
The men of the world reckon their capital and their gains in pounds sterling; but to every one of us is given grace, according to the measure of the gift of Christ, Eph 4: 7. In Paul we see one who made good use of what he received (1 Cor 15: 10), so that the grace abounding through the many caused thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God, 2 Cor 4: 15; 9: 12, 13.
The men of this world are bound to lose their capital in the end, however successful they may be for a time in their businesses, for death comes upon them, and they have to leave everything to others. The Christian’s capital, on the other hand, can never be lost. Even if thrown away it comes back again, Eccles. 11: 1. The one thing necessary to increase it is that it shall be kept in motion. In the case where there was no increase at all the idle bondman kept his Lord’s money wrapped up, and thus out of sight. He acknowledged that the money belonged to the Lord, and brought it back as he had received it, forgetting that, as bondman, he himself belonged to his Lord, and that though he had kept his Lord’s money, which in fact could not be lost, he had wasted absolutely the time which should have been spent in his Master’s service.
This business of our Lord is carried on in the midst of those who declare, “We will not have this man to reign over us”, and who are thus hostile to the One whose claims we own. The wicked servant carefully kept his Lord’s money out of circulation. To have laid it down upon the counter of the bank would, at least, have been a confession that he was a trustee for the One hated by the world.
As bondmen, all that we have, even in temporal things, belongs to our Lord, and the least we can do is to exchange temporal things for those which abide. And in this again there is profit. The moneychangers of the world charge a commission upon the exchange, so that the one who takes his money to them gets back less in value from them. But the one who, recognising the Lord’s claims (Acts 4: 32), brings his Lord’s property to the exchangers, not only pays no commission on the transaction, but receives manifold more in exchange, Luke 18: 30.
We see then what an exceedingly profitable business it is that our Lord has given us to carry on for Him whilst He is away, a business where there are all gains and no losses. All that is needed on our part is diligence in finding recipients for what we have to bestow. Even if we are slow at trading there remain the profits of exchange, so that none need go empty handed to their Lord when He comes, save those who entirely ignore His claims upon them, and so lose all at His return.
What the Lord looks for in His bondmen is fidelity. It is not that He wants to make a profit out of our labours. Everything is given into His hands, so that we cannot increase His riches, and the wicked bondman lied when he spoke of Him as an exactor, for to the One who possesses all there is nothing left to exact. What He will look for when He comes will be men of proved fidelity, who will rule for Him then as faithfully as they have traded for Him now.
Date not given
MANCHESTER
From Goodly Words 1925