“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.” (Luke 16:8-9)

The ‘parable of the shrewd manager’ is one which some Christians are puzzled about. Why would Jesus commend the manager when he was dishonest? But notice that he did not commend him for his dishonesty but because of his being shrewd in taking care of himself. Perhaps what Jesus said next will help us to better understand his point.

“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?” (Luke 16:10-12)

Jesus’ teaching should cause us to think about how we use the blessings we have been given. Do we sometimes wonder why we haven’t been blessed with an abundance? Perhaps it is because we aren’t wisely using the little with which we have been blessed.

The point Jesus made is true: someone who can be trusted with a little can be trusted with much. If you find someone who is trustworthy with a small amount, or perhaps with a small task, then we can trust them to handle something of more value or something of greater importance. How they will deal with something of greater value can be seen in how they deal with what has less value. No wonder, when talking about those who would serve a congregation, Paul emphasized that they needed to first be tested.

And the converse is true as well. If someone is dishonest with something small, or with very little, we can be confident they will be even more dishonest when they have a lot more or it is something greater.

Perhaps this explains what Jesus said about using worldly wealth to gain friends so when it is gone we will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. You see, they weren’t using the wealth on themselves but were using it for others. Maybe this gets towards the meaning of what Jesus was saying.

I’ve often heard Christians say that if they had more income, or more time, or more of something else, then they would be able to do more for the Lord. But that isn’t the question. The question isn’t what we would do if we had more. The real question is: what are we doing with that which we now have? If we aren’t using what we now have can we expect that God will bless us with more? If we can’t handle worldly wealth then who is going to entrust us with true riches?

“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.” (Luke 16:13)

What we do with what we have exposes our heart. It can then be seen who we are really serving. I think many try to serve both God and Money. They want more to spend on themselves, to give themselves a good lifestyle and security. But they don’t realize where true security can be found.

The problem when we try to serve two masters is that eventually we will have to make a choice. That choice shows to whom we are really devoted.

May we learn to use our worldly blessings to store up true riches.

by Jon Galloway