The merchant says, ‘I know them. They are hard Sycharites who in their faith and thinking are more heathens than children of Israel. But the most wretched among them are those from the region of the Sea of Galilee. They are mere servants of matter and have no inkling left of anything higher and divine—mere devotees of spectacle! A magician from Persia is dearer to them than Moses and all the prophets, and a voluptuous whore from Upper Asia dearer than gold and precious stones! I know them only too well; but to stop their loose mouths, I will have them entertained in my great garden hall. For if they received nothing, all would be over!’
I say, ‘Do what you wish and can, for giving is more blessed than taking! But in future give only to the needy and poor. If someone wants to borrow money from you, but is rich and you can see that he will repay you most abundantly, do not lend to him. For once you have lent to him, he will soon secretly become your enemy, and you will have trouble recovering your money along with the interest.
‘But if someone comes to you who is poor, and you can see that he will never be able to repay your money, then lend to him. The Father in heaven will replace it for you a hundredfold in other ways even here on earth, and in heaven itself He will make the money you lent to the poor man into a great treasure that will await you after this earthly life, in the beyond, high above the grave.
‘I tell you: what love does on earth is also done in heaven and remains forever; but what mere worldly cleverness does, the ground of the earth swallows up, and nothing remains for eternal heaven. What good can all this earthly treasure do a person if his soul suffers harm in the process?
‘Whoever takes care for the earth and for the flesh is a fool; for just as human flesh has its end, so too will the earth. But when the earth’s end surely comes one day, on what ground will the poor soul then make a dwelling for itself?
‘But I tell you that every person, when his body is taken from him, also loses the earth forever at the same time. And if he has not created a new earth in his heart through love, his soul will have to abandon itself to the winds and clouds and mists, and will be driven about in eternal infinity, never finding any rest or peace except in the false and empty creation of its own imagination. The longer this imagination lasts, the weaker and darker it will become, and in the end it will turn into the thickest night and darkness, from which the soul will scarcely ever find a way out by itself! Therefore in future you may act as I have now shown you; but for now do as you wish and can!’
The merchant says, ‘You are exceedingly wise and may be right in all things, but I do not entirely agree about lending money. For when one has acquired much money and does not like to leave it lying dead, it is surely better to lend it at moderate interest than to bury it so that thieves cannot take it when they come at night and break open cupboards and chests. Alongside this one can still give the poor from one’s surplus what is right and just. For if I give everything away at once and do not manage my fortune well, I shall soon have nothing left and shall no longer be able to give anything to the many poor!’
I say, ‘Leave proper management to God the Lord, and give to whoever the Lord brings to you, and you will suffer no loss to your fortune. Do you not have many large fields and meadows and gardens full of fruit and grapes, and are your extensive stables not full of oxen, cows, calves and sheep? Look, trading in these, under God’s blessing, will always replace in full measure what you have distributed to the truly poor during the year. But what you put into the interest fund of the rich will never be replaced for you from above, and you will have many worries and constantly ask yourself whether the interest funds are managing your money properly! Therefore do as I have told you, and you will have a good and carefree life. All the poor will love you and, wherever possible, serve you while blessing you, and the Father in heaven will richly bless all your doing and leaving undone. And look, that will be better than caring for ever larger interest funds!’