Do Business or Become Barren

So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, "Do business till I come."

Luke 19:13 (NKJV)

Jesus gives us insight here into the operation of the kingdom of heaven: it is a kingdom run on set principles and governing systems, and it is clear that business has a huge role in it.

To understand the commandment He gives to His servants, one must understand God's attitude toward barrenness. Frankly, He hates fruitlessness. God is averse to anything that does not bear fruit; in fact, the Scriptures tell us that He cuts it off and casts it into the fire. It is the divine ordination of mankind to be fruitful. God created us with this innate ability, and that is why barrenness is a condition frowned upon in human society.

Jesus said, "You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit," and that the Father is glorified when we bear much fruit, implying that God is glorified in our lives when we are fruitful. Many think this refers to spiritual fruitfulness, and that is only partially true. Look at Genesis. When God commanded the first man to be fruitful, or productive, He was laying down the pattern of function, a system that would govern all of humanity. The success of any nation or individual depends on its ability to produce: not merely children, but value in tangible or abstract assets and commodities usable for the advancement of the nation or the individual.

God was clear: be fruitful, or productive, and then you will multiply and increase, and finally subdue the earth. This is the principle every kingdom, country and business follows. Subduing is impossible without the first and second stages, and the opening scripture expresses this truth most beautifully.

The Greek word for "do business" is pragmateuomai, from the family that gives us the English words pragmatic and pragmatism, which the Oxford dictionary defines as "dealing with things sensibly and realistically in a way that is based on practical rather than theoretical considerations." In other words, practicality is more beneficial to living than the adoption of theoretical philosophies that stagnate and keep us disillusioned with life. The Master commands us to do business, and not to be fruitless or barren. The word means to busy oneself in transacting business or trade; it is an ancient merchant term for trading in order to make a profit or gain. It belongs to the same world of fruitful labour as the bearing of much fruit in John 15.

The very nature of business is risky, and God considers that far more honourable than playing it safe in life, like the servant who hid his master's money instead of trading with it or putting it in the bank. This means that Christians who are unwilling to take risks in order to trade or transact business are useless to God; He has no use for people who are not business-minded. It is no wonder that He was a businessman Himself before entering the ministry, and that His twelve were businessmen too. Business glorifies God.

Child of God, your Master has commanded you to do business, to trade, and to make gains on His investment in you. Are you doing business? Is there a trade in which you are transacting, and are you making a profit? Are you bearing much fruit and glorifying God? What are you waiting for?