This Chapter Sixteen of Luke’s Gospel teaches us about an
important subject in our lives which is money. It is morally neutral itself. It
is neither good nor evil. Money is not ours but God’s because everything is
coming from him. No one can carry over any form of wealth but must leave behind
with death. No one dies with fortune but sheer empty-handedness just as they
come into the world with nothing. However, there is something which lasts
beyond death. What is it? It is the outcome of how worldly money has been
invested and used. Is it used up only for themselves? Or is it used for making
friends? There are some who have much called the rich and who have little
called the poor. But those who have little do not have too little and those who
have much do not have too much.
“The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much,
some little. And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much
did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.
Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed.” (Exodus 16:17-18)
It happened in the wilderness
forty years that the Israelites ate the manna which fell down from heaven
above. They had to collect manna daily except the Sabbath Day and some
collected much and some little but strangely all was well fed consistently and
faithfully without fail. It is true that whether rich or poor there is no
distinction in consuming three meals a day. The rich may consume meals in fancier
and colorful way. But that doesn’t mean that they have much more than others
do. That’s how humanity is designed and built to share one lump of life all
together with God the Father and the Son Jesus Christ. Our Lord teaches us how
to use money in the parable of the shrewd manager.
Jesus told his disciples: “There
was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. So he
called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of
your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’” (Luke 16:1-2)
In this parable a rich man is
God and the manager is humanity. Note that the shrewd manager who was accused
of loose practices on the owner’s properties is not at all the main character
nor the main story point. Our Lord Jesus never praises the lazy and sloppy
manager but stresses out how he handled worldly money after he was told that he
was going to lose his job. So, this parable is not about the shrewd manager but
about the handling of worldly wealth on the earth.
“The manager said to himself,
‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to
dig, and I’m ashamed to beg—I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job
here, people will welcome me into their houses.’ So he called in each one of
his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ ‘Nine
hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied. The manager told him, ‘Take your
bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.’ Then he asked the
second, ‘And how much do you owe?’ ‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied. He
told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’ The master commended the
dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world
are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the
light. I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that
when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.” (Luke 16:3-9)
The manager did something worse
for the master, cutting the debt by a great deal of amount before he lost his
position, saying “When I lost my job, people will welcome me into their
houses.” It suggests that he did it to prepare for the future which would be obviously
rough and difficult. Although he generated a great loss for the master he was
commended because he acted shrewdly. In what sense did he act shrewdly? Jesus
says, “For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own
kind than are the people of the light. I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain
friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into
eternal dwellings.”
Jesus says that worldly wealth
will be eventually gone and no more just as no one can carry it over after
death. It is not difficult to believe that because it is going on all the time
around us. But there is something which survives through death. What is it? It is
friendship which remains forever. It doesn’t mean to make friends, spending
money lavishly in orgies and debaucheries. That’s not true friendship. The
younger son in the parable of the lost son squandered his wealth with some
companies who looked like friends but all left him when they found out that he
didn’t have wealth no more. What it remains forever is the right attitude to
use the bestowed master’s property and wealth.
Our Lord Jesus tells about the
Day of the Lord that he will divide all the peoples on earth into two
groups—goats and sheep. One is the righteous and other is not. The righteous
did use worldly wealth to give something to eat when someone was hungry and
gave something to drink when someone was thirsty. Here someone may be anyone
who is in need. They could be families, neighbors, co-workers, strangers, and
even husbands and wives. That’s how we shall use worldly wealth in giving out
to someone who is in need. Surprisingly, our Lord Jesus says that that whatever
we did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of his was done for
none other than himself.
“When the Son of Man comes in
his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All
the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one
from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the
sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those
on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance,
the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry
and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to
drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed
me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit
me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and
feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a
stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see
you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell
you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of
mine, you did for me.’” (Matthew 25:31-40)
The main character of this
parable is not the shrewd manager but the master who sees the heart of his
servants to whom he entrusted his property. Listen what our Lord Jesus unfolds
the mystery of life
“Whoever can be trusted with
very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very
little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in
handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have
not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property
of your own?” (Luke 16:10-12)
The Owner entrusted everyone his
property according to his will and expected them to use it shrewdly, bearing
the good fruits, the fruits of the Spirit. What God entrusted us on the earth
is very little. Although the world says that money is a big thing, our Lord Jesus
says it is very little. He implies that worldly wealth is entrusted for us to
learn something for the future in the age to come. Deceitfulness and falsity on
money are prevalent in this mundane world. People are constantly told that they
can do anything with money, even the fulfillment of life. That’s not true. It
cannot be measured by the riches of worldly wealth. It’s very little because
the incomparable riches in heaven lie ahead in the coming age, eternity. Apostle
Paul prayed for the saints in Ephesus that the eyes of their heart may be
opened and enlightened to know the hope in heaven, the riches of his glorious
inheritance, and his incomparably great power, not only in the present age but
also in the one to come.
“I pray that the eyes of your
heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has
called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his
incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the
mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him
at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority,
power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age
but also in the one to come.” (Ephesians 1:18-21)
Indeed, we have come into the
world in nakedness and will leave it with nothing. So, all we have is not ours
but the property of the master. We’re borrowing everything from the one who is
lavishly giving because he is forever love. We borrow from a single breath of
life, a body which is functioning in perfection and harmony, talents and gifts,
families to all the material things including money. Everyone is equally and
fairly given in time, space, capacity, opportunity, ability, and aptitude. God
endowed each and every person the amazing property, especially money to learn what
the true riches are. It is so important to learn how to manage the master’s
property shrewdly because life on earth is not all. The Scripture says that it
is like a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
“Why, you do not even know what
will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a
little while and then vanishes.” (James 4:14)
The scriptures confirm that God
has promised to give eternal life to those who believe in the Son Jesus Christ
whom the Father sent. What is seen is not all but what is unseen is. It is true
that there is the invisible kingdom and realm to which our life is subject like
light energy emitted through Sun. The intricacy and sophistication of life is
too much for humans to understand and fathom. It is too complicated and complex
to handle like there is nothing we can do to handle just one organ in our body,
heart. It’s functioning and running throughout lifetime, but we don’t know why
it works so. It’s the mystery of life. We cannot know it all. However, our God
is gracious and knows what he is doing. He shines light what life is through life
itself, all the steps we tread in struggles and challenges. Eternal life is
quality not quantity. Money is given to humanity to learn the true quality of
life. Now our Lord Jesus brings us to the real point he wants to teach through
this parable of the shrewd manager.
“No one can serve two masters.
Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the
one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (Luke 16:13)
Money has mighty power for
seduction and allurement. Often it gives fantasy and illusion. Many a people is
caught by the deception of money power and ruined by it. There is nothing evil
or wrong with money, but the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. It
is an essential element in life for it is used for trading since the beginning
of human history. So God gives to some with much and to some with little and we
shall be content with whatever he has given. Paul gives admonition to Timothy
to be warned and watched on money.
“For the love of money is a root
of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the
faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” (1 Timothy 6:10)
Our God wants us to see his
generous and faithful giving of money to meet the ends of our lives. Remember
and do not forget that God provided his people in the wilderness forty years
the manna from heaven that those who collected much didn’t have too much and
those who collected little didn’t have too little. It’s the mystery of God. No
mathematical formula or economic theory can explain how it works, but it works
because God the Father is feeding us all. Is it not what our Lord Jesus says in
the Sermon on the Mount?
“Therefore I tell you, do not
worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you
will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at
the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet
your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can
any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” (Matthew 6:25-27)
Behind all wealth there is the
hands of God who lavishly gives to those who are in need. Humanity is not made
to worship the things but God only who made all things and gave us generously.
It is impossible to worship both God and worldly money. It’s our choice to
serve one though. True riches do not lie on the amount of wealth we possess but
on our dependence on the Maker of all things, even the definition of true
riches. He can give and take justly. He gives not to fall into the trap of
loving and serving money but to learn who he is. He is God of everything.
Through what we have received he wants us to have the true riches in Christ
Jesus the Lord by worshiping him only. But the Pharisees who loved money
sneered at Jesus.
“The Pharisees, who loved money,
heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them, ‘You are the ones
who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What
people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.’” (Luke 16:14-15)
The religious establishment of
the nation worshiped money because the people of the world praised their wealth
which includes their religious piety and the knowledge of the law. They were
obsessed by the praise of the people not that of God. They worshiped worldly
money and mundane praise because they were deceived and tricked by the love of
money and human recognition. Our Lord Jesus gives a great warning to humanity
that what people value highly is detestable and abominable to God. There is
nothing for humans to contribute for the credentials of righteousness. We’re
absolutely broke because there is sin deeply embedded and implanted in humanity
since Adam fell.
Rebellious and stubborn
resistance to the grace of God leads to the praise and value of people and to
complete destruction and ruin of life. That’s the reason and purpose God sent
his Son Jesus Christ to save those who are locked and bounded in the dungeon of
deception and illusion, shining the great light out of darkness. Endowed wealth
is the evidence of God’s unfailing love for humanity to learn what he is. He is
a Being to be worshipped wholly and blamelessly.
This parable is truly a story of
our Lord Jesus Christ. In order to redeem the sin bounded humanity he invested
his whole being to be the sacrifice Lamb of God on a cross. He offered his body
through the bloody and violent death in order to purchase the elect from the
fatal fall. He redeemed the elect by giving out himself unto the Father in
heaven.
“Do you not know that your
bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received
from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God
with your bodies.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
Prayer: Thank you once again
Father in heaven for not hiding the truth but unraveling it for us to see the
depth and height of realities in life. This is truly the age of the love of
money and material abundance is widely praised and worshipped by all people
including many Christians. Thank you Lord for teaching the truth that it is
impossible to serve God and money. May we be content with what God has
generously and lavishly given and thus worship him only in all circumstance. In
Jesus’ name. Amen.
January 13, 2016
© 2015-2016 David Lee Ministries – All
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