Chapter Nine DEVELOP A CREATIVE SPIRIT

Chapter Nine

DEVELOP A CREATIVE SPIRIT

The Eighth Commandment

“You Shall Not Steal”—Exodus 20:15.

Social Perceptions

This commandment is a directive that people generally understand. Stealing is so obviously wrong that in the eyes of many people there is no need for any exposition. Stealing is simply taking something without asking.

However, in some cultures children are encouraged to steal.  The gypsy culture is renowned for cultivating thieves. The gypsies are not the only ones who treat thieving as a way of life. Anthropologists have reported stealing to be a foreign concept among various primitive groups they have studied. People from these tribes take, eat, drink, and use whatever happens to be within their grasp, but find themselves in trouble when encountering more sophisticated cultures. 

The concept of “stealing a look” may also get us into trouble, or it may not, depending on the jurisdiction in which we live. In certain jurisdictions, this may be classified as being a Peeping Tom. In other parts of the world, we might not be peeping through anybody’s window, or through a hole in a fence, or from behind a bush, or through a crack in a wall to find ourselves in trouble. We might just be looking at what somebody is doing, and it happens to be a government official going about their business and wants no witnesses, or it might be a criminal deal going down by lawbreakers who also disapprove of onlookers. We might encounter a thief on the job, who takes the view that anybody without permission to watch is stealing.

Generally, stealing is frowned upon in society, except when it comes to sport.  Football and basketball players all steal the ball from opposing players, and this is part of the fun of the game. When it comes to baseball, everyone thinks it is all right for a player to steal a base, except the side that is losing any advantage it might have because of the base being stolen. Hockey players “steal” the puck of the opposing player, which results in disapproval or approval, depending upon the team being played for, or which team is being cheered to win; being on the losing side is no fun.

This anomaly about stealing actually tells us something about people’s attitudes towards other people taking that to which they have no lawful right. In the game of baseball, the fans and fellow players like the idea of a player stealing a base, as long as he does not get caught. This attitude is not just restricted to the sporting arena. It appears to be a commonplace attitude within society. Stealing, while generally disapproved, appears to be acceptable to some people as long as no one steals from them.  Some people have the view that stealing is okay if it is from their workplace, or a bank or a government department. If some of their friends know about their stealing, this does not appear to be a matter for concern, as long as the person does not get caught in the act.  However, if a person is caught and branded a thief, the person is considered a fool for having stolen in the first place, and is likely to be ostracized. Stealing does not appear to be viewed as the crime; being caught is the crime. In secular western societies, there seems to be an acceptance of stealing from those who are perceived to have plenty, as long as a person does not acquire a criminal record.

The concept of people playing Robin Hood and stealing from the rich to give to the poor, and paying themselves from the proceeds, seems to find acceptance in the eyes of the multitude because of the way society is structured. In years gone by, royalty or nobles seemed to have had all the money and wealth. Meanwhile the majority of people were peasants, who worked for a pittance as subsistence farmers on land that was owned by their overseers, who were often ruthless in dealing with their subjects. Consequently, a mythical rogue like Robin Hood is portrayed as a hero who helped the downtrodden and victimized workers of the land. Hence, stealing is often seen by many as a form of robbing the rich to pay the poor the wages they were denied.

The Public Purse

Today, people see nothing wrong with defrauding the government because this is where the public treasury is kept and, besides, the public purse is funded by taxing the people of the land. Not paying tax or finding means by which to pay as little tax as possible is big business in the sophisticated financial world of today. The richest man in Australia once had to face a panel of numerous government officials as they inquired into his financial dealings. They wanted to know how much money was being channeled through his use of tax havens, because he evidently was not paying as much tax as a man of his means should have been. In fact, as the wealthiest man in Australia, he and his companies were paying only one fifth of the tax that the officials felt he should have been paying. Australia’s richest man told them that he made sure that he paid as little tax as possible because he saw no just cause in giving his money to the government, so economically irresponsible employees, like those questioning him, could waste it on unproductive activities.

It is argued that law-abiding citizens pay their tax and the rich get their businesses and perks subsidized by the government. Many simply believe the taxation laws that exist are structured to allow the rich to get richer, and the poor to become poorer. Yet in some countries, there is a welfare system that is very generous to those who are not employed, and while they might be considered to be living below the poverty line, they are in fact more well-off than the majority of people in the world have ever been. They do not pay tax, and they do not have to work long hours or live in impoverished villages without the luxury of running water by merely turning a tap; or without the luxury of electricity by flicking a switch; or without the luxury of cooking with gas by twisting a knob. Since these individuals live on welfare and do not pay income tax, many workers, who pay tax, see these welfare recipients, not so much as living off the government, but stealing from themselves indirectly.

The Principle of the Tithe

At the time the Ten Commandments were given, taxes were being collected in different kingdoms of the world, but the Israelite leaders were not to tax their people. A different system was put in place. The Israelites were given the principle of the tithe, which was not so much a tax, but rather a means by which they could support a priesthood that brought sacrifices to God on behalf of the people and instructed them about the truths of life. Interestingly, we read in the book of Malachi, chapter three, that those who did not pay the tithe were stealing from God. Because of this, it might be said that people who do not pay taxes are stealing from the government authorities or from those who receive tax as their dues.

The Apostle Paul writes:

“For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed (Romans 13:6-7).

Taken at face value, we can conclude that not paying taxes is stealing, the same as not bringing in tithes to support the priesthood is stealing. However, there are arguments for and against paying taxes and giving a tenth of your income to support those devoted to the work of God.

Jesus’ Teaching on Taxation

Jesus said that we are to give to Caesar what belongs to him. When he was challenged to pay his tax as a subject of the Roman Empire, Jesus simply caught a fish that had in its stomach a gold coin, which was sufficient to pay the tax. The principle then becomes, when the taxman wants his tax, simply believe in God to provide the money for paying your tax (Mark 11:23-25).

Stanley Tam, founder of United States Plastic Corporation, has testified that God meets a person’s needs when it comes to taxation. Stanley was in the position where the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) decided to collect tax revenue that he did not have—the kind of money with which we buy houses and motels. Stanley Tam faced bankruptcy, but God intervened on his behalf and, as they say, the rest is history.

The Tithe of Abraham Confirmed by Jesus

When it comes to supporting people devoted to the work of God, it should not be too difficult, nor a problem, to tithe. Some will argue that this is Old Testament teaching, but Jesus Himself said that tithing was not to be neglected (Matthew 23:23). Besides, true Christians are by faith, children of Abraham (Rom. 4:16; Gal. 3:29) and according to Jesus, if we are a child of Abraham, we will do what Abraham did (John 8:39). Abraham tithed and partook of communion in the form of bread and wine. This is found in the book of Genesis:

“And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.)  And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.  And the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself.” But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have lifted my hand to the Lord, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’ I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me. Let Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre take their share” (Genesis 14:18-24).

Some people claim that what Abraham tithed was only the spoils he got from the kings that he and the king of Sodom defeated; therefore, this disqualifies any requirement to tithe today. However, you will notice that Abraham (known as Abram then) refused to take any of the spoils. For if Abraham had, the implication would be that he tithed of the spoils and on behalf of others also. Firstly, we tithe on behalf of ourselves, not others, because every person is responsible to God for his or her own self.  Secondly, if Abraham tithed of his spoils, they were not the spoils of war because he took none. Thirdly, the fact Abraham tithed everything implies and includes spoils that Abraham had gotten from Pharaoh (Genesis 12:15-16; 13:2) of which he kept. Abraham was very rich when he left Egypt and he desired to honor God, not man; a fact that seems to elude many interpreters of the Bible.

It stands to reason then that not tithing is still robbing God, even though this is not explicitly stated as a requirement for God’s people in the New Testament, as it was in the Old Testament concerning the Levites. There is no suggestion in the Bible that tithing has been abolished as a means of supporting the full-time workers in ministry, for it is something that Abraham did before the Mosaic Covenant was introduced, and God does not change in His requirements, as the Word of God states:

“For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, have not perished. Ever since the days of your ancestors you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you say, “How shall we return?” Will anyone rob God? Yet you are robbing me! But you say, “How are we robbing you?” In your tithes and offerings!  You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me—the whole nation of you! Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and thus put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts; see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing” (Malachi 3:6-10 NRSV).

Stealing From God

God Himself does not need our tithe, but He requires that we give Him a chance to prove Himself in our lives.

People steal from God by not giving Him a chance to prove Himself in their lives. This is a strange concept for us, because we do not think in terms of letting people have a right to our lives. But the truth is God Himself does not need our tithe; He only requires that we give Him a chance to prove Himself in our lives.

If we look at this idea from the view of being a member of a family, we start to see things a little differently. Children always believe that they have a right to their parents. Likewise, parents always believe that they have a right to participate in their children’s lives. However, God is seeking our permission to enter into a relationship with us. We need to say, “Yes!” to our Heavenly Father, first.

In Canada and Australia there have been apologies made to the indigenous people on behalf of churches and the governments for the atrocities committed to their people many moons ago by removing children from their tribal communities. Some have even apologized for stealing the rights of the children to their parents and those of the parents to the children. In Australia, the government apologized on behalf of previous generations having stolen a generation of Aborigines.

God has a right to enjoy His Creation here on Earth; only it has been stolen from Him. However, unlike the human idea of apologizing for a stolen generation, where descendants are rewarded on behalf of the sins of the colonizing fathers, God does things differently. This is because God wants to have a personal relationship with every one of us. A personal relationship is something that is special; a relationship where each one grows in appreciation of the other—that is, God and you.

If we rob God of having a personal relationship with us, we also rob God of the glory that is rightfully His, because we do not give Him the opportunity to demonstrate His greatness and show His loving-kindness towards us. God looks at us as individuals who are unique. God does not want us to be like swine at the trough, where there is no difference from one to another and everybody pushes and grunts like pigs. God desires every one of us to participate in our own unique relationship that is special to Him, which develops as we grow in appreciation of how much He loves us through the act of giving—by means of the tithe.

Besides, this is how we can personally prove whether the Bible is the written Word of God and whether God honors His word or not.  If we declare that there is no God, or God does not love us, and have not put Him to the test by means of the tithe, then our judgment of God is false. We are not being very scientific in our experiment to see whether (or not) God is true, or whether or not the Bible has divine authority as the Word of God, or whether or not God keeps His word.

When Jesus said, “Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice” (Matt. 9:13). He was effectively saying: “Look I know you did not ask to be born into a sinful and evil world wherein you are sinners by nature. Do not judge Me or your Heavenly Father, but give Us a chance to prove Ourselves to you in your life. You will find that We will help you, and comfort you, and pour an overflowing blessing into your very being. So do not make unnecessary sacrifices by striving to perform man-made religious vows or requirements, rather put Us to the test and see if We will honor Our word or not.”—Not to do this is to steal from God His opportunity to prove Himself as Jehovah Jireh, our Provider, Lord God Almighty, Creator of all things—how good is this!  We can find the truth out for ourselves by putting God to the test and proving Him through a legitimate means of scientific application.

Scientific Challenge

If anyone claims that the Lord God of the Bible does not exist and has not been willing to put Him to the test through means of the tithe, then that person is a fool, especially, if he or she claims to be a scientist.

This is how scientific enquiry works. First, there is the question, then the hypothesis, followed by the actual test, which is analyzed to determine the veracity of the results.

Question: Does the God of the Bible exist and is there any way in which His existence can be verified through an experiment?

Hypothesis:  The Bible states that God honors the tithe. Therefore, we should be able to prove whether the Bible is of divine inspiration and whether God exists by means of the tithe.

Test: Over a period of ten years, we will record the lives of two thousand people who tithe and two thousand who do not tithe. We will also conduct the test with our own money at the same time. 

Analysis (My own): The observations I have made personally of people who tithe, and the testimonies I have read and heard of people who tithe, indicate that God honors His word as stated in the book of Malachi, to which I can also testify from my own tithing. More importantly, my faith in the Lord God has grown as a result from tithing and seeing the One and Only Heavenly Father honor His word.

God rebukes the devourer from the lives of those who faithfully tithe. They not only prosper more financially than what they would have done by not tithing,[i] but develop a more optimistic attitude—of abundance—towards life and a more generous spirit, which is reflected in their attitudes towards other people. Moreover, people who tithe believe they are able to achieve more in their lives by being innovative.

Be Creative

Instead of stealing, God would prefer us to be creative and learn how to make worthwhile contributions to society, which will be of benefit to all. Sadly, many young people have no concept of being creative. Instead of being creative, they are destructive. However, it does not help young people when artisans see creativity as throwing paint on canvas any which way, or photographing large groups of nude people standing or crouched together in public spaces. Neither does it help people become more creative when humor becomes what is known as the “toilet variety” and Hollywood produces films that are full of offensive language and lewdness that is unnecessarily explicit. Glamorizing the vile, the profane, the obscene and the destructive is not really a totem of creativity. Producing sewage for the human mind is not being creative at all. Yet juveniles purporting to be mature—with many even claiming they belong to the intelligentsia—text, twitter, and post degrading comments online in their arrogance, ignorantly mistaking regurgitation of intellectual effluent for being creative.

Creativity that possesses value comes in the form of engineering that enables plumbing and sewers to keep disease at bay. Likewise, creativity involving the good and the true and the noble and the honorable is what is going to produce a better society along with that which is gracious, beautiful, marvelous, excellent and worthy of respect. As it stands, the hopes of many are being stolen because there appears to be no hope of a better world, because people are being caught up in the sewer of sin.

Vandalism is Stealing

Vandalism is an act of stealing. It is an act of stealing because when someone else’s property is destroyed, there is a cost involved to the person whose property has been damaged. Although the vandal does not reap any monetary gain from his reckless acts, he is stealing the person’s right to use what was damaged. By default, even though the vandal does not benefit, he is stealing the right of the person to purchase something else with the cost of repairing or replacing the damaged property. In the case of employment, where the damaged property is used to earn an income, the vandal is stealing the person’s right to earn a living.

Young children, teenagers and youth, or young adults, are often at loss with what to do with themselves. Often when a gathering of young people on the street are asked what they are doing, they will reply, “We have nothing to do.” Many often say, “We are bored.”

When a group of people are feeling bored and are not expending energy, instead of being creative, the tendency is to become destructive. Consequently, it is not hard to find people who will participate in a protest with the sole intent to create a riot. There may be an element of creativity in how they instigate a riot without actually being found out, so they can hire out their services for the next protest; but not much imagination is required to be abusive, or harm people, or hurl objects at police and law-abiding citizens, and damage property. All this is vandalism and is the stealing of lawful rights from other people to use their own property without further cost.

Criminal Creativity

Organized criminal activity can be a lot more sophisticated than merely turning a peaceful protest into a riot. Rackets, like the rebirthing of stolen cars, require considerable planning and organization. Car thieves have to be trained in how to immobilize alarm systems of the cars they steal, then motor mechanics, panel-beaters and spray-painters are employed to rebirth the cars by changing parts, and removing and replacing a chassis and making various modifications to prevent identification. Similarly, the importation or manufacture, storage and distribution of drugs and contraband require innovative ideas by criminals to avoid detection by the authorities. Avoiding detection is critical to the success of all criminal activities. Law enforcement authorities are forever amazed at the level of ingenuity that is employed by criminals to steal something, or the lengths they go to so they can outwit the police, just to make so-called easy money. Then there is the imagination that is required to launder large sums of ill-gotten gains, so that the funds appear to be legitimate income; including the forming of cohorts that comprise of artful accountants and sly solicitors. This form of creativity is an abuse of the imaginative ability that God has given us. The same abuse occurs when politicians and government agencies cover up criminal activities and produce propaganda to deceive the public. In doing so, they steal the voters’ right to know the truth about what is really happening within government circles.

.Criminals Prey on Healthy Economies

Criminals are limited to the amount of wealth they can take from society through illegal activity. The reason for this is parasites need a healthy organism from which to feed. Any parasitic creature, plant or organism requires a healthy creature, plant or organism to feed its appetite. Criminals, especially those involved in organized crime, need a healthy and prosperous society to prey upon; otherwise, the pickings become scarce, which leads to more overt criminal activity. Once criminally minded people get greedy, corruption becomes rife and this starts to destroy society. Instead of being able to use ingenuity to fleece money illegally from law-abiding citizens, racketeers have to resort to heavy intimidation tactics, and this usually results in turf wars and other destructive and dangerous activity, not to mention a public revolt that can break into civil war.

One of the hallmarks of civilization being able to progress is evidenced when graft (that is, dishonest, unfair, or illegal gain) is restricted to a minimum. When a country has a civilized society living in peace without the cancer of graft, creativity tends to expand the culture and its overall wealth. This has been evidenced throughout history and, in particular, is evident in First World economies, which have systems in place to reign in graft in its many forms. In First World countries, people who are involved in fraud and swindles are often being exposed and prosecuted for their crimes. This helps keep a lid on corruption and gives law-abiding citizens some hope. There are still many people feathering their own nests at other people’s expense. Stealing is seen as an easy means of making a living rather than being creative and making a worthwhile contribution to the community. While some people in society may be making an easy living from their rackets, they do not seem to enjoy the benefits of life like those who earn an honest living from industry and creativity that benefits society. Some racketeers have access to vast sums of money, but only a few have been numbered among the billionaires of the world.[ii]  This is because the only way a criminal mastermind can become truly wealthy is by channeling his ill-begotten lucre into businesses that benefit society. Even those who have defrauded the financial markets of the world have not been able to make it to billionaire status and keep the proceeds.

Creating Wealth

Andrew Carnegie is regarded as the second richest man in modern history. His wealth is said to have been five times that of the richest man today. Carnegie commissioned Napoleon Hill to write a book about the secrets of acquiring and creating wealth, which was eventually published as Think And Grow Rich. Napoleon Hill identified some universal principles that are evident in people who have acquired and created wealth. The applications of these principles have enabled many law-abiding men and women to become wealthy without having to steal or resort to criminal activity.

To exist, every economy relies on productivity: be it the economy of a local community or a nation or the globe. If there is no productivity: there is nothing to steal. You cannot steal anything if it has not been produced in some way. Besides ideas and innovative products, this includes hunting or gathering food. Hunting animals to eat and gathering food in the form of mushrooms, berries, fruit, vegetables, eggs, or bugs, is a form of productivity; because, it is human activity that produces something which has value. For anybody to take another person’s food without permission is stealing. This is the case when it has been collected or hunted in the wild or grown on someone else’s property. The better alternative is for people to gather, hunt, farm or manufacture different foods and items of industry and then trade them, which translates into the creation of an economy.

Natural Economics

An economy is the utilization of human capital for the betterment of society. Ssu-Ma Ch’ien, the Grand Historian of China, recorded around the time of Jesus that: “Society obviously must have farmers before it can eat; foresters, fishermen, miners, etc., before it can make use of natural resources; craftsmen before it can have manufactured goods; and merchants before they can be distributed. But once these exist, what need is there for government directives, mobilizations of labor, or periodic assemblies? Each man has only to be left to utilize his own abilities and exert his strength to obtain what he wishes.... When each person works away at his own occupation and delights in his own business, then like water flowing downward, goods will naturally flow ceaselessly day and night without being summoned, and the people will produce commodities without having been asked. For every person will have an eye for the times and he or she will seek to make profit from opportunities that benefit members of the community.”[iii]

Stealing is for Losers

It is easy to see why God has decreed that people are not to steal from each other. Stealing results in strife—when two fight for the same thing. Hence, it is much better to learn to be creative and find a means by which we can make a positive contribution to our local economy. In doing so, we will find fulfillment and a sense of achievement.

Academics get upset when people steal their ideas and do not give them the proper recognition. Plagiarism is anathema among the world’s intelligentsia, and it is not something any student will be particularly overjoyed about if found out. Unfortunately, commercial advantage is gained by plagiarism, and when copyright and patents or trademarks are infringed: this is stealing. What stealing does is leave a void in the people for not being creative. There is no sense of accomplishment when people steal. Stealing creates an inner emptiness rather than fulfillment and inner happiness. Consequently, many people suffer from a sense of despair and become depressed as the result of their lack of creativity. Instead of becoming individuals who use their innate ability to learn and create solutions to problems, or develop something new, or to build something useful, which will be appreciated by others, those who steal lose the true riches of life.

Jesus and the Truth about Money

Contrary to what some claim, one of the interesting features about the ministry of Jesus is how money figures in much of his teachings. Those who loved money more than God were to be accursed, whereas those who use money to do good are to be rewarded.

Many people become Christians and take the view money is evil because of what Jesus said on various occasions. Jesus spoke against the rich man (Dives[iv]) in the story about Lazarus in Paradise and Dives in Hell. Jesus declared a rich man, a fool, because he was not rich towards God the night he died, having decided on that very day to retire and enjoy all the wealth he had accumulated in his life. Jesus pitied the rich young ruler who could not give his wealth to the poor. Jesus also claimed it was harder for a rich man to get into heaven than it was for a camel to go through the eye of a needle.

Money itself is not the root of evil; but the love of money is definitely the root of evil.

How often do we hear people say they cannot do what they would like to do because of the lack of money? In many respects, this might be true, but we do not need money to teach students; yet teachers claim they cannot teach the students because of the lack of money. Scientists say they cannot conduct research because they have insufficient money; yet it is not money that does the research—it is the scientists!

Money is a commodity or a means by which people are able to exchange resources; yet people say being a Christian has nothing to do with money, while at the same time enslaving themselves to their possessions of land and buildings and other forms of wealth.

In the parable of the talents, Jesus teaches some important truths about money:

“For it is like a man who was about to take a long journey, and he called his servants together and entrusted them with his property.
To one he gave five talents [probably about $5,000], to another two, to another one—to each in proportion to his own personal ability. Then he departed and left the country.
He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he gained five talents more.
And likewise he who had received the two talents—he also gained two talents more.
But he who had received the one talent went and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
Now after a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.
And he who had received the five talents came and brought him five more, saying, Master, you entrusted to me five talents; see, here I have gained five talents more.
His master said to him, Well done, you upright (honorable, admirable) and faithful servant! You have been faithful and trustworthy over a little; I will put you in charge of much. Enter into and share the joy (the delight, the blessedness) which your master enjoys.
And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, Master, you entrusted two talents to me; here I have gained two talents more.
His master said to him, Well done, you upright (honorable, admirable) and faithful servant! You have been faithful and trustworthy over a little; I will put you in charge of much. Enter into and share the joy (the delight, the blessedness) which your master enjoys.
 He who had received one talent also came forward, saying, Master, I knew you to be a harsh and hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you had not winnowed [the grain].
So I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is your own.
But his master answered him, You wicked and lazy and idle servant! Did you indeed know that I reap where I have not sowed and gather [grain] where I have not winnowed?
Then you should have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received what was my own with interest.
So take the talent away from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents.
For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will be furnished richly so that he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have will be taken away.
And throw the good-for-nothing servant into the outer darkness; there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.”
(Matthew 25:14-30 Amplified Bible)

Many people like to think that Jesus is not talking about money here—although the Amplified Bible equates a talent to being one thousand dollars ($1,000), just in case we are confused about a talent being a unit of money or not. If the talent in this parable is meant to be a talent of gold, then each talent would be nearly five thousand ounces worth of the precious metal; in which case, a talent would be worth around eight million dollars ($8,000,000) at current gold prices of sixteen hundred dollars ($1,600) an ounce,[v] and the interest would be substantial.

For some reason, certain Christians like to claim the talents referred to here are gifts or abilities that people are given by God. But the truth is a talent in this story is not an ability, because how many people have five gifts (abilities) in which they excel and are able to turn them into ten gifts (abilities). A talented athlete might also be a talented artist, musician, writer, mathematician, engineer and scientist, but even then, we are stretching the grounds of probability of such a person existing in the world today who has five gifted abilities or talents let alone six. Besides we improve our abilities or talents we have, we do not create new ones from them. Improving our abilities may seem like creating new abilities and, in reality, this enables us to acquire more wealth. Now this brings us back to what Jesus was really talking about—money!

The Parable of the Talents Explained

There are two points in this story. The obvious point is that two persons used their creativity to trade and doubled the amount of money they were given, and one person did not attempt to use any of his creativity to increase the value of the money that was given him.

The second not so obvious point is the two persons who increased their wealth put their trust in God to help them. The person who put the money in the ground was not prepared to trust God to help him.

What is poignantly implied is God will help us develop our talents and creativity if we put our trust in Him.

This story is about money. In particular, what we do with the money or wealth we have. Moreover, we know this story is about money because of the banking element being a feature of this parable and the truth about bankers paying interest.

In most instances, when talking about the rich, Jesus seems to be hostile towards those who love money and prize material possessions above all things.

In this parable of the talents, Jesus, rather surprisingly, makes a point that the idea of banking is favorable and acceptable to God. In doing so, Jesus highlights the financial sophistication that existed in the economy of His day, and gives His tacit approval to the concept of bankers paying interest on money deposited in their trust. For the bankers to make a profit, they would then have to lend the money to someone else who would use the money also to make a profit. What this means is Jesus was effectively endorsing capitalism, which is the use of wealth to create more wealth—by using human capital[vi] to be creative.

The idea of lending money out at interest was not new in Jesus’ day. The Mosaic covenant permitted lending at interest by Israelites to non-Israelites (Deuteronomy 23:20). In Nehemiah’s day people were borrowing money to purchase grain and pay taxes (Nehemiah 5:3-4). The concept of lending at interest was known in other cultures. Lending money is recognized as a legitimate means of expanding an economy and increasing wealth—as evidenced in micro-financing: where loans are made to impoverished people in Third World countries on the basis of a person’s integrity. The results have been outstanding and many men and, in particular, women have demonstrated the wisdom of borrowing money to facilitate entrepreneurial projects that foster not only self-employment and human enterprise but also new employment opportunities where none previously existed. This in turn has increased the living standards of the community.

The middleman is often accused of being exploitative and making all the money, but it just so happens that the middleman is also responsible for creating many of the systems that enable economies to expand and create more wealth to be shared by the people.

Capitalism always requires middlemen and, of all the many tested types of economic ideologies throughout history, capitalism has proven to be the most efficient means for distributing wealth among the people. This is something Jean Paul Getty, the founder of the Getty Museum, noticed when traveling to Russia just after the First World War. Getty was considering becoming a socialist and a diplomat. However, when he saw the impoverished conditions experienced by the Russians compared to the abundance of wealth that was shared by many more American citizens, Getty realized the virtues of capitalism outshone that of socialism. Getty then decided to build his own business, which ended up employing over twelve thousand employees, with the lowest corporate turnover of employees in the USA and UK.

Today, all the Eastern European Socialist Countries and the USSR that were known as the Communist Bloc, and Communist China have recognized the value of capitalism for creating wealth and improving the material comforts of their citizens, and have abandoned the idea of socialism and communism to permit capitalism to flourish. Communist North Korea is the exception. North Korea has insufficient food for its people and serves as a fitting reminder of the disadvantages of communism, especially when contrasted against capitalist South Korea, where there is an abundance of food and goods for the people to enjoy and make their lives more comfortable.

Why Capitalism Works

The reason capitalism works is people are given an opportunity to employ capital to create more wealth for themselves. To a large degree, this is reflected within the Mosaic covenant, where the law of the jubilee provided people with a means to improve their conditions in life with some capital.

Essentially, capitalism means that we can improve our own circumstances in life by using our abilities to increase our wealth. This provides a sense of satisfaction that is not achieved when there is no challenge to stimulate aspirations towards possessing a sense of accomplishment in life.

 In the case that we have plenty of wealth, we can share it among the poor, and then go and create some more. The truth is God wants us to be creative and have a purpose in life. God does not want people to have children who have all the material possessions and comforts of this world, but become so bored with life, and so empty inside their hearts, that they become indolent drug addicts. The tragedy is the Evil One is stealing the hearts and souls of many young people who have no purpose in life, or can find no purpose in life other than to get drunk, get laid, and get hooked on drugs; all because their parents see money and status as the be-all and end-all to existence.

To exist is one thing; to live life, another matter. Life is meant to be an adventure. This adventure is one where we Earthlings learn how to overcome the ruler of this world, and the lusts and passions of the fleshly cravings—often known as the seven deadly sins. The challenge before us is to transform consciously into spiritual beings by learning how to communicate and work with our Heavenly Father. It just so happens, God has provided a means, which we know as capitalism, so we can learn how to trust God, grow in faith, and be creative; rather than take that which is not rightfully ours. For stealing destroys friendships and alienates acquaintances. 

Big Government Kills Capitalism

The problem that exists in the world today is big government happens to be killing capitalism. When companies go under, instead of letting the companies crash because they have become too unproductive, big government props them up and this is the same as imperialism or socialism for the wealthy—or welfare for those who have jobs and an income. This is not socialism for everybody, which in reality does not work. For when in socialist Russia, J. P. Getty saw for himself the masses queuing up at shops with a lack of goods while the tyrannical communist rulers lived without want, so he vowed never to support socialism or communism in any form, when true capitalism offers more opportunity for the workers.

Only true capitalism produces goods for the good of the economy and benefits society—not forms of crony capitalism. Unfortunately, when paper financial products and imaginary paper profits are touted as wealth, this is where capitalism ceases to be the employment of resources to produce benefit for the good of the people. We can say paper economies are not true capitalism, because they lack true capital. The reason why these paper economies exist is big government provides socialism for the large corporations. The number of large corporations that would be heavily downsized, if not bankrupted, would devastate the financial world if all the government subsidies and paper money maneuvers folded—but there is nothing wrong with fat cats becoming leaner or the financially insolvent becoming industrious, productive and prosperous again.

In First World Countries, there are too many people benefiting from the largess of the public purse. This is why there is a massive financial crisis looming of the proportions never before seen. The only answer in the minds of people will be to kill capitalism (which nationally no longer exists in its true form) and create a one-world government. [viii]

If society were set up in the way that God showed Moses and the concept of Jubilee were introduced, every person would have a rightful inheritance to employ his or her own personal capital for the benefit of all. Big government would be out, and wealth would be fairly distributed every fifty years, so all human capital and human potential could be better utilized rather than being under-utilized and lost in poverty and slums.

Where to Find True Riches

The eighth commandment is about people learning to be creative rather than stealing from others. Wherever we look in life, we will find that creativity allows for expansion, whereas stealing (that is, taking other people’s goods, rights and ideas away from them without their permission) brings about destruction. This destruction may result in tit-for-tat revenge, or it might be the destruction of what was otherwise a mutually beneficial and profitable relationship.

The eighth commandment is about reminding people about the need to appreciate one another’s efforts. For this is evident in what Jesus said in the parable of the talents. The person, who gave the talents in the first place, showed his appreciation of the efforts of those who created an increase in his wealth by giving them more, and showering praise on them for their achievements.

The eighth commandment is about giving people a purpose in life rather than being bored because they are not able to find fulfillment through lack of accomplishments. All too often, people who have no purpose live a miserable life rather than one that can be full of joy in overcoming obstacles and happiness because they are able to share meaningful moments with friends and experience the joy of making new friendships. Indeed, there is much joy to be experienced assisting people in learning the truth about the resurrection of Jesus.

The eighth commandment is about being generous and learning to share with other people. This is the opposite to taking, but people seem to think it is easier to be criminally-minded rather than community-minded, and provide help to those who do not have the resources and knowledge required for them to succeed at the levels of the more fortunate. Throughout the Bible, there is compassion for the poor, but rather than having a centralized system of distribution like that those who subscribe to socialism and communism desire to introduce, God would prefer people to personally share their own wealth with the poor and take it upon themselves to be their brother’s keeper. This is difficult for people to do, when their parents have set different standards—standards that encourage their children to be self-indulgent rather than to help other people.

The eighth commandment is about having riches in Heaven. It is one thing to be rich in this world, but not rich towards God. God wants people to be rich towards Him and rich in this world as well. God has introduced the system of the tithe for this very reason. It is amazing how people who tithe are blessed.[ix] They know that there is no need to steal but to learn how to trust God to enable them to be creative and have a life of adventure as they discover how to put the eternal principles of life into action.

We discover the true riches of life when we learn to have faith in God—faith is the currency of Heaven. The tithe is the means by which we are able to put our Heavenly Father to the test. By this means, we grow in faith towards God and become rich in the eternal currency. We cannot steal faith. We can only get richer by learning how to become more faithful when exercising faith towards God in the eternal realm of the spirit.

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[i] To prosper more than what one would have done according to one’s own abilities is the blessing of God. Some people have billions, more have millions, most people struggle financially, but with God’s blessing, they will have much to rejoice about by proving him.

[ii] There always are exceptions to the rule.  Forbes magazine did list cocaine distributor Joaquin Guzman as one of the richest men in the world. He escaped from jail in Mexico and is now a fugitive. Columbian cocaine distributor Pablo Escobar, considered to be the richest criminal ever, also was listed in the Forbes rich list. Police subsequently killed him. Other notoriously rich gangsters have been Carlos Lehder; Susumu Ishii; Anthony Salerno; Meyer Lansky.

[iii] Ptak, Justin. The Prehistory of Modern Economic Thought: The Aristotle in Austrian Theory  Institute for Business Cycle Research Providence,

RI 02909 mises.org/journals/scholar/ptak1.pd

[iv] Traditionally, the rich man has been called “Dives.”  This is not really the man’s name, rather it is the word “rich man” that is found in the text of the Latin Vulgate Bible.

[v] Price of Gold Hits All-Time High (23rd August, 2011) $1,913.50 an ounce Bloomberg.com.

[vi] Human capital is the skills, knowledge and experience possessed by people that are able to be turned into productive labor or monetary value.

[vii] Unfortunately for many in the old socialist bloc countries like Russia, the transition from the failure of the socialist economy to a true capitalist economy has been marred by oligarchies and plutocracies that have formed as those who formerly had power under the old system have sought to lay hold of the reigns in the transition. This has led to corruption and organized crime, while the old proletariat are out of work, with many left begging on the streets. Furthermore, this is the case in the USA and other First World economies, where people find themselves among the dispossessed and are  living on the street also.

[viii] A study by three system theorists at Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, published in 2011 has detailed 147 companies that control 60% of the global revenues and 737 companies that control 80% of the global economy.  147 Companies The Control Everything. Forbes.com. Aug.10. 2011.

[ix] Stanley Tam was going nowhere until he opened a Gideon’s Bible and read that those who do not tithe rob God. From that day, Stanley began tithing and not only did his life take on new meaning when his faith grew, he has been able to give away millions of dollars as a result. He went from being in poverty to a prince in the kingdom of God: Rich in Heaven and rich on Earth.