HOW MUCH CAN GOD TRUST YOU? Luke 16:1-13 September 18, 2016 Jesus is not making a whole lot of sense in our gospel today, at least at first glance. He tells the Parable of the Dishonest Manager, and people have beat their heads against this text for generations trying to figure out what in the world he was talking about. Clergy, lay people, even seminary professors and commentators everyone agrees that, at least as far as Luke 16 goes, the Lord works in mysterious ways. As I was studying this passage I discovered many different interpretations of its meaning there does not seem to be a consensus on what Jesus was trying to teach us, depending on your perspective. So I am going to give my first disclaimer ever, friends. I will share some thoughts on this scripture and then I would encourage you to discern its message for you personally. The story itself sounds quite contemporary. A dishonest manager is about to lose his job because he has misspent his employer s assets. Because he doesn t want to do manual labor or receive charity, he goes around to all the people who owe his employer money and reduces their debts. He does this so that they will be hospitable to him after he loses his job. To our surprise, the employer commends the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. Why is he commended? And, why does Luke include this story in his Gospel? To begin to answer these questions, we can note that this parable serves as a bridge between the stories of the Prodigal Son (15:11-32) and the Rich Man and Lazarus (16:19-31). Like the prodigal son in the preceding story, our dishonest manager has squandered what was entrusted to him (15:13;16:1). And, like the story that follows, this parable begins with the phrase, There was a rich man (16:1, 19). 1
Although our dishonest manager does not repent (like the prodigal) or act virtuously (like Lazarus), he nonetheless does something with the rich man s wealth that reverses the existing order of things. In Luke, reversals of status are at the heart of what happens when Jesus and the kingdom of God appear. The proud are scattered (which translates the same word for squandered : dieskorpisen). The powerful are brought down and the lowly lifted; the hungry are filled and the rich are sent away empty (1:51-53). But why does the employer commend the dishonest manager for being shrewd? Of course, his commendation could be ironic. But if it s not ironic, then why is the manager being commended? Some commentators have suggested the the manager has reduced his own commission in the debts owed and that this is what is being commended. Yet others have suggested more generally that the employer is simply commending the manager for responding shrewdly to a difficult circumstance. The word for shrewd here (phronimos) can also be translated as prudent or wise (16:8). The text itself provides four interpretations of the employer s commendation. First, the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation that are the children of light (16:8). In other words, Jesus disciples --often referred to as children of light could learn something about acting prudently from the children of this age. Second, what they could learn from the children of this age has to do with making friends for themselves by means of dishonest wealth so that those new friends might welcome them into the eternal homes (16:9). Instead of using dishonest wealth to exploit others (as the rich do), disciples are to use wealth to make friends for themselves. If friendships are based on reciprocal 2
relationships and human equality, then releasing other people s debts not only enriches them, but also establishes a new kind of mutual dependence and interactions. The Filipino concept of utang na loob, which literally translated means an inner debt or a debt of inner gratitude, perhaps captures something of what is being established here a debt rooted in the shared reciprocity of friends. As a broader context for this, we might note that Luke often depicts how Jesus ministry and that of his followers is dependent on the hospitality of others (*:3), 10:7). Moreover, hospitality is often provided by those who are considered religious outsiders or lower down on social hierarchies (e.g. the Good Samaritan, 10:33); tax collectors, 5:27-39, 19:1-10, Cornelius, 10:48, etc.) Third, there s a connection between being faithful (or dishonest) with very little and very much. How one deals with dishonest wealth and what belongs to another says much about how one will deal with true riches and what is your own (16:10-12). How we use the resources at our disposal in this life especially in tight circumstances matters, even though our true riches can only be found in that place where no thief can draw near and no moth destroys (12:33-34). Finally, the high point of all this is that no slave can serve two Masters you cannot serve God and wealth 916:13). This repeats a central theme in Luke. The kingdom of God requires giving up all other commitments, including the commitment to economic security (14:33); 18:18-25). As noted, Luke places great emphasis on how the reign of God reverses the status of the rich and the poor (1:51-53; 6:20). In Acts, the Christian community is one where disciples share all things in common, distributing to all, as any had need (2:44-45). Disciples share all things in common, distributing to all, as any had 3
need (2:44-45). These texts cannot just be spiritualized. Luke is talking about a different way of using wealth. Our wealth belongs to God and is to be used for the purposes of God s reign among us and not simply for our own interests. So why is our dishonest manager shrewd? Even though he is still a sinner who is looking out for his own interests (6:32-34), he models behavior the disciples can follow. Instead of simply being a victim of circumstance, he transforms a bad situation into one that benefits him and others. By reducing other people s debts, he creates a new set of relationships based not on the vertical relationship between lenders and debtors (rooted in the exchange of money) but on something more like the reciprocal, back-and-forth relationships of friends. How have your investments been doing lately? I have a hot tip for you about a great investment. It s some inside information from the Creator of Heaven and Earth. This investment advice is found in verse 9: I tell you use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwelling. If you have a King James Version it says something about making friends with the mammon of unrighteousness. Mammon was the name of the ancient Canaanite god of riches. Jesus is saying we need to be clever in using our money so the end result will be seeing people in heaven. You can t buy your sal- vation or anyone else s salvation, and you can t buy true friends. But notice how the crooked manager used his discounts to influence his customers so they would receive him favorably after he lost his job. In the same way, we should be using our money to influence people for Christ. Obviously the best way to do that is when you give your money for missions and evangelism. A pastor in East Texas, Rev. David Dykes, gives us this illustration from his church s outreach: 4
A perfect example of this just happened here a few weeks ago. we brought seven Chinese guests to Tyler as part of our city partnership. Many of you gave of your time and money to host these students in your homes. Others of you escorted them to the various sights around East Texas. You were making friends with them. You weren t buying their friendships, you truly wanted to become their friends and you did. In the process of visiting East Texas, all of them were exposed to the Good News of Jesus and they all received Bibles to read for themselves. One of the girls said to me the night before they returned to Fort Worth, Last night I prayed to the God. Her eyes were brimming with tears. I got an email from her recently and she was thanking me and all the people who welcomed her to Tyler. She said her heart is hurting because she misses her new friends. She finished her letter by saying, I know I will see you again if not in this life, in the life to come. As we move forward with Operation Christmas Child, we are given the opportunity to touch the hearts and minds of children in distant places. While we are collecting school supplies, toys, hygiene items, wrapped hard candy, etc., we are also encouraging these children with a personal message from us as their new friend from overseas who wants to tell them about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They will have the chance to take the Bible study course, The Greatest Journey, where they learn to become faithful followers of Christ and share their faith with others. Their shoebox will be filled with donations of love and caring from us and it will open the door for them to find the love of Christ. How wonderful is that?!?!?! Jesus said one day your money will be gone, and you ll be gone from your money. So while you have an opportunity, use your money to influence people so when you are living in the eternal dwellings (heaven ) there will be friends there to welcome you. Another financial principle is expressed in verses 10-12. Jesus said Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and who-. ever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have 5
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? Jesus mentions two kinds of wealth. First, there is worldly wealth. That s the money God gives each of us. You must remember all the wealth in the world belongs to God. He owns all the diamonds, all the gold, and all the oil wells. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills and He owns the hills as well. He is the one who causes us to prosper with this kind of wealth. God gives us wealth so we can buy the basics to meet our needs. We use money to buy food, clothing, and shelter. Also, He gives us wealth so we can enjoy things that go beyond the basic necessities. This is bonus wealth. God has promised He will meet our needs but He never promised to meet our wants. When I speak of a wealthy person who do you think of? You probably think of some billionaire like Bill Gates or perhaps in this political season, Donald Trump, but you don t think of yourself as wealthy. If you have money in your pocket to buy lunch, and you have an indoor toilet and you drove your own car to church, you are wealthier that 80 % of the world s population. That s worldly wealth-but it came from God. The main reason God gives us worldly wealth is to test us. He wants to see how well we manage that kind of wealth. Look again at verse 11. Jesus speaks of another kind of wealth. He calls it true riches. If you are trustworthy with a little, God can trust you with true riches. True riches have nothing to do with money. They include spiritual blessings like peace, security, and strength that are so valuable they can t be bought at any price. Are you managing God s money wisely? The first question is: 6
are you returning a tithe of it to the Lord? It all belongs to the Lord, but He requires we give Him back 10% to demonstrate we trust Him. Sometimes people say, If I was making a $1 million a year, I d be happy to give God 10% of it. Well, if you aren t tithing on your $30,000, what makes you think God will trust you with a million dollars? It s not about tithing; it s about trusting. Do you believe God can be trusted when He speaks in Malachi 3:10? He says, Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out a blessing so great you won t be able to contain it. Now, if you think God is a liar, don t trust Him with a tithe. But if you think God is trustworthy, go ahead and start trusting Him by returning 10% of your income to Him. The problem is too many of God s people are tippers instead of tithers. One of the money counters at another church told the pastor, The best thing the U.S. government could do to help our church would be to quit printing $1 bills! Are you just tipping God? It s okay to tip God if you tip the amount you are supposed to tip at a restaurant 20%. But most religious tippers give God a dollar here and a dollar there. Another problem is many Christians give God their leftovers instead of their firstfruits. You pay all your other bills and if you have anything left over, you give some of it to God. God can t have first place in your life if you are giving Him last place in your checkbook! The real issue is not whether God is trustworthy it s whether or not we are trustworthy in managing God s money. Can God trust you with more than you are managing right now? Look again at verse 9. Are you investing your money in ways so that when you get to heaven there will be people there to greet you because of your 7
gifts? Will there be some people there because of how you lived, what you said, and how you gave your money? When you are giving to God, you may not even realize how far your money is reaching with the good news. Have you heard the song by Ray Boltz entitled Thank you. It starts out with him having a dream in heaven, and you are standing beside him. As you are standing there in heaven someone calls your name. Someone walks up to you and says, Friend, you may not know me, then he said, but waityou used to teach my Sunday School when I was only eight. Every week you would say a prayer, before the class would start. One day when you said that prayer, I asked Jesus in my heart. Then in the second verse Ray sings, Then another man stood before you: He said, Remember the time? A missionary came to church, His pictures made you cry. You didn t have much money but you gave it anyway. Jesus took that gift you gave, and that s why I m in heaven today! Thank you for giving to the Lord. For I am a life that was changed. Thank you for giving to the Lord. I am so glad you gave. May we manage God s resources in a way so when we arrive in heaven, there will be people there who will say, Thank you for giving to the Lord. Amen and amen. 8