This week, we are looking at what the Bible teach when it comes to how we are to manage the money, possessions, and treasure we have on earth. We are asking the question: “Will we be held accountable for how we manage all that God owns? And if that is that case; if we will be held accountable, then what is the standard we will be held to? How will God measure and judge our management?”
Yesterday, we looked at a section of an account of Jesus life that is recorded for u sin the Bible called the gospel of Luke. In Luke 16, Jesus is telling a parable where a wasteful manager had contacted each person who owed money to his master and renegotiated the terms of their debt in what we would call in our culture today a series of short sales. While these short sales were a great deal for those who owed money to the rich man and would earn the wasteful manager favor in the eyes of those whose debt to his master was being eliminated from the short sale, these short sales were not a great deal for the rich man. The rich man would end up losing money. Which is why what Jesus says next, in Luke 16:8, is so surprising. So let’s look together at what Jesus had to say about this plan:
"And his master praised the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of light.
Jesus explains that the rich man was not mad at the wasteful manager for losing him more money. Instead, the rich man expressed admiration and approval for the wasteful manager because he acted shrewdly. Now this word shrewdly, in the language that this letter was written in, refers to having an understanding that was associated with insight and wisdom. Jesus then reveals what gained the wasteful manager admiration and approval in the eyes of the rich man: “for the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of light.” But what does that mean? What is Jesus talking about here?
Jesus point here is that people who are far from God tend to be more prudent in dealing with those who are far from God than those who are close to God are in dealing with those who are far from God. The unrighteous and wasteful manager displayed more insight and wisdom in dealing with others around him that were far from God than someone who was close to God would have demonstrated.
What the master praised the manager for was not the fact that he handled his money well. That is not Jesus point here. What the master praised the manger for was his cleverness and prudent self-interest that would result in him developing relationships that would provide and support him after he lost his job as manager. Now if you find yourself a little confused by this parable, just wait until you see what Jesus says next in verse 9:
"And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they will receive you into the eternal dwellings."
I imagine that this was one of the times where Jesus followers looked at one another and said “why does He always talk like that? Why does He say things like this?” So what is Jesus saying here? Is Jesus saying that you can earn your way into Heaven? Is Jesus saying that we are to use money to somehow influence and buy our way into Heaven? Because, that is what it seems that Jesus is saying, doesn’t it? At first glance, Jesus seems to be saying that we are to make friends with God with the treasure we have on earth, so that when those temporary treasures cease to exist upon our death that we can get into Heaven. So, what is Jesus saying here?
To understand what Jesus is saying here, we first need to understand what He is not saying. Jesus is not saying to those who are far from God that they should use their money to buy their way into Heaven. This is not a command to use ill-gotten gain for one’s selfish desires. Instead, Jesus is using this parable, this earthly story, to reveal the reality that those who are His followers will demonstrate the proof of their faith and their relationship with Him by how trustworthy they are in handling the money, possessions, and treasure of this world.
We know this to be the case because of what Jesus says in verses 10-13. When we read the accounts of Jesus life that are recorded for us in the Bible, Jesus often will first tells a parable and then explain the parable to His confused followers. In Luke 16:1-9, Jesus tells the parable. And in Luke 16:10-13, we see Jesus explain the parable. And it is in His explanation that we see Jesus reveal for us a timeless principle about how God will measure and judge how we manage the money, possessions, and treasure we have been given.
Tomorrow, we will look at the explanation of this parable....
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