October 7, 2001 Luke 16:1-13
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 ”‘Eight hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied. “The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred.’ 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, (they will welcome you) 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 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.”
Two ten speed bikes take up ten square feet in my garage. When the metal glistened in the local Pamida and the sale price caught my attention, I envisioned my wife and I riding these bikes, with our kids hooked onto the carrier, on a regular basis. Little did I realize that carrying seventy pounds worth of kids around would be so tiring. And so two ten speed bikes take up ten square feet in my garage. I occasionally move them from here to there and back when it’s time to sweep or get the lawnmower. But basically, they waste space. Whether it was a Thigh Master, a Nordic Track, a video game or a cooking utensil, we all have things that haven’t reached their potential.
All of this “stuff”, whether it’s bikes, apple slicers, etc., fits under the topic of what Jesus is talking about. The literal word for Jesus’ topic is “mammon.” It’s kind of a funny sounding word, isn’t it? Mammon - comes from an Aramaic noun which probably derives from root mn - meaning that which one trusts in - is used in Jewish writings for compensation, bribe, and ransom. Jesus used it to denote earthly goods and their materialistic character. Hundreds of years ago many Christians assumed that since Jesus spoke against the love of riches and material possessions, that they should give them all up - don’t have any. But that’s not his point at all in today’s parable. Instead, Jesus says to -
Make the Most of Your Master’s Mammon
Our parable for today begins, “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. 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.’ A rich man had a manager who was accused of “wasting” his possessions. That word literally means to “scatter.”You could imagine him paying too much for the rich man’s palace to be cleaned - using the rich man’s money to pay for extravagant foods - scattering it here and there and writing it all off as a “business expense.” Finally, news got back to the rich man of what the manager was doing with his possessions.
The man realized that his time was short. He had very little time left before he would be without a job and left to fend for himself. He had become accustomed to his easy way of life, and now he was in a conundrum. So what happened? He said, “I KNOW what I’ll do.” He had a plan of attack. And he made some quick and decisive decisions that enabled him to plan for his immediate future, so he wouldn’t be left on the street begging for money. He knew exactly what he had to do so that these people would accept him into their homes. One person would need to have his bill cut in half, while the other would be grateful for just a twenty percent cut. His decisions in the limited time available to him enabled him to be prepared for the future. Even though it was dishonest for him to change the debts, it was thoughtfully planned out - shrewd.
Jesus then gives us the punch line. First of all He said, I tell you, use worldly wealth. It’s kind of interesting that the literal word for “worldly wealth” is “mammon of unrighteousness.” Even though the majority of the “stuff” in this world is worthless - unrighteous stuff - he doesn’t say to stay away from it. He tells us to use it. Think of how God used the evil Babylonians to punish the Israelites for 70 years. God used the evil Egyptians to house the Israelites and make them turn to him. God used “mammon of unrighteousness,” and so should we.
How does he want us to use it? The manager used his master’s mammon to prepare for his future. When we compare our future to the man in the parable - he was just worried about a few years of existence. We are talking about an eternity in heaven. And so Jesus wants us to think about what we are doing with our possessions, with the future of heaven in mind.
There’s a song that goes, “if I had a million dollars . . . I’d buy you a house, furniture for your house, a k-car .. . a fur coat, an exotic pet, like a lamb or an emu, the elephant bones, and I’d buy your love. If I had a million dollars, I’d buy really expensive ketchup - Dijon catchup.” Part of the song is commendable, in wanting to spend his money to make a friend. But part of it is goofy, saying they would rent limos and Dijon catchup. We all envision “what we’d do with a million dollars.” But Jesus says, “forget about what you’d do if. . think about what you’re doing with your mammon right now!”
That’s where we need to seriously consider how and where we are spending our time and our money. God says you can use it to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, (they will welcome you) into eternal dwellings. Think about it - and ask yourself, “Is it wise to use my time playing video games? What good will new furniture do me in heaven? How will the money I am spending on this video do any good for my future? How will watching this TV show do me or my kids any good in the future of the Kingdom?” Is it building my faith or tearing it down? Is it enabling me to feed my family and give to the Lord? Jesus used this parable to illustrate that people of the world are using their possessions much more effectively than we are. We have gifts - abilities within our congregation. But are we using them in a way that furthers God’s kingdom or only builds up our equity? How much money do we waste a year on frivolous garbage? How much time do we waste a year on nothing? According to some old statistics - If one lives to be 70 years of age and is the average person, he spends: —20 years sleeping —20 years working —6 years eating —7 years playing —5 years dressing —1 year on the telephone —2½ years smoking —2½ years in bed —3 years waiting for somebody —5 months tying shoes —2½ years for other things, including 1½ year in church. To spend 1½ years in church in a relative life span of 70, one must, on the day of his birth, begin to spend five minutes of each morning and every evening in devotions, plus three hours per week in church. What does this tell us? Are we “making the most of our master’s mammon?”
I. Use it with the future in mind
The rich man commended the wasteful manager for his shrewdness. Yet what still happened? The manager was still told, you cannot be manager any longer. Even though the man was commended for his shrewdness, the only thing that he was concerned about was HIS future. He wasn’t performing his duty with any respect to the rich man. He was no longer trustworthy. Instead of using the rich man’s possessions to the benefit of the rich man, he treacherously wasted the possessions on himself. And so Jesus said, “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?
Some of you might remember the story of Stephen. There were a bunch of Jewish widows who needed to be taken care of - fed food, etc. The apostles had to really budget their time wisely - as they were very gifted men. And so they decided, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3 Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” It was at that time that Stephen was chosen to wait on tables. Here Stephen was given a basic task of waiting on tables. He was faithful in that duty. But his duties didn’t end there. In vs. 8 Luke notes, Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. 9 Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen . . . These men began to argue with Stephen, 10 but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke. Stephen took on the responsibility of waiting on tables, and then he also was given the ability to even do wonders, miraculous signs and speak the truth. When he made the most of His master’s mammon and was trustworthy with little - God gave him much.
Take on the other hand Judas - who was given responsibility over the money bag. It was his responsibility to pay for whatever was needed for the disciples. Instead of doing a good job at it, he took the money that was given to him. As a result, he decided to sell his own Savior for 30 pieces of silver. He was dishonest with little, and therefore he lost it all - his reputation, his faith - and his life. He found out that you cannot serve God and mammon.
Do you notice the progression that Jesus presents before us this morning? He says, “be faithful with the little stuff first.” If your parents tell you to wash the dishes, then do a good job at it. If you get laid off from work and have to work at a place that pays much less and doesn’t utilize what you believe your “talents” are, do good at it anyway. Be faithful and trustworthy with the work you have, and God will give you more “important” duties later on.
But how often is it that we seem to overlook the responsibilities in front of us because we are too focused on a goal way far away? So many people have lofty goals - they say, “I want to have a wife. I want to have a high paying job. I want to be a spiritual leader.” But they don’t want to be where they are - and they don’t like the road to getting there. So while they want to be the boss, they don’t want to be good employees. While they want a long lasting relationship, they don’t work on their relationships with the people they know. What if Joseph had complained about being in prison? What if he had done a terrible job of taking care of his masters possessions? What if he had become angry with his unfair lot in life? Would God have still made him second in command? Faithfulness means doing the duties - even the seemingly little and insignificant ones that God puts before you - in a trustworthy manner. It means making the most of the master’s mammon - for the good of the master. It means using the gifts you have to the glory of your master.
II. Prove your faithfulness with it
There once was a boy who grew up in very poor circumstances. He lived in a town that was off the beaten path. He didn’t have much opportunity for riches or fame. And for first thirty years of His life He lived in very subnormal conditions. He didn’t consider it “beneath him” to live as a poor carpenter’s son. Instead, when his father asked, he swept his father’s shop. After years of faithful service, however, the Lord gave Him extra duties. With the anointing of the Holy Spirit - he was able to heal diseases. And so He then was called on to put his hands on people with filthy diseases and preach the good news to people that noone else wanted to preach to. Then, God gave him an even greater responsibility - a dirtier responsibility. To use his hands and feet as nail boards. To use his head as a punching bag and a pin cushion. To use his body as an instrument for His Father to release His anger on. These were not glorious duties. They were beneath what he deserved. So why did he do it? Hebrews 12:2 Jesus, for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Jesus did the seemingly menial tasks for the joy that would be his in the future. It would make Jesus happy to see our sins of unfaithfulness paid for. It would make Jesus happy to see us holy. It would make Jesus happy to see us live with the Holy Spirit - forgiven and free. It would make Jesus happy to see us in heaven. He is happy every time that another saint dies and goes to be with him. And now Jesus has been rewarded. He is in heaven, back in full glory. He is able to give us gifts to use to the glory of his name.
The medical profession has come up with a “new cure” for gangrene. When dead skin is spreading on your toes or your body, they’ll take a bunch of maggots wrap them around the dead skin, and let them eat away at the dead skin until it is all gone. That procedure is disgusting and ugly to think about. But as ugly as those maggots may be, they work. Jesus said, “you cannot serve God AND mammon.” Mammon is often sinful and addictive. But he didn’t say “you cannot serve God WITH mammon.” Jesus made the most of his life in this filthy world of mammon, and earned your salvation. My friends, whatever your gifts are, whatever you abilities, whatever your talents, whatever you have to work with in this sinful world, no matter how “ugly” it may be - make the most of your Master’s mammon. Use money, time, whatever you can - to the glory of His name and for the future of His kingdom. Amen.
