On
June 4th, 2014 members of
the radical Islamist group, Boko Haram, posed as Christian ministers inviting
the villagers to come and listen to them preach before opening fire on the
crowd killing 45 people. This followed
an attack two days earlier when members of the same group dressed up as
soldiers and attacked three villages slaughtering around 200 civilians. The Boko Haram has announced their goal to
wipeout the Christian faith from Nigeria. It is dangerous to be a Christian in
Nigeria[1]. We need to pray for our brothers and sisters
in Nigeria. And although it is dangerous to be a Christian in Nigeria, America
is still one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a Christian. Listen to Josef Tson, one who endured extreme
persecution in Romania as a preacher of the gospel, he said, “Ninety percent of
Christians pass the test of adversity, while ninety percent of Christians fail
the test of prosperity.”
America is not
one of the most dangerous places physically, but one of the most dangerous
places spiritually. If our lives are taken for being Christians, we are safe in
the presence of God. Paul writes in
Philippians 1:21, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Death is
gain for the Christian. We should pray
for our brothers and sisters in the world who are facing the threat of death
for the faith. And although their lives
may be in physical danger, our souls are in spiritual danger. Spiritual danger
will always be greater than physical danger, because the consequences last
longer. Eternity awaits us. Our souls
are in spiritual danger, because of our wealth.
America is one of
the wealthiest nations in the history of the world. Our wealth and our
country’s love of wealth poses a serious danger to our souls. Matthew 19:23-24,
And Jesus said to
his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person
enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go
through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.
And 1 Timothy 6:9-10,
But those who
desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and
harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of
money is a root of all kinds of evils.
It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith
and pierced themselves with many pangs.
We are under constant attack to
love money. How does our country train
us to love money?
Advertising – Marketing appeals to your
desires to crave more material comforts. Whether it be a new speaker system, 3D
Flat-screen TV, new furniture, or new lawn care equipment, they are appealing
to your desires to get more. Advertisers
want you to spend your money and if you spend your money, you can easily crave
more money so you can buy more stuff.
Social Media – Social media may be a
place where you are tempted to covet or desire the kind of things or the kind
of lifestyle that your friends have and lead you to focus more on this world
than the world to come.
Education – The mantra in modern day
education is to work hard in school so you can go to a good college and get a
good job and make good money to provide a “good” life for your family.
Celebrities – The news that the media
really cares about is the rich and famous.
And in constantly portraying the details of their life, the media is
subtly implying that their lives are the pinnacle of success. Celebrities do
not just abound in the media, but they are also a danger in Christian
circles.
There are other ways we are
encouraged to pursue riches, but those who desire to be rich fall into temptation,
into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into
ruin and destruction. Do you see the grave danger we face in America?
Our country’s
love of riches is a danger for our souls.
Hebrews 3:12, “Take care, brother, lest there be in any of you an evil,
unbelieving heart leading you to fall away from the living God.” This morning,
I want to exhort you to have a proper prospective of wealth and to use your
wealth for the glory of God. Jesus
encourages us to practice shrewd stewardship.
Let us look at two examples of shrewd stewardship. The first,
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Shrewd
Stewardship for Earthly Wealth
Luke 16:1, “He
also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and
charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions.” The
audience changes from addressing the Pharisees and the scribes in the previous
chapter to the disciples. In, the previous story we see how the lost son was
“wasting his possessions,” and now we see how the manager is charged with wasting
his master’s possessions. And the response of the rich man is he believes the
charges against his manager. Verse 2,
And he called him
and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of
your management, for you can no longer be manger.
The manager is called to the carpet
and given his notice. This poses a
problem for the steward. At this point
in the story there is no sign of immorality or dishonesty in the manager, but
simply a wasting of the possessions. It
could have been the result of dishonesty or it could have been because of
incompetency or neglect. The text does
not give us a reason here, but makes the manager start thinking about his
future.
In
verse 3, we get a window inside the manager’s head,
And the manager said
to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away
from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg.
The manager does not want to return
to physical labor or to plead with others for help so he devises a plan for his
future. Verses 4-8a,
‘I have decided
what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me
into their houses.’ So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to
the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He said, ‘a hundred measures of
oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’
Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred
measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ The
master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this
world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of
light.”
There are many
interpretative questions that this passages raises. In what ways was the
manager dishonest? Does the master praise his dishonesty? What was taken off
the bill to the debtors? We could camp
on these questions for weeks, but let me address each one briefly. First, what
was taken off the bill? Some scholars believe the manager “removed his own commission,
sacrificing his own money, not that of his master.” [2]Others
believe the manager removed the exorbitant interest rates to bring the debt in
line with the Law specified in Leviticus and Deuteronomy (Lev. 25:35–37; Deut.
15:7–8; 23:19–20). Others feel he simply cut the debt, costing the rich man
money, but gaining him favor with the debtors.
It is all
speculation because the text does not make it clear. Although the text does not
make clear what was taken off the debt, we do know the motivation of why it was
lowered. The debt was taken off so that
the manager would gain favor with the debtors so he would be received into the
debtors’ houses because he did not want to beg or dig. The motivation was
selfish and sinful. Regardless of what was removed, we know that the manager
acted immorally. He was dishonest in his
dealings, but was he commended for his dishonesty? He did acting dishonestly, but was commended
for his shrewdness. The text is clear in
verse 8, “The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness.” To
be shrewd is to have or to show the ability to understand things and to make
good judgments; mentally sharp or clever. The manager acted shrewdly in
preparing for his future. Jesus
summarizes the parable, “For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing
with their own generation than the sons of light.” The point is that this man demonstrated
shrewd stewardship for earthly wealth.
He dealt wisely as a son of this world in preparing for his future after
being dismissed as the manager. He is not
praised for his dishonesty, but praised in taking action to prepare for his
future.
Jesus says that
the sons of this world act more shrewdly in preparing for their future than the
sons of light. The sons of light are referring to believers while the sons of
this world are referring to non-believers. This passage is not, “If people of
this world are preparing for their earthly wealth, then God’s people should be
preparing for their eternal wealth.” The
second example of shrewd stewardship,
Shrewd Stewardship for Eternal Wealth
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This point of
this passage is not to encourage you to be wise in preparing for your earthly
future, but to be wise in preparing for your eternal future. Jesus says, “For the sons of this world are
more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light.” He is rebuking his disciples in not preparing
for the future. If the sons of this
world prepare for their future, then even more so, the sons of light should
prepare for their future. Believers are
called sons of light or children of day to imply that our eyes are open to the
reality of our future. We do not live
for this present world, but for the world to come. 1 Corinthians 15:32, “If the
dead are not raised, “let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” What Paul is saying is that if there is no
resurrection, then we should live for today and enjoy ourselves for there is no
pleasure later, but we are no longer the sons of this world living, but we have
seen the light and now live for the resurrection. The manager lived for his
pleasure so that he could avoid digging and begging. He was preparing for
earthly pleasure, but he did not understand eternal pleasure.
God does not want
your heart focused on this world, but on the life to come. We know there is a
resurrection, but we too often we spend our money as if there is no eternal
life. Matthew 6:19-21,
Do not lay up for
yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves
break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where
neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For
where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
God wants us to treasure Him. And
isn’t he worth being our supreme treasure?
He is so glorious,
holy and righteous. He is all that is good.
He is perfect in his character. He is worth all glory and honor and
praise. He created the world as a
reflection of his good and benevolent character. God created man in His own image to glorify
Him. Sadly, man rebelled against His goodness and spurned Him as One who was worthy
of being our supreme treasure. Our sin separated us from God. And God would
have been just and good if He ended the world as soon as sin entered it. We were
under condemnation deserving eternal hell for our sin, but instead of crushing
us, God crushed his Son for us on cross.
God demonstrated his hatred towards sin by unleashing his wrath on His
own Son. Jesus cried out, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” Jesus was forsaken so that we could be
accepted. He died in our place. He took
our sin and gave us his righteousness.
He has given us hope for the future in his resurrection from the
dead. He promises eternal life to
whoever would turn from their sin and trust in Him. Through faith, He rescues us from Hell and
gives us the Hope of heaven. Deuteronomy
7:6,
For you are a
people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen
you to be a people for his treasured
possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
God has made us his treasured
possession by sending His own Son to die and be raised in our place, is He not
worth being our supreme treasure?
God wants to be
our supreme treasure, but He also wants us to treasure what he treasures. I find it interesting how Luke through the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit arranged this material. The end of chapter 14:33
Jesus says, “So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has
cannot be my disciple.” Jesus is
referring to our possessions and our treasure. Then in chapter 15 Jesus
addressed the Pharisees showing God’s heart for the lost with three parables:
the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son.
The scene changes and Jesus is speaking to his disciples about a manager
who is squandering the rich man’s wealth.
The
American church has been mismanaging God’s possessions. He has given us so much
so that we could reach the lost, but we have spent it on our comforts rather
than on the cause of Christ. We do not
really understand what sacrifice is in our country. We have to go outside our country to get a
proper perspective. John Piper shares a
story from Stanford Kelly of a Haitian man named Edmund,
The church was
having a Thanksgiving festival and each Christian was invited to bring a love
offering. One envelope from a Haitian man named Edmund held $13 cash. That
amount was three months’ income for a workingman there. Kelly was as surprised
as those counting a Sunday offering in the United Sates might be to get a
$6,000 cash gift. He looked around for Edmund, but couldn’t see him. Later Kelly met him in the village and
questioned him. He pressed him for an explanation (for missing the festival)
and found that Edmund had sold his horse in order to give the $13 gift to God
for the sake of Gospel. But why hadn’t he come to the festival? He hesitated
and didn’t want to answer. Finally Edmund said, “I had no shirt to wear.”[3]
Edmund sold his horse and gave it
all for the sake of Jesus Christ. He didn’t
attend the banquet because he didn’t have a shirt. Beloved, Edmund gave his $13 for Christ, but
he did not lose $13. He sent it ahead of him to heaven where moth and rust do
not destroy and thieves do not break in and steal. Edmund lived like he believed
in the resurrection. Do we?
We
are squandering God’s wealth if we are using it only for earthly comforts. I have been looking at my life this week and
around my home and I have been blessed with so much and I have been asking
myself, “Am I spending my money for eternal or earthly pleasure?” And I am not referring simply to my
tithe. A tithe is the minimum we should
give to God. If you don’t tithe and/or are not working to tithe, you need to
repent and get right with God. What I am
talking about is whether I am demonstrating a shrewd stewardship with my
wealth. God does not own my 10%, but my
100%. Jesus says unless you renounce all
that you have, you cannot be His disciple.
All my money belongs to him.
Therefore be:
Generous
Verse 9,
And I tell you,
make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it
fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.
The beginning of the verse says,
“And I tell you,” showing the importance of what comes next. This verse can be
a little confusing. Who are the friends
we are called to make? What is unrighteous wealth? Unrighteous wealth is not
wealth made dishonestly, but the wealth of this world which so often produces
worldly responses keeping one’s eyes off of God.[4]
The friends that Jesus mentions is most likely referring to God because He is
the only one who can receive us into eternal dwellings. Jesus wants us to shift the use of our money.
He wants us to be generous managers of the resources He has given us. Proverbs
11:28, “Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish
like a green leaf.” Worldly wealth will fail. It will not last. As children of
light we should know this and practice shrewd stewardship. We should invest our
money for eternity and we do that by giving it for the cause of the gospel.
Faithful
Verse 10-12,
“One who is
faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in
a very little is so also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful
in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you true riches? And if you have
not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is
your own?”
The question is not how much money
we have but how we handle the money we do have. We are trained by the world to
focus more on how much money we have, whether it is a little or a lot, but God
wants us to focus on how we handle what we have. What we do with little is what we will do
with much. Are you faithful with what God has given you? If you are not faithful with little, how can
God entrust you with true riches?
This principle
transcends money. It is about
stewardship. How are you stewarding the
things God has given you? How are you stewarding your money? Your time? Your
family? Your body? Your gifts? Your mind? Beloved, this life is only
preparation for the life to come. If we are faithful on earth, we will be given
true riches by God for all eternity. He
has promised us an inheritance, but if you have not been faithful in that which
is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?
A Wise Servant
Verse 13,
No servant can
serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he
will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and
money.
Money is a barometer of spiritual
health. The reason America is so
dangerous because our culture encourages you to live for today rather than for
eternity; for yourself rather than for God. Who is master? Who are you serving? Not who you should be serving, but who you
are actually serving. What does your spending say? Is your money serving God or are you serving
your money?
Remember what Romanian
Josef Tson has said, “Ninety percent of Christians pass the test of adversity,
while ninety percent of Christians fail the test of prosperity.” Many Christians
are failing the test of prosperity. We
need to take an honest look at our budgets and our spending both as individuals
and as a church so that we can be sure we are not wasting our master’s
wealth. Do not fail the test of
prosperity; practice shrewd stewardship, use your wealth to prepare for
eternity.
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