Title: Trade
Contents
Bible Text: Luke 19:11-27
do business
The essence of Jesus' mina story is to "buy and make money." A nobleman left a distant country to claim the throne and called ten of his servants. Then he gave each one a mina and said, “Buy until I return.” After a considerable period of time, the owner returned. The master called his servants to find out how the servants were doing business, but there were some people who made ten minas with one mina, some who made five minas with one mina, and some people who had one mina. Two were praised, and one was stripped of even a mina.
Warren Buffett, the second richest man in the world after Bill Gates, is the man who has been rejected by stocks. The first time he made money was when he was five years old. I set up a vending machine in front of my house and sold chewing gum. When I was six, I bought a box of six colas for 25 cents, went around the lake, sold them all, and made 30 cents. When I was thirteen, I delivered newspapers, and my father was then a congressman. Newspaper delivery is also said to be a corporate type. He said he had a deep knowledge of stocks when he was in high school, so his teachers asked him what stocks to buy. From an early age, he adored economic books. He earned his own money and invested in stocks.
The person who left behind
When the master returned, one of the servants said, “Lord, your mina has earned you ten minas” (verse 16). This man invested one mina and left ten mina. The word “leave” means “earned”. He invested well and made a lot of money. It's money that sucks money. Those who leave make the most of what they have.
Paul Kelty, the first billionaire in the United States, wrote a book called "How to Get Rich," which states that being a millionaire requires knowledge, hard work, and a millionaire mindset. It is wrong to think that having money is good and you can't do it without it. Some believers seem to think that poverty is spiritual. To such a person, even the thought of trading and leaving them does not sprout. Misconceptions about money are the virus of poverty.
The idea that ignoring money is spiritual is not a biblical idea. God has given us the ability to obtain wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18). God wants a world without the poor.
“If you only hear the word of the LORD your God, and keep all his commands and do them, you will surely be blessed, and there will be no poor among you” (Deuteronomy 15:4-5).
Some people are unhappy because they have a lot of money, but there are far more people who are unhappy because they don't have money. You need money to do what God has commanded you to do. Without money, we cannot donate, we cannot build temples, and we cannot do missions. There is a saying that “mission is money”. The wrong attitude of the saints towards money makes themselves poor.
A farmer sows a seed to obtain the harvest. Business people invest and work hard in order to get a profit. To achieve great success, a strong desire to succeed must permeate your subconscious mind. “The master said, “Well done, good servant, since you have been faithful over the least of things, take authority over ten cities” (verse 17). The owner praised him for doing a good job.
He who earns ten minas with one mina is the one who makes money beget money. Seed money is the one who gets the job done. I don't work for money, but money begets money and money makes money work for me. In other words, someone who knows how to make money. This is the person who rolls money multiplied. Not only did he work hard, but he did it with wisdom. Please do the business you left behind.
person who made it
The second person speaks to the master. “The second came and said, “Lord, your mina has made five minas” (verse 18). There was no word on how to do business. He made five minas by choosing an industry on his own and doing business in his own way.
A farmer grew rice. At harvest time, I found that the rice plants planted on the side of the road did not ripen properly. Why? Experts say it's because of good streetlights at night. It is because the lights of the street lamps turned on at night made it impossible for the rice to sleep. I learned by teaching that rice should also rest at night, but the fruits are not ripe because they cannot sleep. A farmer with such research and efforts will inevitably yield more and more.
In the old days, a merchant was treated as the lowest rank in the status system called Sanong Gongsang (士農工商-seonbi, farmer, factory, merchant). Opening the airport VIP room to businessmen would be a boost to the status of businessmen. For Jews and Chinese, making money is justice. In a democratic and free country, there is political freedom. We believers should enjoy spiritual freedom and even financial freedom.
This man who made five mina out of one mina is a hardworking and capable person. He is competent because he is always a learner. Anyone who creates anything is a hard worker. What is important to us is the attitude to learn. Jesus told us to learn wisdom from snakes. A person should be a lifelong student. And you have to invest what you have.
Kim Seong-oh, author of “Let’s go to the pharmacy for six days,” started his business 40 days after graduating from college. I had no business and I owed 600,000 won. After paying off the debt in one year, from the second year onwards, a scholarship of 100,000 won per month was offered to disadvantaged students. He started a pharmacy in 1983, and he always thought, “Would that customer be satisfied? Will that guest come again next time? It is said that he lived with the question of “Can that guest bring another guest?” We succeeded by researching and striving for customer satisfaction. I've never heard of a good match until now. But even in the midst of this, surprisingly, there are people who succeed. No matter how good the game is, success does not go to those who sit still. Prosperity and recession come depending on one's attitude and effort rather than the environment. Tomorrow's success or failure depends on today.
If you look closely at the fly, it does not stand still, strokes its entire body with its feet and rubs its face and eyes. Rub the antennae and eyes from time to time. It's not about doing nothing. You have to rub your eyes to see prey from a distance. To be able to detect enemy attacks, touch the antennae.
Jesus said that if you have a pure heart, you can see God (Matthew 5:8). If you have a complicated head and conflicts and worries in your mind, you will not be able to concentrate on productive work. Any clutter will block your energy. Just like breathing, you have to inhale the energy and let the worries out. Inspiration is the breath that God blows into the nostrils. Inspiration is not an ordinary feeling or emotion, but an extraordinary emotion and deep realization. Inspired by the voice of God. The source of success is emotions. Faith or courage comes from emotions. Be the one who makes five mina out of one mina.
evil person
A third person came forward to the master. He is an evil person. A man who spent years wrapped in a towel from a mina he received from his master. “Another man came and said, “Lord, behold, here is a mina” (verse 20). That person could not even start and met the final day of his life, the Day of Judgment.
What is the difference between those who start and those who do not? Those who can't start, wait until everything is perfect. The conditions are not ready yet, I think it is not the time. Beginners don't wait until everything is perfect. There are imperfections and obstacles to be expected, but it starts.
A barber shop has a sign that says, “Tomorrow is free.” I went the next day and tomorrow was still free. A faded sign on one of the stores that read, “Tomorrow, all products will be sold at half price” was there throughout the year. The tomorrow that the house says will never come.
A fool speaks foolishly, and so is what he does.
“Because I am afraid that you are a strict man, you take what you did not put together, and reap what you did not sow” (verse 21). This man has lived with his master, but he does not know who his master is. There are many misunderstandings about God even though we have been living our life of faith for a long time. So they fall into heresy and lose their power. God makes you reap what you sow, and you eat according to your toil.
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit” (Proverbs 18:21). Foolish words reduce vitality in the heart and destroy desires. If our words are negative and unfruitful, they will come to pass. I am judged by how I speak.
“And the master said, “You wicked servant, I judge you by your words. Did you know that you were a strict man, taking what I did not put together and reaping what I did not sow? Then why did you not put my silver in the bank? Then I would come and seek the interest.” 22-23)
He was hiding a mina he had received from his master, wrapped in a towel. The other man did nothing until he had made ten or five mina. It is not because he steals or harms others that he is evil. He was not using the mina that was given to him.
The master told his servants, “Buy until I return.” In other words, 'make money' or 'get rich'. Wealth does not come from winning the lottery. What matters is your attitude. You have to sweat to make it in order to work and leave. Towels are for wicking sweat away from your body. It is a pity that it was used to wrap the mina in a towel to wash off sweat. The man who had the mina that the master gave him wrapped in a towel was an evil person.
Besides the three, where are the other seven? They didn't even dare show up. They just ate the principal entrusted to them by the owner. They are the ones who ate the seeds that were supposed to be used as seeds. They do not want their master to be king. I hope you will be the one who leaves the mina as long as the master has given you. Be a maker. “Because you have been faithful in the least of things, have authority over ten cities.” I hope you will hear these words. “And the master said, I say to you, whoever has will receive, and whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away” (verse 26).