Luke 16

Jesus told His disciples: “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.’ 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— I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’ So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ ‘Nine hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied. The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.’ 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.’ 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. I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. 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. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own? No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭16‬:‭1‬-‭15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

This parable gives an example of how we are supposed to handle money and other worldly possessions.  Since all we are given comes from God, we are stewards or managers of everything that we are blessed with.  Just as the manager in the parable was clever (although dishonest) with the management of his master’s money, we are called to wisely handle our financial resources.  Using our money and time solely for the purpose of gaining more worldly wealth is not wise, and will reap no eternal benefits.  Instead, using our resources to benefit others and further God’s Kingdom will help us to “store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Matthew 6:20).  In fact, even our lives are not our own: “You are not your own; you were bought at a price…” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).  Do you try to use God to bless your finances or do you use your finances to further God’s plans?  According to the Bible, we should give 10% (minimum) of what we “earn” back to God.  If you haven’t committed to trusting God with your financial gifts yet, this is an excellent place to start to be in line with the giving expected of us as Christians.  We need to be confident that God can do more with 90% of our salary than we can do with 100%!  Remember that on earth and in heaven, God “is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20).  In addition, if we are faithful with what He tells us to do with our money, He promises that we will be trusted with “the true riches of heaven” (verse 11).  Amen!