For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. 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.
After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.
For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Matthew 25:14-30
This parable is filled with decades worth of Bible studies. I probably won’t spend that much time on it, but I will likely need a few weeks to explore it a little deeper.
Three weeks ago we examined how Jesus had chosen capitalism as an example when explaining the Kingdom of Heaven to his disciples. We discussed how capitalism is demonized by popular American culture and how a socialistic approach to markets is touted as being more moral and just.
The buzz word most often used to condemn the prefered economic system of our Lord is “greed.”
Anyone who wants to make the most of what they’ve been given must be greedy. Anyone who wants to turn a profit is filled with greed. It is greed that motivates the entrepreneur and the business owner.
Is any of this true? Of course some entrepreneurs and business owners are greedy. Whether it’s the last financial crisis of 2008 or the tulip bulb bubble, the first bubble collapse on record, greed has always played a part.
But that’s not the question. Rather, we should be asking, is greed unique to capitalism? And the answer is no. Absolutely not. The great failure of socialism and communism is that they too are plagued by greed. It is greed that absolutely guarantees that those two systems cannot and will not deliver on their promises of utopic bliss. When they fail, they fail miserably. Communist China, Russia, Venezuela, and Cuba have some of the most horrific stories of starvation and wealth inequality in all of history. That is due to greed.
The difference in greed within capitalism and that of socialism is simple. In capitalism, my greed causes me to want to hoard the wealth I’ve earned. In socialism, my greed causes me to want to hoard the wealth you’ve earned. In capitalism, my greed problem is between me and Jesus. In socialism, it’s between me, and you, and Jesus. This presents a much more complex situation.
Greed is a manifestation of our wicked human nature embeded deep in our flesh. The only solution for it is life in the Spirit. Trying to solve it through the flesh and by trying to outsmart the wisdom of the Bible with a new economic system only makes it worse.
Jesus said “what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world yet loses his own soul?” Prepper translation: “What good will it do you to survive the coming economic collapse, nuclear war, or even a zombie apocalypse if you don’t know you will go to heaven when you die.” A recent study found that 10 out of 10 people die! On that day we will meet our Maker. It only makes sense to be prepared for that day. Click here to learn more about knowing GOD.
Have a blessed day and happy prepping!
Mark
