Generosity Pt 3

Luke 16

The Parable of the Shrewd Manager

 ¹ Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. ² 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.’    ³ “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— ⁴ I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’
   ⁵ “So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
   ⁶ “‘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.’
   ⁷ “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.’
   ⁸ “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. ⁹ I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.
   ¹⁰ “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. ¹¹ So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? ¹² And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?
   ¹³ “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.”
 ¹⁴ The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. ¹⁵ 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.

What do we see in this parable?  Jesus is talking to his disciples and teaching them what they should focus on with their money.  In the background the Pharisees are listening in to see what he is saying and as we find out in verse 14, they are lovers of money.  Jesus then lists out a few things in the story:


- v 2 - We are held accountable for how we handle our money.  Every cent we ever receive is a gift from God and we are to take care of it in the right way.  This is incredibly difficult right?  Almost everyone has a little hint of greed in them and are enamored by the next "new" thing or new style.  But isn't it reality that the new things today are just tomorrow's garage sale items?   Does this mean we can't have nice things?  Absolutely not.  Wealth or nice things aren't condemned in scripture.  What is condemned is whether or not the wealth is being used in a Godly way or if our things have become idols to us.  How do you know if things have starting to becoming idols?  Are you always able to get a new pair of jeans, a new phone, but never able to give back to God?  Then you've probably have to start working on how you view your stuff.


- v8 - The manager is commended for his shrewdness.  Seems odd right?  But think about it.  Has there been a time in a game or conversation when someone does something that is so clever that you are like, "Wow.  Well played my friend."  That's what is happening here.  Jesus is telling his disciples that you need to be smart with what you do with your money.  In verse 9 he says to actually use the money to win friends.  He's not saying you should buy them off but an attitude of amazing genuine generosity will draw people to you.  Aren't you always attracted to people who are super generous?  There is something really attractive about that as part of someone's personality right?  How about when you are around greedy people?  They are a real joy aren't they?  Exactly.  But the reality is you are either one or the other.  


- v 10 - I hear people say all of the time that once they make more money they will start being generous.  Not true.  It simply does not happen.  Generosity has nothing to do with money and everything to do with heart.  If you don't already have an attitude of generosity when you don't make that much money, you will just buy more stuff when you do have a little cash in your pocket.  


- v 13 - You either serve God or money.  If you serve God you will be generous, if you serve money you won't.  Does that seem harsh?  Maybe, but again, I didn't say it.  Jesus did. 

So what do we do with all of this?  I think each of us needs to see where our focus really is with our money and go through each of these 4 points and see where we stand.  Do you need to go out, sell everything and live a life of poverty?  No.  Well, it's possible the answer is yes for some people, but the reality is that it's not for most. We've got to ask ourselves if we truly are generous or do we just look out for #1?  Honestly, if we really are chasing after Jesus and being accountable with what we do with our money, each and every one of us would be a cheerful giver.  When that happens we will lead simpler lives and will always be looking for ways that we can be generous to someone.  

Why is it a good option to be a slave to money to just keep up with the rest of culture?  Makes no sense right?

Make the decision today to start being a generous person.  People might actually start to like you...just kidding :)


Peace,
Wags