Being profitable in life is a situation thrown up in scripture.
Indeed, Jesus spoke about it on a few occasions, markedly when talking about the profitable servant.
The story goes that the owner leaves his enterprise to his management team whilst he’s away on a trip and charges them with not only the upkeep of the operation, but with making a decent profit in his absence, to be assessed on his return (Mat 25:14 on).
The reference initially is to Israel’s stewardship of the Lord’s possessions, of their responsibility for the governance over the earth and especially with spreading the truth about Almighty God to other occupants of the planet by their witness.
Like the Church of today they were and still are called to be stewards of God’s glory.
The secondary inference is towards those who dwell in the earth, not necessarily associated directly with Israel, nor even as yet believers, stewardship being the key word, but in accordance with God’s will and vision.
We all have that responsibility from the day of Adam to the continual present.
Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Genesis 1:28
The future of this ideal today is resting on the actions of the Church ever since Jesus ascended and gave the task of stewardship of the kingdom to the Body of Christ.
Now we have become the custodians of the world in which we live until such time as the Father God takes us out.
Our primary mandate is importantly towards those whose souls remain lost to God and need to be saved, but still includes the upkeep of the beautiful and bounteous planet He granted us.
The assessment is coming
Our level of stewardship, then, is being observed, and we will assessed for our involvement in its upkeep and maintenance but more so in our work towards bringing people to the feet of Jesus.
Which means this includes stewardship of the gospel. Are we being responsible in its delivery to a lost and hopeless world?
The earth’s resources are available to the Body of Christ as long as we are engaged in His purposes, led by the Word and the Holy Spirit.
So profitability is less to do with material riches and more to do with stewarding God’s inheritance. We look after His goods in the earth, including souls.
Not that wealth is an issue when it is a tool towards the goal of bringing souls to salvation. We’re told that it is God who gives us the power to get wealth. It is part of the covenant between God and His people.
“And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”
Deuteronomy 8:18
Where we live and serve is up to us by the leading of the Spirit, unless God separates us and sends us to a particular place, but the blessing that comes with that journey either way is according to faith and trust in His leadership.
If He allows us to become stewards of wealth for His purposes we can be thankful and serve with it. Wealth is the essence of increase which comes from God for His purposes, and it can be any form that He choses for us, not necessarily material.
It can be the mobilisation of human resources to accomplish extraordinary goals set by God through the ability to lead or inspire.
All He asks is that we do not bury that talent or ability away from sight, but utilise the gift to bring glory to His name.
His wealth in our hands
But it is His wealth, not ours. Remember that Israel escaped from Egypt with all the gold, silver and precious stones of the nation from which they fled.
However, this wealth was to be invested in the tabernacle in the wilderness, the place of worship for the travelling nation before entering the promised land. It was used as the focal point for the nation, the tabernacle of witness.
The type here is of the world’s wealth coming to the Church for the purpose of building the kingdom by investing in souls and in discipleship. Buildings and possessions are peripheral to winning souls.
So everything God blesses us with is His. We are custodians of His blessing and His goods in the earth.
That is why we need to be content with what we have. It’s never bad to allow ourselves be entrusted with more as long as it doesn’t expand into covetousness or burying talent.
There is gain to contentment. It is the essence of godliness.
Paul tells us that godliness with contentment is great gain (1 Ti 6:6). The more we walk in the light of the Word the more we will be entrusted with God’s resources, as long as we are part of the distribution system of the kingdom rather than hoarding things up for a rainy day.
Being profitable for the kingdom is about being available to God for His purposes and acting on His will for any and all assignments with a great attitude and with full-heartedness at all times.
