Taking a Lesson from
The World
Luke 16:1-15
©Copyright
Rev. Bruce Goettsche, October 10, 2010 SERIES: Walking with Jesus
I’ve
read several hundred books in my lifetime. Most of those books have dealt with
the knowledge of the Bible, understanding the Christian faith and the tasks of
ministry (such as counseling). However, I do occasionally read books that are
outside of the Christian venue. I’ve enjoyed reading a number of secular books
on management, books on historical events, counseling insights from those
outside the church, and biographies of great leaders. The reason I read these
books is because I have learned that often the people of the world see some
things more clearly than the people of the church.
This
morning we are going to look at a parable that describes a man of the world.
I’m going to tell you up front that you probably aren’t going to like this guy.
He’s like a scam artist that is out to steal your identity and empty your bank
account. However, Jesus draws some lessons from this guy that we need to hear.
Lessons that could change the entire complexion of our church, and if embraced
widely, could change the focus of the church as a whole.
The Dishonest Manager
“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.’
From time to time on the news
we read about some rich person or celebrity who has made lots of money but
claims to be broke because their financial manager has squandered their money
on bad investments and ridiculous fees. This is the kind of guy we encounter in
the Biblical text. This guy was squandering the riches of the man he worked for
and his client learned of his actions and gave him notice that he was going to
be fired. He asked for the accounting records.
The mis-manager was
frightened. This was a day before there were golden parachutes and
unemployment. The man was going to go from making a good living to making
nothing! In all likelihood he would not be able to get another financial
management job because he was not going to get a good reference from his former
employer. He didn’t know how he was going to survive. He wasn’t the kind of guy
that could/would do manual labor. He didn’t want to go to work at the local
McDonalds and he didn’t want to have to beg (which was the only form of welfare
available).
This man decided that he would
generate goodwill with the clients of his rich client. He called in the various
customers and rewrote the loans or notes they had with the client. One customer
owed eight hundred gallons of olive oil and they rewrote the debt to be half
that at 400 gallons. The debt was probably the equivalent of about three years
salary for the average worker. This was cut in half. Think about what it would
be like to be called into the loan office of the bank and be told that they
were cutting your new car loan in half! Imagine how grateful you would be.
The second person owed a thousand bushels of wheat.
One source said this would
have been the equivalent of
eight to ten years salary for the average worker! The dishonest manager told
him to rewrite the debt so it was 20% less. Again, let’s use terms we would
understand. Suppose you went to the mortgage company and they offered to reduce
the amount of your mortgage by 20%. Would you be grateful? Of course you
would. And that is exactly what this guy
was counting on.
He probably did this with every
customer. The result was that all these people felt they “owed” him. When he needed a job, a hand-out, or even a
place to stay, they would be inclined to help the guy out.
The Rich Man’s
Observation
We understand the story so
far. There are many attempts to soften what this dishonest manager was doing.
Some people suggest that they guy was reducing his own commission. Others
suggest he was lowering the interest rate (that shouldn’t have been so high to
start with). I don’t think either is the case.
The reason everyone is so
concerned to explain the actions of this man who has already been acknowledged
as a dishonest or lousy manager is because of what the rich man says, “The
master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly.” (v.8) If this manager has just “ripped off” his
boss then we expect the rich man to be furious and to take negative actions
against the man. Instead, he commends him!” What in the world is going on here?
Note two things. First, note
that Jesus is not commending the man for his actions, the rich man is. There is
nothing here that indicates at all that Jesus approved of what the man did.
Second, what the rich man said and did is the same kind of thing we do all the
time. We may disagree with a scam someone has run but we may also admire the
ingenuity. We may admire the thought that went into a theft or the smooth ways
of a salesman.
Alistair Begg tells the story
of a couple who had their car stolen. In the morning the car was returned with
a note of apology and two tickets to the theatre. The note invited the couple
to enjoy a night out as their way of apologizing for stealing their car. The
couple took the tickets, went to the show, and when they returned their home
had been cleaned out by the robbers! Be
honest. Don’t you just a little admire the creativity of the crooks?
One commentator remarks,
the renters, and the
people of the village in general, are already celebrating, praising both the manager and the owner. If the owner should now
tell these people what has really happened and should change the figures back
to where they were originally, his reputation will go down to zero. This he
cannot risk. So, he makes the best of the situation. He must have said to
himself, “What a clever crook!”[1]
This dishonest manager made
himself AND the rich man look good. It was the perfect scam. In the Oceans 11,
12, and 13 movies George Clooney (Ocean) and his team (who we are rooting for)
rip off a casino. In the second move they were made to give the money back. In
the third installment they had to work with this same casino owner in a
project. When the plan is over they need to give the casino owner his share (70
million dollars) but they donate the stolen casino money to a kid’s camp in the
owner’s name. To get the money back he would have to look into the faces of the
kids and tell them he was doing so. The casino owner embraced his reputation as
a philanthropist. The crooks won. So does the manager in this story.
The Lessons of
Jesus
So what
is the point? The point of the parable is seen in the words that follow
“For the people of
this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people
of the light. (8b)
Jesus
is saying we can learn something from the example of this guy. This man used
the means that were at his disposal to reach his goal. He was resourceful. We
see this all the time.
People
all around us are working the angles. They put in late nights. They do their
homework. And they do all this because they know this is the way to reach the
goals they have set.
Now
compare this with the average follower of Christ. We have a financial plan, we
have a plan to save for something we want, we have a practice schedule for our
favorite hobby, we plan our television viewing, we map out our vacation, but we
are haphazard in our spiritual growth and in our witnessing to others!
Jesus
says we need to be as shrewd in the spiritual realm as the people outside the
church are in other areas of life. If most businesses had as little success at
as great of an expense as the church, they would be out of business! The world,
when seeking to produce material prosperity is too often more “on”, or
productive, than those who are supposedly seeking spiritual gain and
prosperity.
The
agents of darkness in the world have slowly, deliberately, and steadily
dismantled the morality of Scripture. They have normalized people living
together outside of marriage; they have made homosexuality into a “cause” worth
fighting for; they have made abortion a matter of personal preference; they have
called greed “ambition” and made it noble.
They have convinced people that saying “Jesus is the only way to Heaven”
is actually a form of hate speech. They have systematically and patiently
sought to marginalize Christian values. And what has the church done in
response? When we get really riled we have called these people names!
Jesus
is summoning us to diligent, strategic, focused discipleship. He calls us to
take action.
I think
we can draw some principles from Jesus. Principle
1: Live in the Present in Light of the Future. A Financial planner must
convince us to give up stuff now so that we can meet our goals and needs for
later. Jesus is calling us to something even more significant: we should use
what we have now to gain what is spiritual and eternal.
You
hear people say, “It doesn’t get any better than this!” But it does! This is what we need to
remember. A better day is coming and we should be focused on that day. Jesus
said,
I tell you, use
worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you
will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. (9)
When
someone dies today we often want to know: What did they leave behind? Jesus
says the question we should ask of other and of ourselves is: “What have we
sent ahead?” As soon as the prospect of eternity grips our heart; it changes
everything. It changes the way we view our age, our purpose and our
possessions. We are to live now….in light of then. Let me give you three
practical reasons to live this way.
First, we
can impact the lives of others if we will make an effort. We are the
richest country in the world. We have resources that can save lives. If we will
live to make an impact rather than simply to have a good time we can change the
world! Don’t underestimate what you can do.
·
You
can sponsor a child
·
You
can labor in prayer for lost people
·
You
can start a needed ministry
·
You
can reach the youth in our own community
·
You
can offer comfort or support to the elderly
·
You
can do something as simple as bringing your grandchildren to church, Sunday
School and Youth Group
·
You
can have cook-outs, dinners, and other gatherings where you invite some of your
non-Christian friends so they can be exposed to your Christian friends and the
message of Christ
·
You
can write letters and make phone calls
Yes you
are just one person, but the Bible is filled with stories about how God used
one person to make a profound difference.
The
second reason to live now in light of then is, one day our stuff will be
gone. We need to remind ourselves that the only thing we get to take with
us when we die are the people who have learned of Jesus through us. No matter
how much surgery we have, no matter how many vitamins we ingest, or how many
miles we run, we will not live
forever. All that stuff we thought we needed will either be consumed (in
medical expenses or estate taxes) or divided up among others. We don’t get to
keep any of it.
The
third reason, somehow we enrich our eternal future by living now in light of
then. Jesus seems to say we can impact our eternal enjoyment by how we live
and what we do right now. I don’t know how this works but I don’t need the
details. We are being taught that if we invest in the advancement of the
Kingdom of God the return is better than anything this world can offer. Hear these words of 2 Corinthians 4,
Though outwardly we
are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For
our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far
outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but
on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is
eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)
Let’s
be honest, most of us would rather go to Hawaii than go to Heaven! We are more
excited about meeting our favorite celebrity than we are with meeting Jesus. We
are more enthusiastic about a sporting event than we are the worship of the
King of Kings! Jesus calls us to think about Heaven; to consider what is at
stake. Once we truly catch even a glimpse of Heaven it should forever change
the way we live on earth.
Principle 2: We Learn This Gradually
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? (10-12)
God
does not usually drop someone into a position of great influence in the
community of faith until they have proved themselves faithful in other things.
Think about someone who wants to be a teacher. First, they learn in a classroom
then they are placed in supervised teaching situations. Only after this are
they put in a classroom. We become wise through the experiences of life.
Many of
have no idea what God wants us to do. We don’t have any big plans or great
ideas. The message here is: start where you are. Be faithful in the everyday
tasks of life. Look for ways to serve God in your home; Serve Him faithfully on
the committees on which you serve (wherever they are); Be a person who does
what they say; keep your promises; Look for ways to invest your money in things
that will pay eternal dividends; Be on the lookout for ways to reach others for
the gospel. Show kindness in your own home.
Principle 3: You Can’t Have it Both Ways
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.” 14 The Pharisees, who
loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. 15 He said
to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God
knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s
sight. (13-15)
Jesus
reminds us that we must make a choice. We must choose how we will invest our
lives. You can’t live pursuing the things of the world and lay up treasure in
Heaven at the same time. It is one or the other. The question this morning is a
simple one: which master will you serve: money or God? Will you seek the
applause of men or the “Well-done” of the Father? Will you put your focus on
the earth or on Heaven? There are many who believe you can do both. Jesus says
they are wrong. It is one or the other, there is no in between. We make a
choice consciously or unconsciously.
Take a
good look around you. Notice the people who are making a big impact in
business, politics, and in the Kingdom of Christ. Notice their vision, their
focus and their creativity. They know where they are headed and it effects
every decision they make. They have a plan for growth. Jesus suggests that we
learn from their example.
©Copyright
Rev. Bruce Goettsche October 10, 2010 www.unionchurch.com