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As Christians, we all have been given special gifts (gifts of the Spirit) for us to serve one another:
1 Peter 4:10 As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
We have been entrusted with a great number of things to be used for the glory of God. We have been blessed with time, resources, talents, abilities and opportunities to bring glory to God. We are caretakers of these thing. As a caretaker, we are responsible for the use of these talents, resources, abilities and opportunities. Biblically speaking, we are stewards. As stewards, we are answerable to God for the use and miss-use of these things.
1 Corinthians 4:1–2 Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy.
As Christians we are servants of Christ. We were saved from sin, but we are saved and given purpose. We are called to serve and are stewards with all He has entrusted to us.
Quoting from Warren Wiersbe: “Christians are stewards of the gifts and abilities God has given them, and we must use those gifts and abilities to serve others. The thief says, “What’s yours is mine—I’ll take it!” The selfish man says, “What’s mine is mine—I’ll keep it!” But the Christian must say, “What’s mine is a gift from God—I’ll share it!” We are stewards and we must use our abilities to win the lost, encourage the saints, and meet the needs of hurting people.[1]
Jesus talked about this very thing. He often spoke in parables and in Luke 16:1-9 Jesus speaks about a dishonest and unfaithful servant whom He commends for being savvy and dealing shrewdly in the end to insure his future. It is a difficult parable to properly understand and I will not go into details of that parable, but I will go directly to the teaching Jesus has for us at the conclusion of that parable.
Luke 16:10–13
Today, at the end of this service we are voting on our budget for the next year. I have in years past taken this day as Stewardship Sunday, time for us to consider and evaluate what we do with the resources entrusted to us by God. But we tend to be proud people. “I’ve worked hard for all I have.” “I pulled myself up by my own bootstraps” (That’s the American way!)
The people of Israel was warned by God through Moses about that kind of prideful thinking. They were about to enter the promise land and they will take over cities and gain houses and have herds that they did not work for.
Deuteronomy 8:12–14 … when you have eaten and are satisfied, and have built good houses and lived in them, 13 and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold multiply, and all that you have multiplies, 14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
And
Deuteronomy 8:17–18 Otherwise, you may say in your heart, ‘My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth.’ 18 But you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.
All we have, including our ability to work, to learn, to advance, to make money, to have cars, houses, to have a job, the opportunities we have, are all gifts from God. And as much as I would hate to say, we must realize that much of what we do not have may also be a gift from God. He gives only as much a we can deal with. Few people possess the ability to truly handle great earthly riches properly.
Statistically, about 70% of those who win the Lotto and some great windfall actually end up broke or even bankrupt in just a few years.[2] This include many professional athletes. But we are called to be faithful stewards, that is faithful to God, and the first step in that process is to realize in our hearts and in our heads that God owns it all. All we have, every bit of it, comes from Him.
James 1:17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.
Not only that, a small fact overlooked by the world and by us:
Psalm 24:1 The earth is the LORD’S, and all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it.
Job 41:11 “Who has given to Me that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is Mine.
Everything belongs to God. And we must remember, we all will one day appear before God and we are accountable to Him, all that we have done and all that we have left undone. And I’m taking about the saved, Christians, those who claim to be born again and of the household of God. I have preached on this before, but it is important to be reminded of this fact:
2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
When we consider this, we must realize we are talking far more than merely giving a tithe of our income. Yes, the tithe is important, I do believe one big reason God commands the tithe is for our benefit, in that the tithe is an act of trust, that God will provide. But the fact is, the remaining 90% belongs to God as well and we are held accountable with what we do with that 90% and how we use it for His glory. And yes, we are to use much of that to support our families because our families are a gift from God and must take proper care of what God has given us. So when we look at these word of Jesus in Luke 16, we must understand what is being said here.
Luke 16:10 “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.
Let’s talk money for moment. The Bible contains roughly 500 verses on prayer and faith, but well over 2,000 verses on money, and approximately 40% of Jesus’ parables deal with money–it’s obvious that God has plenty to say about wealth and giving.[3]
Putting this verse into context, the “very little thing” being referred to is most likely money. How well do you manage your finances? A lot of the problems I see in our benevolence program is many we help are unable to manage and budget what they do have (I’m not talking about those that need some assistance helping get past a crisis, but the many we see on a continual basis). A huge shortfall in our society today (among many other things) is a general lack of financial discipline and the ability to budget and manage money.
And what Jesus is saying makes perfect sense. If you can be trusted and be faithful in little things, like money, you can be trusted and be found faithful in much.
But the flip side of that coin is also true. If you cannot manage the little you have, why would I give you more? Jesus says just that:
Luke 16:11 Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you?
Look at what Jesus calls “unrighteous wealth.” KJV has “unrighteous mammon” and both the NIV and CSB has “worldly wealth.” When considering money by itself, money is amoral, meaning it is neither bad nor good. It is a tool. How we handle money, how we relate to money makes money evil, unrighteous, bad or even good.
We must understand that the possession of wealth is nowhere condemned in scripture, but how wealth is use is the subject here.
Our lack of faithfulness and being trustworthy is what makes wealth unrighteous. Compare this to the “true riches.” In the Greek, is just the word true, or genuine (CSB and HCSB). And what are the true and genuine things, the true riches? True riches is the Gospel, the riches of the kingdom. How did Jesus tell the rich young ruler to manage his wealth?
Luke 18:22 When Jesus heard this, He said to him, “One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
In this case who owned who. The “rich young ruler” was owned by his riches, rather that the other way around. Jesus told him to get rid of his riches, “give it all to the poor” and to follow Him. His riches stood between him and Jesus and was in the way. Get rid of his earthy riches (in a way that glorifies God) and heavenly riches would await him. Where are our true riches? As we have read earlier:
Matthew 6:20–21 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; 21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
True riches. Is that what we are striving for? But we first must be found faithful with what we have been entrusted with.
Luke 16:12 And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?
Again, bearing in mind, all we have and all we are belongs to God. How are we doing? Are we taking care of His stuff? Let’s include our bodies just for a moment, how are we doing taking care of our health? Eating right, exercising, listening to our doctors? Are we taking care of the body He has given us? How will He give us more unless we are taking care with His things. Remember the Parable of the Talents? (Matt 25:14-30) Remember the Master gave His servants 1, 2 and 5 talents. The servants with 2 and 5 talents worked their talents (money, wealth) for the master and made more. What did the Master say when he returned?
Matthew 25:21 and 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’
I’m working towards that goal of hearing my Lord say that to me one day, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Notice how the Master said the same thing to one he gave 2 talents as well as to the one He gave 5 talents. Whether the Lord has entrusted us with much or little, if we are faithful with what we do with it, much or little, it will reap the same reward. If I prove faithful with what he has entrusted me with now, I stand to gain much more in the future, whether it be in this life and in the life to come. Then Jesus ends with this:
Luke 16:13 No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
Herein is the issue with many, and I’m not just talking about those with a lot of wealth. For many, they are obsessed with wealth. Their lives are ordered and centered around getting more wealth. And here, I’m including many so-called poor, many who are consumed with what they do not have. Paul speaks to this clearly.
1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
We are not to be controlled by what we have or by what we wished we had. Wealth is merely a tool which is to be used for the glory of God. It not a matter of how much we have or do not have. But what are we doing with what God has entrusted us with. We cannot live for our stuff and God at the same time.
The Pharisees tried to live with one foot in worldly wealth and one food in the kingdom of God and it does not work. To put our passage today into greater perspective or context, look what follows in today’s passage:
Luke 16:14–15 Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and were scoffing at Him. 15 And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.
You can fool the people around you, but you cannot fool God. Where is your heart? On earthly wealth or on heavenly treasures? So then how should we live, considering we are stewards of what God has entrusted to us. Where should our focus be? Jesus said it best:
Matthew 6:33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Are our sights set on the kingdom or on your stuff? It makes a difference on how you manage your stuff for the kingdom.
[1] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 239.
[2] www.cleveland.com/business/2016/01/why_do_70_percent_of_lottery_w.html
[3] blog.rose-publishing.com/2016/02/08/trivia-how-many-verses-in-the-bible-are-about-money/#.Yy-mT3bMJD8
