Bale 23-09-01
Single-mindedness
This morning’s Gospel reading is the Parable of the Unjust Steward: Luke 16:1-13
This is one of the most difficult parables to understand - because at first blush it looks as if Jesus is condoning sharp practices. On careful reflection however, I don’t think he is.
One of the interesting things about difficult parables is that Jesus explains the difficulties – and this parable is no exception.
What Jesus is admiring is the shrewdness of unjust steward. We see this with Jesus’ comment in Luke 16:8
The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are shrewder in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.
Jesus is not commenting on the morality of the man.
The message of this parable however is not found in this difficulty. Rather the key verse to the parable is found in Luke 16:13
No servant can serve two masters. 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 both God and Money.
It seems to me that the message of this parable is simply this.
That Jesus is looking for single-minded people - people totally dedicated to God – who have one purpose in life – to serve God in all they do.
If we are Christians, we are God’s stewards and the challenge is - what kind of steward are we.
The Unjust Steward was single-minded – but he wasn’t serving the right master..
As I was preparing my sermon, I found myself saying: Jesus, surely you could have used a better parable to put your point over.
But the more I thought about it - the more I found Jesus’ metaphor appropriate.
It seemed that God was challenging me on three levels:
1. Am I single-minded for God?
2. Am I an unjust steward of what God has given me? And stemming from that:
3. Do I use the same wisdom in when I am in church as I do in business or in secular matters?
1. Let us look at the first of the challenges from the parable of the Unjust Steward
Am I single-minded for God?
The Unjust Steward had a problem and he was single-minded in sorting it out.
He considered all his options. He was not able to do manual work and he was too proud to beg. So he thought of a third course of action - and that was to make friends of his master’s creditors.
He made credible reductions in the bills so that the creditors were more likely to be able to pay the bills.
Story: One commentator - trying I think to get more out of the story than is justified - suggested that it may well be that he took off the interest that he had been charging.
Charging of interest was something expressly forbidden for a Jew to do - to another Jew under Old Testament Law. So to get round it if one borrowed 400 gallons of olive oil one would sign a repayment note for 800 gallons. So no interest was charged because 800 gallons was "borrowed"!!
Obviously for this theory to work in the parable, olive oil attracted a higher interest rate of interest than wheat!
Now if this was the case – that is to say the Unjust Steward simply lopped off the interest - he could be commended. At least according to that commentator. But I think that is being a bit fanciful.
Basically there is no getting away from the fact - the Unjust Steward was a scoundrel. He was lining his own pockets. He was not faithful to his master - yet his ingenuity is to be admired.
And as I thought about it I wondered if I am really single-mindedly devoted to the cause of Christ.
Would I really go where he sends – or do I have reservations.
Story: When I was in Switzerland about 10 years ago, I said to Maddy. I’ll never go back to England, but if I ever go back I’ll never go to an Anglican Church and if I ever go to an Anglican church, I’ll never be a vicar!
Never say never to God! He seems to take it as a personal challenge!
Single-mindedness in God’s cause requires us to spend time with God in prayer.
Story: About 10 years ago a survey of American and Canadian pastors of all denominations was carried out and one of the questions asked was how much time do you spend in prayer a week.
From those honest enough to answer, it appeared that the average time that was being spent in prayer was 15 minutes a week.
If the leaders could only give God 15 minutes in prayer – how much time were their congregations spending in prayer?
2. Let us look at the second of the challenges from the parable of the Unjust Steward.
Am I an Unjust Steward myself – as a Christian of what God has given me?
As Christians – as the Church - we are called by God to preach the Gospel.
Jesus put it well in Mt. 28:18 to 20 when he said:
"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them inA the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
The Steward had voluntarily committed himself to his master’s cause and this has similarities with us.
As Christians we call him Lord -How committed am I to that call? As a Christian I am called to be his servant. If I am Christ’s servant – then I must be doing his work..
In the Parable of the Unjust Steward, Christ reminds us that as God’s servants we should be doing God’s work - with our time, gifts and even our money.
Often we think that there is little we can do, as we are a small congregation.
But God can use a small congregation, when they are open to Him.
Story: In the late 18th and early 19th Centuries, a small congregation did just that. It was known as the Clapham Sect - because its leading members lived in Clapham, at that time a small village on the outskirts of London. It was not a sect as we know sects today. They were a Bible believing Church of England group.
The group included William Wilberforce, MP for Hull, Henry Thornton, M.P. for Southwark; Zachary Macaulay (father of Lord Macaulay), James Stephen, a famous barrister; Lord Teignmouth, Charles Grant, Charles Simeon and John Venn. (both vicars)
It is doubtful whether a single small congregation has - in the history of Christendom - exercised such a far-flung influence. What did they achieve?
· They fostered evangelical Christianity- in what is now known as the Evangelical Revival
· They encouraged the Church Missionary Society and the British and Foreign Bible Society
· They encouraged the good administration of India
· They encouraged education and backed the Sunday School movement (Robert Raikes)
· They founded Sierra Leone, and Zachary Macaulay put it on its feet
· They attacked blood sports, duelling and gambling
· They set higher standards of morality in public life
· They set higher standards of active concern in politics and
· They abolished the slave trade.
We need to be careful not to think that just because our church is small that God cannot use it
What God does want is that we are true stewards of what he has entrusted us.
The Clapham sect were prepared to endure ridicule and use their money in promotion the Gospel.
3. The third challenge from the parable of the unjust Judge is: .Do I use the same wisdom in when I am in church as I do in business or in secular matters?
This third challenge comes out of the last one. Do I really use my brain in the service of Christ?
Story: Andrew Carnegie, the famous steel magnate of the 19th Century had a sister who complained that her sons were always asking for money but never replied to her letters. So Carnegie bet her £100 that he could get them to reply within a week.
So he sat down and wrote to each of his nephews asking how they were. He ended both letters by saying that he was enclosing £50 for each of them. He received a letter back from each within the week giving Carnegie their news and ending with a “PS. Uncle Andrew, you forgot to enclose the £50.”
Carnegie was successful because he used his brain - and as Christians we need to do the same.
In some of the churches I have been in – I have seen some of the brightest brains in business. Top bankers and leaders in industry.
Yet when they came into church, they left that sharp acumen behind – they parked their brains with their cars in the parking lot - and the Church lost its cutting edge.
The word somehow got around that in church you don’t need to think.
As the Church - we have been given only one problem by God – yes just one – and that is to make disciples of all nations and we need to think of inventive ways to do that.
When we pray and apply our minds to problems we can come up with good answers.
Story: One American pastor in a big suburban situation was concerned that only 20-30 people were coming to church.
So he asked people why they weren’t coming and the reply that Sunday was a bad time, since it was the only time they could get to be with the family. So he switched the main service to Wednesday night and got 600 coming to his services.
4. Conclusions.
So in conclusion, although the parable of the Unjust Steward seems enigmatic, I think it challenges us on at least three levels:
1. Am I single-minded in my commitment to God?
2. Am I an unjust steward with what God has given me? And following on from that
.
3. Do I use the same wisdom when I am in church as I do in business or in secular matters?
