Our bags of gold

Our bags of gold

Scripture:

“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. ¹⁵ To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. ¹⁶ The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. ¹⁷ So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. ¹⁸ But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

¹⁹ “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. ²⁰ The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’ ²¹ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

²² “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’ ²³ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

²⁴ “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. ²⁵ So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ ²⁶ “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? ²⁷ Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. ²⁸ “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags.²⁹ For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. ³⁰ And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Observation:-

In yet another allusion to His second coming, the Lord gives us the parable of the bags of gold, which is similar to the parable of the talents and the parable of the minas which also tell of the same subject. A master gives bags of gold to three of his servants, each according to his ability. One is given 5, another 2, and the last one only 1.

The first one at once puts his money to work and gains 5 more bags of gold. The second one does likewise and gains 2 more. The third however hides his money in the ground and does nothing. When the Master returns he happily rewards the first and second servant according to their success, but turns harshly on the third servant and throws him out, again alluding to hell, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

It is interesting how the Lord uses investment language in this parable, which can certainly relate to those in accounting and finance! “ Notice how the first servant “put his money to work”. We work to earn money but the money we have already earned can be put to work to multiply itself through investments. In every investment, there is an element of risk, and the higher the risk, the greater the potential return. Even while we sleep or eat, our money is working for us in the place of our investment, so to speak. The first and second investors got a 100% return on their initial investment, doubling their master’s money to his pleasure.

However, the third servant chose the approach of taking absolutely zero risk from his point of view by hiding the money in the ground. However, the Master scolded him for not even putting the money with the bankers to earn interest. Technically, bankers can also go bust, but in general, they are usually the closest thing to giving risk-free returns for most people.

Application:

This parable applies to all of us who have received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. He is our Master. We are his servants.  Each one of us is given one life, with our own unique set of abilities, strengths and weaknesses. We each have unique upbringing and experiences and unique world of people that only we interact with. What are the bags of gold to us? Jesus is certainly not referring to worldly riches which decay and rust like all earthly possessions. Instead, He exhorts His disciples to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and store up treasures in heaven where rust and moth cannot destroy.

Our initial bag of gold would be likened to our initial conversion, when we first received the salvation of God by believing on Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Investing this gold that we received would be likened to going to church with joy, learning and seeking the knowledge of God, experiencing the joy of serving God in church or the marketplace, giving to the poor and needy, learning to share with and pray for the unsaved. As we invest in the things of God, doing the things that we know will please Him, we continue to grow in maturity and receive more and more from Him in rich experience and capacity to bless others.

In contrast, consider the Christian who after his salvation does nothing thereafter but continue with his own life, focused only on his own wants and desires, without further thought for God other than having a perceived security for salvation. We must beware for we are saved for a purpose, to serve God, to grow in Him, to be a blessing to others. We are not saved to just do nothing and wait for Jesus to come!

The equivalent here of at least putting the money with the bankers could mean going to church on Sunday, paying one’s tithes, and perhaps serve a little here and there. However, there is no significant growth and little reward from the Master when He returns. We need to strive for more in God, to grow more and more in Him, in experience and service.

The savvy investor watches over his investment closely, to ensure it is doing well and protecting his return. If necessary, when a better investment opportunity arises, he is quick to switch his holdings to pursue a better return, all the while properly balancing risk and reward. As he continues to invest, he learns and becomes a better investor.

For us too, it is the same. We need to seek God constantly seeking to grow. It is His will that we move on from faith to faith, from glory to glory. We must not become satisfied and content where we are in God. We need to continue pursuing more and more from Him. Smith Wigglesworth once said that if you are not moving forward, you are backsliding. We need to ask God for more and more passion and Spirit and fire from Him for us to go deeper in the Lord. Invest in the things of the Lord, and see how magnificent our returns in Him!

Prayer:

We praise You and thank You, Lord for Your glory, Your purpose, Your calling to us. We thank You for the bags of gold we have received, the initial call that drew us to You, that led us to Your salvation. Let us not be like the third servant who hid this great salvation away and did nothing only to lose it completely. Instead, Lord, let us move on from this great salvation to greater faith, greater heights, even as we seek You and desire to go deeper in You. Teach us, Lord, to invest in the things of God, to turn our eyes away from temporal things but to pursue the things of lasting value, like Your Word, like Your service, like spending time in prayer, and in communion with You. We bless You and thank You, Lord, for the great truths You reveal to us. Be with us always we pray. In Jesus name, Amen.