Faith-Driven Impact Investor: What the Bible SaysSample

3. The Parable of the Bags of Gold

So far, we’ve laid out the teaching of Jesus: give to the poor, don’t hang on, don’t try to control – just give.

Even though the teachings are so very clear, our worldly tendencies beg for a different conclusion.

If you’ve been in Christian business circles, you’ve heard it before: the parable of the 10 bags of gold proves that God wants us to invest our wealth wisely and grow it for His Kingdom.

This flow of logic sounds reasonable. But it’s wrong.

Look at the story again. A master gives his servants different amounts of money before going on a journey. Two invest and double their amount. One buries it in the ground out of fear. When the master returns, he praises those who made a return on the money:

“Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.” – Matthew 25:21 NIV

Seems like an endorsement of financial stewardship, right?

But here’s the thing: Jesus wasn’t talking about money.

The entire context of Matthew 25 is about being ready for Christ’s return. The parable of the bags of gold comes right after the parable of the ten virgins and right before the separation of the sheep and the goats. The whole context of Matthew 25 is that end times are coming – that we need to be faithful, obedient, and ready.

So why, then, do popular Christian teachings twist this story into a business lesson about money management? Is it because we want to find a reason not to give, as Jesus teaches?

Yes, we can agree that Jesus’ teachings apply to our talents and other gifts God may have given us, but we still want to hear – from the Bible – that we are somehow called to be wise stewards, successful managers of whatever money God has given us.

But Jesus doesn’t tell this parable to motivate Christians to multiply whatever money or resources God may have given them – that would be in direct opposition to all of his other teachings about money!

So why is this parable still pointed to by so many Christian financial leaders? Maybe it’s because we want to justify our wealth, hoping Jesus is endorsing financial growth. Perhaps we’d rather be stewards than disciples – important managers instead of humble givers.

It’s hard to escape the clarity of Jesus’ call – he calls us only to be disciples, not stewards. Givers, not investors. Look again at what Jesus said:

“Sell your possessions and give to the poor.” – Luke 12:33a NIV

”Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth.” – Matthew 6:19a NIV

“Freely you have received; freely give.” – Matthew 10:8b NIV

In today’s world, these verses don’t make any sense.

Sell our stuff and just give it away to the poor? Even after we worked so hard to earn it? And just give to those who are poor? What if they don’t know how to manage it… Isn’t that like throwing pearls to the swine?

Try as we might, we simply cannot fit these teachings of Jesus into our way of thinking. And, since these words are so confrontational, so illogical, we keep trying to rationalize away what Jesus is really saying.

But that is wrong.

No matter how much you rationalize the parable of the 10 bags of gold, the message remains the same: we are not called to invest, to manage, or even to direct the use of the funds.

If this parable teaches anything about money, it’s this: don’t bury what God has given you. Use it. And Jesus already told us how – to give it to the poor.

Can you do that?