March 2, 2003 Luke 16:3-14
“Financial tips from a failing thief”
INTRODUCTION
“There once was a man who went on an ocean voyage carrying a large bag of gold coins. The bag represented his entire net worth. A terrible storm blew up, and the call came for all hands to abandon ship. The man strapped the gold around his waist, jumped overboard, … and sank to the bottom of the sea. Here’s the philosophical question… “as he was sinking, did he have the gold? Or did the gold have him?”
Every Sunday that we have met together since the 2nd Sunday in February, we have been talking about what the Bible has to say about finances. We will conclude our series on this topic next Sunday morning. The reason that we are spending so much time on this topic is because money and the way you use it has a huge impact on your everyday lives. It impacts your marriage, your kids, and your future. We need to find out what directives God has given us to help us use His resources in the wisest way possible so that we do not become like that man who allowed his gold to destroy his life.
Last week, we began looking in Luke 16 at a parable that Jesus told concerning a financial manager who had used his master’s resources in a wasteful way. We learned or re-learned four truths that will safely guide us in the area of our finances if we follow them. They are:
1. God has resources.
2. God has chosen us to manage His resources.
3. God will require an accounting from us for how we managed His resources.
4. God will give a consequence based on His accounting of how we managed His resources.
The manager had used his master’s resources wastefully, so he had to face some negative consequences, one of which was losing his job. This created an immediate need for him, and the solution that he came up with to meet that need was rather creative so much so that his former master commended him for his actions. “Notice in particular Luke 16:8, “so the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.” What is Jesus saying? Just this. Many unbelievers are more wise in how they manage their money than believers are. Jesus isn’t praising this man for being dishonest, but he does say there are some things he did that we ought to learn from.”
So let’s do that. Let’s learn three steps to meeting the financial needs of our lives. These steps that we will examine will be specifically applied to finances this morning, but they can be used to deal with any need or problem that you might face. So don’t shut me down just because we’re talking about money. Once we examine these three steps, we will then see three statements that Jesus makes regarding our relationship to money and how we are to use it.
1. Look ahead to see the need. “what shall I do now?”
His problem was coming. There was no question about it.
All of us have financial needs that are coming. “One morning you go out to your car and discover that the tread is [wearing thin]. In fact, the front tires are just about bald. You’re startled! You immediately wonder where you will find the funds for new tires. Stress begins to set in. Question? Do tires eventually wear out? Unless your tires are like the shoes and clothes of the Israelites while they were in the wilderness…you are 100% guaranteed that they will wear out! Could a person look ahead and see it coming? Yes. Should it be a surprise that causes financial stress? No.” Don’t be surprised by financial needs. Expect them.
His problem was unavoidable. He couldn’t by-pass it.
His problem was self-induced. He brought it on himself through his own actions.
Many of the problems that we face, financial or otherwise, are at least partially problems of our own making. Blaming other people for our mess will not get us out of it. Blaming others or making excuses will cause us to stay trapped in the mess much longer than we needed to. The biggest problem that we face – the sin problem – is a mess of our own making. We have all chosen to give in to temptation and have earned God’s wrath toward us. Once we accept that, once we take responsibility for the mess that we have made, our proper response is not to wallow in that mess with all its guilt and shame and kick ourselves for all the stupid mistakes that we have made. The proper response is to find a solution.
His problem was solvable. He was not without hope.
Sometimes, you can look ahead and see a need that is coming and not have the financial resources to set aside to prepare for that need. I know that my children are going to need money for college, but I have no money to set aside right now for that long-range goal.
In the financial seminar that we had three weeks ago, David Jicka made the comment that he has led every church that he has pastored to set aside funds for emergency needs in the future. He did that because he knew that needs were coming. Things in the church were going to break. Setting aside extra funds for emergency needs is a good thing to do, and we will do that when we can. But right now, we do not have any extra funds. In fact, we do not have the funds necessary to meet our regular needs. During the month of February, the financial needs of this church exceeded the offerings collected by about $500. We spent $500 more than we brought in. We’re okay for this month because we had some money left over from previous months. But before long, that surplus will run out, and we will have to cut some spending. In our budget, there are really only two places that we can cut – missions and me. Either we can stop sending money to support the spread of the Gospel around the world, or we can stop paying the pastor. What would happen in your job if on one pay day, the boss came to you and told you that they did not have the money to cover your paycheck, and they probably would not have it any time in the foreseeable future? You’d get a new job. I don’t want either one of these options to happen. The reason that I tell you this is not because I want to scare you or because I’m trying to manipulate you. I want you to be aware of the problem so that we can work together to solve the problem. There is a solution. We are not without hope.
He saw the need. That’s the first step to finding a solution for it. The next step is to…
2. Plan ahead to meet the need. “I know what I’ll do”
He looked at different options for dealing with the problem. The first option was to dig, and the second option was to beg. He didn’t like either option because both of them came with serious problems of their own. With the first option came the problem of a lack of physical strength. Having spent a good portion of the last month shoveling snow, I know what he’s talking about when he says that he was not strong enough to dig. I quickly realized how out of shape I am and how quickly I and my back wear out from the exertion of hard work.
Part of God’s design for us is that we work to provide for our needs. “If a man will not work, he shall not eat.” (2 Thes. 3:10) God’s promise to provide for our needs does not mean that He will drop food out of the sky for us. The only time He ever did that was for the Israelites in the wilderness. Even then, they had to go out each morning and work to collect the food. If they did not work every day (with the exception of the Sabbath), they did not eat that day. Even Adam in the Garden of Eden, was given a job to do. Work has always and will always be a part of God’s plan. This manager didn’t like the option of manual labor.
The second option – begging – brought the problem of humiliation. He was a proud man, and as desperate as things might get, he could never see himself asking someone else for help. That would require too much humbling.
Humbly accepting the assistance of other people is also a part of God’s plan for us. Many people have a problem with accepting help from people that they believe they have done nothing to benefit or help. There is something within us – we call it pride – that tells us that we have to earn everything that we receive.
The manager didn’t like either one of these options, so he came up with an option of his own. Verses 4-7 “describe how he goes out to some creditors who owe the manager money and asks, "how much do you owe?" He responds, "I owe 800 gallons of oil." “Cut the bill in half. We’ll call it even." He goes to the next guy and says, "What do you owe?" "A thousand bushels of wheat." "Cut that down to 800." …
“This man knew that if he was kind to these debtors [by reducing their debt], they would welcome him [into their homes] when he was out of a job. “
The manager’s final solution still involved living off the kindness and generosity of other people. But there is a big difference between begging from strangers on the street and receiving from friends in their homes. With begging, you are treated as the scum of the earth. People give to you because they want to get rid of you or shut you up. But with receiving from friends, you are treated as a special guest because you are a hero to them. After all, you decreased their debt.
The manager looked ahead to see the need, and he devised a plan to meet that need.
“Many Christians are doing absolutely no [intentional] financial planning.” You may have a plan, but your financial plan is probably like that of most people in the world – when you get your paycheck, you spend it. You’re kind of like Charlie Brown. “One day Charlie Brown was in his back yard having target practice with his bow and arrows. He would pull the bow-string back and let the arrow fly into a fence. Then he would go to where the arrow had landed and draw a target around it. Several arrows and targets later, Lucy said to Charlie Brown, “You don’t have target practice that way. You draw the target, then shoot the arrow.” Charlie’s response: “I know that, but if you do it my way, you never miss!” – The Winning Attitude by John Maxwell, p. 150 If you play a hit and miss game with your finances, you will end up hitting something that you never intended – like indebtedness that is so deep that you feel like your only way out is to declare bankruptcy. The best way to get or keep yourself on a good financial foundation is to draw a target – establish a plan – before not after you start to spend.
Make sure that your plan is a good one though. I heard about a rich man who was determined to take his wealth with him. He told his wife to get all his money together, put it in a sack, and then hang the sack from the rafters in the attic. He said, "When my spirit is caught up to heaven, I’ll grab the sack on my way." Well he eventually died, and the woman raced to the attic, only to find the money still there. She said, "I knew I should’ve put the sack in the basement." If your plan is not good – not based on good information – then no matter how much energy and action you put behind it, you will not achieve the results that you desire.
Well, what would a good plan look like? Let’s use the example of a problem that we mentioned a moment ago. “You’ve noted that every tire wears out. You become convinced that your tires will not be the 4 exceptions. You’ve looked ahead. You figure that with the amount of driving you do, you’ll need new tires in 3 years. So, you make a plan. You [plan to] set aside $10/month in your budget for the next three years. When new tires are needed, the money [will be] there [if you follow the plan]. … “The practice of looking ahead and making provision in your budget can be applied to any regularly occurring expense [or any long-term goal].”
We, as a church, have a goal of having our own church building one day. We can’t afford to wait until tomorrow to begin making provision for that building. So we have placed this jar at the front of the church for our children or anyone else to contribute pennies, larger coins or currency toward that goal. I would encourage each parent here to give their children something each Sunday morning to put in the jar so that they can be a part of the solution. Tammy, my wife, has come up with her own personal plan for helping us to achieve this goal. Tammy’s idea and practice is to set aside $10 per paycheck toward the building fund. Imagine what would happen if we all did that. By my count, we have at least 28 wage-earners in our church. At $10 per pay-check, assuming you get paid twice a month, that would be $560 a month to the building fund which would equal almost $7000 by the end of the year!
“Every Christian should have a budget and a financial plan. Most don’t!” Part of the reason for that is that no one ever taught us how to make a financial plan. I remember a commercial from a while back. It showed a dad sitting in front of his 16-year old son. The dad was holding the keys to the car in one hand and a credit card in the other. In order to get the keys to the car, the kid had to study for his driver’s test and take a driver’s ed. class before he could get behind the wheel of a car. But when it comes to a credit card, all he has to do is sign up. No classes required. No test on whether or not he knows how to use it or knows the consequences of using it poorly. So part of the reason that we have no financial plan is that no one ever required it, and no one ever taught us how.
But an even bigger part of the reason we have no plan may be just plain laziness. We are lazy and careless with our finances because we act as if we believe that we can use them however we want to and expect God to bail us out when we get ourselves into trouble. We are like children when it comes to money. We know that we have a great big Daddy who is responsible to provide for all of our needs, so that frees us to spend what we have on whatever we WANT! That leaves us with no need for a plan. Our plan is a heavenly Father who has promised to provide for us. While God does provide for us, He still expects us to use His provisions wisely. That involves a good plan.
David Jicka suggested the 70/20/10 plan. The plan goes something like this. As soon as you get your paycheck, you take out two things right off the top. You take out the taxes (usually already done for you) and you take out your tithe – the 10% that is to be given back to the Lord. With the remaining money, you use 70% to pay your regular living expenses, 20% to pay off any debts and 10% for savings. That’s a workable plan.
He saw the need. He came up with a good plan to meet that need. The first two steps have now been accomplished. But neither of those was of any value until he put the plan into action.
3. Act immediately to satisfy the need. “So he called in each one”
Act on your plan. Some people are really good planners but terrible at implementing that plan. I am one of those. It is good to look down the road and see what is coming. It is even better to formulate a plan to meet those needs. But the best is to make the changes in your present lifestyle to provide for the needs that are coming.
Preparing for tomorrow may require painful choices. But notice something unique about this manager’s solution. The pain involved in the resolution to this problem was not the manager’s but the master’s. Most of the time, the meeting of your needs requires pain – sacrifice – out of you. But when there is no means for you to meet your own need, it becomes the responsibility of someone else to endure pain to make sure that your needs are met. My children have the need for shelter. They do not have the ability to meet that need no matter how much pain they endured or how hard they tried. So I endure the pain for them. I do the work that they could not do for themselves. In the meeting of our greatest need – forgiveness of our sin and salvation – the pain was not ours but the Master’s. We did not have the ability to meet the need no matter how much pain we endured, so Jesus endured the pain in our place.
“Notice the word, "quickly" [in vs. 6]. This manager acted while he had time [, and he counseled his debtors to do the same]. If you are on the edge financially… if you are headed for a marriage crises over financial tensions…you need to act quickly! Creditors will often work with you…but you need to communicate with them before your account becomes delinquent.”
The longer you wait, the less opportunities you will have to make a difference in your financial future. The church presently invests $100 a month for me and my family in preparation for my retirement one day. That money goes into an annuity which earns interest through the stock market. Recently, I saw a comparison between two investors in the stock market. Both investors put in the same amount of money each month. One investor began investing when she was 20 years old and continued putting money into her account until she was 30 years old. Then she stopped investing. So she put money in for 10 years. Another investor waited to begin investing until he was 40 years old and continued investing until he was 65 years old. So he put money in for 25 years. Which one ended up with the most money when they retired? The one who started early. The reason is that her investment had more time to build interest. She retired with over $200,000 more than the person who started investing at the age of 40 even though she only invested for 10 years. The key is to start early.
Whether your goal is to invest in the stock market or to invest in the lives of people, you have to start now. There are all kinds of excuses for why you can’t do it now – you haven’t got the extra money, you haven’t got the extra time, you haven’t got the extra energy. But if you choose to live your life based on excuses, then you will have to deal with the consequences. It is easy to say, “I’ll do it tomorrow”. Before you know it, it is tomorrow, and it is too late to take advantage of the opportunity that you had yesterday.
Whatever decision you make, you have to put it into action, and you have to put it into action now.
Based on the actions of this shrewd manager, Jesus made three statements having to do with how we, the children of light, should use and think about money.
1. The greatest use of money – PEOPLE “gain friends”
“Using the clear passages of scripture to shed light on this verse, we know a few things Jesus isn’t saying. He’s not saying, buy your way into heaven. He’s not saying, pay for your salvation. He’s not saying, bribe God. Salvation is a free gift. You just accept it.
“What’s his point then? The greatest use of money is to invest it in getting people into heaven. That is the highest and best use of it. We are to use our temporary resources for permanent good.”
“[One of the main reasons] the church exists is to reach lost people. But, how do we allocate our resources? Almost all on ourselves! We have become keepers of the aquarium, rather than fishers of men.”
This manager was using money to be welcomed into temporary dwellings on earth. Jesus counseled us to use money to help people get rid of their spiritual debt – not just reduce it but erase it – so that we will be welcomed into eternal – heavenly – dwellings. Jesus said that He was going to heaven to prepare heavenly dwellings for His disciples (John 14). That includes us.
Think about that person who was most responsible for you coming to Christ. That is the person who is responsible for your debt being paid. That is the person responsible for you receiving your entrance pass into heaven. Now, imagine that many years have passed, and you both have arrived in heaven. Think about the day that that person comes knocking at the door of your heavenly mansion. What’s going to be your response to seeing them there?
Jesus told us to (Mat 6:20-21 NIV) But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. He told us to invest our lives and our resources into the lives of other people so that when we get to heaven, there will be a crowd waiting there to welcome us home – a crowd composed of the people who we helped bring to Jesus. Paul, the apostle knew what that kind of investment was like and how painful it could be. But He had chosen to make that investment anyway which gave him confidence to say things like this: (1 Th 2:19-20 NIV) For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy.
Invest your resources in the lives of people.
2. The greatest indicator of money – TRUSTWORTHINESS “whoever can be trusted”
“This passage teaches that there is a direct relationship between what I do with my money and the spiritual depth in my life. If I am faithful with money, God can trust me with spiritual riches.”
What would you say was the worst part about the consequences that this financial manager had to endure? Was it that he lost his job, his security and his opportunity to impact the world around him? Those are some pretty big prices to pay. But I think that the worst thing that he lost was his master’s trust. He lost what he had because the master could no longer trust him with the resources that he had put in the hands of the manager.
I think that we all know and would agree that we can trust God. He has proved Himself trustworthy time and time again. But let me turn that around for a minute and have you deal with a different question. Can God trust you? I know that some of you play the lottery. My purpose in bringing this up is not to bash the lottery although I believe that the lottery is an extremely poor investment. You justify playing by saying two things to yourself. You say that if you won, you’d give enough money to the church to buy a building. And the second thing that you say is, “It’s only a dollar.” Read vs. 10 again if you would. [read it] The amount that you waste is not the issue. The fact that you waste – no matter the amount – is the issue. If you waste a little, you will waste a lot if given the opportunity. If you steal a little, you will steal a lot if given the opportunity. So God simply withholds the opportunity and keeps you poor so that you won’t be able to waste too much of His resources.
Your use of money, regardless of the amount that you have, indicates to God whether or not He can trust you with greater responsibilities and opportunities.
3. The greatest danger of money – IDOLATRY “You cannot serve both” (vs. 13)
“No matter what I say is important in my life [– what my God is – ], you can tell what is really important by looking at two things: my checkbook register and my day planner. The way I spend my time and the way I spend my money tells what’s really important to me regardless of what I say.”
“The last day church, the lukewarm church of Laodicea…will struggle on this very point. Note Revelation 3:17, “you say, “I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.” It is an overwhelming condition of church people living in the last days to become enraptured by materialism--and as a result be spiritually bankrupt. This case isn’t hopeless however. Revelation 3:19 urges, “therefore, be zealous and repent.”
“In Luke 16, Jesus challenges us to make a choice. He asks for sole possession of first place. If I try to live for God and money at the same time, I have mass confusion in my life. God insists on first place in my life. God insists on first place in your life.
“But, how does a person know if God really has first place?” Two questions. First, are you obedient to God with your finances? The first place to look for evidence for that question is in your checkbook and in these offering plates here at the front of the church. Even though God owns all of our financial resources, He only requires 10% of our income in immediate turn around back to Him. “The principle of tithing says I give the first ten percent of everything I make back to God. Why? It’s [the simplest and clearest way of saying,] "God, you’re number one. I wouldn’t have any of this if it weren’t for you. I wouldn’t even be alive if it weren’t for you."
“Here’s the bottom line. If I’m not tithing, how can I say God’s first place in my life? Our finances are a top indicator of our spiritual commitment.”
Second question: when God clearly tells you to do something that will cost you financially, do you refuse to do it because you know it will cost you? If so, then money is on the throne of your life.
(Col 3:5 NIV) Put to death … greed, which is idolatry. Jesus made “…the choice … very simple because it comes down to two things -- God or money.” One of them is going to rule your life. One of them is going to be your God. You make the choice on which one it will be.
CONCLUSION
Jesus originally intended this parable to be for the benefit of His disciples, but as He was telling the story, the Pharisees had begun to listen in. When Jesus finished His story and the lessons that went along with it, the Pharisees had a negative reaction. Look at vs. 14. That word that is translated “sneering” literally means that they turned up their noses at Jesus. They thought that they knew better. They didn’t like what Jesus had to say, and they chose to disregard it as the meaningless words of a mad man.
INVITATION
You have come here today, and you have heard God’s Word declared to you. Now you have a choice to make. Are you going to sneer at what God has said? Are you going to turn up your noses at God and walk away? Or are you going to humbly submit to the authority of Jesus over every area of your life including your money?
Maybe you are here today with a desperate need. It could be financial, emotional, physical or spiritual. Perhaps your need is for the forgiveness that only God can provide and the salvation that will free you from the penalty of your sin. Jesus looked ahead and saw your need. He developed a plan to meet that need. And then He acted on that plan. He paid the debt that you owe in order that you could be welcomed into eternal dwellings in heaven. Humble yourself today to accept the work that only Jesus could do for you. Don’t turn up your nose at the offer of freedom that Jesus makes to you today.
All quotes, unless otherwise indicated are from the sermon “Coaching from a Crook” by Tom Evans as listed on sermoncentral.com
