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If you're a fan of those old Hollywood movies of
the 40s & 50s then you may think that love makes the
world go 'round. On the other hand if you've kept your
ears to the ground over the past few weeks of
electioneering, you will have realised that the song
writers of the 40s & 50s miscalculated a little. It's
not love that makes the world go 'round at all, it's
money! Money for pensioners, money for nursing homes,
money for better education, money for rich people to add
to their superannuation packages, money to send asylum
seekers to some Pacific island somewhere sufficiently far
from our shores that we won't have to worry about them.
And as much as we might protest at the fascination of
politicians with money, they're only doing it because we,
the voting public, want it. Most of us are as bad as the
rest. And the worst thing is that in the end our interest
in money becomes a trap for us. We work long hours to
earn more money, but we're not sure when we'll have the
time or the energy to enjoy it. And when we get it, we're
not always sure what's the best thing to do with it. |
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It's interesting that Luke places this parable
of the dishonest manager straight after the parable of
the prodigal son, without any interlude, any commentary.
It's almost as though he sees this parable, and indeed
the one that follows, of the rich man and Lazarus, as a
natural follow-on from the wantonness of the prodigal
son, as though we're to hear the message of this parable
in the light of the one that's gone before. Well, just
keep that thought in the back of your mind while we think
about the parable. |
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What I'd like to do today is to think first
about what the parable doesn't mean, then what it does
mean, and then to think what it might mean for us in
terms of our everyday lives. |
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What the Parable Doesn't Mean. |
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It's an interesting story isn't it? Here's this
con artist, caught out cheating his master, shown to be
guilty by his silence in the face of the master's
accusation, yet the he ends up being commended for his
smart thinking. In fact Jesus says that he's more shrewd
than Jesus' own followers. So what's the point of the
story? |
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Well, the point of the story isn't that it's OK
to be a con artist as long as you get away with it in the
end. I heard the story of a young student who was given a
text to preach on for his first sermon. The text was
"How shall we escape if we neglect so great a
salvation." On the Monday following his sermon his
preaching teacher asked him how he handled his text.
"Well," said the student, "I preached a 2
point sermon. First I expounded what a great salvation it
is that we have." "And what was your second
point?" asked the teacher. "Well, my second
point was to give them some pointers on how they might
escape if they happened to neglect it." Well, a
preacher like that might well have tried to use this text
to explain how to store up Brownie points in case you
need them on the judgement day. But that would have been
to misunderstand the point of the parable. |
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Nor is the parable here to teach us how to
manipulate events for our own benefit. As much as that
may have been the dishonest manager's method, Jesus isn't
suggesting that it's OK for us to manipulate or cheat,
even if it is in the service of God's kingdom. So those
people who use this parable to justify underhanded or
dishonest methods of evangelism, are simply misusing it.
It's never enough to say the end justifies the means. In
the service of God's kingdom our motives must be
flawless. |
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Well, then, if that's what the parable isn't
about, what is it about? |
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What the Parable is About. |
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What the parable is about is money and how we
use it in our lives. It's about understanding that money
itself is a neutral commodity, that it's how we use it
that makes it honest or dishonest. |
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You see, even in Jesus' day there was this idea
that money was an evil thing. You may have heard the
expression, "Filthy Lucre." Some people have
the idea that if you get involved with money you'll be
tainted. Now there's certainly some empirical evidence to
support that idea. Jesus himself commented on how hard it
is for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. But he
didn't say it was impossible. Just having riches doesn't
preclude you from salvation. What matters in the end is
how you use them. The key to the parable, as it is so
often, is in Jesus comments when he's finished. In v9 he
says "make friends for yourselves by means of
dishonest (unrighteous) wealth so that when it is gone,
they may welcome you into the eternal homes." |
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In other words, don't be put off by the thought
that there's something wrong with wealth, as though
wealth is an impediment to entering God's kingdom.
Rather, make sure that what wealth you have is used for
godly purposes. Make sure that your use of your wealth
results in you making friends that will last for
eternity. And we'll see in a moment how we might do that.
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By the way, how many here today are wealthy?
[Who came by car? Who could afford to fill their car with
petrol in the last week? Who put on clean clothes before
they came? Who washed those clothes in a washing machine
and ironed them with a steam & dry iron? Do I need to
go on?] All of us who live in this rich country are
wealthy aren't we? And God is interested in how we use
that wealth. That's the point of the parable that follows
this, of the rich man and Lazarus. And here Jesus is
warning us to make sure we use our wealth well, to win
friends for the kingdom. |
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But not only is the parable about money, it's
also about having a long term vision. It's about
expanding our horizon, getting the big picture on life.
It's about understanding where we're going, long term, so
we can know how to live our life here and now. Think
about what the manager does. He realises what life will
be like when he's been fired and he does something about
it. He takes the opportunity he has while the opportunity
is there, to create for himself a secure future. |
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Well, before we go on to think about how we
might apply this to our daily lives, I just want us to
notice an interesting side issue that comes out in this
parable. |
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Notice the finality with which the manager takes
the master's judgement. He doesn't argue with it. He
doesn't beg for mercy. He realises that the jig is up.
This is it. Now, I have a feeling that Jesus wants us,
too, to realise the finality of God's judgement when it
comes. That's why he's warning us to be ready before it
comes. That's why he tells us to make sure that we're
faithful in the little we have here so that we'll be
trusted with greater things in the kingdom to come. |
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Well, then, how are we to apply this strange
parable to our own lives. Let me suggest two things we
might learn from it. |
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What life is not about. |
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The first thing I think we need to be clear on
is what life is not about. Despite the way the manager
behaves, life is not about making our own patch more
comfortable. God doesn't give us wealth so we can look
after ourselves. You see, some people look at their
wealth and think God has given it to them for their own
use. So they keep it to themselves. They spend it making
life more pleasant for themselves. Or they spend it on
their family, which amounts to the same thing. Some
people think that if they spend their money on their
children, or their grandchildren, that they're not being
selfish, rather they're being generous. But let's face
it, when you buy your grandson a gift, it's as much for
yourself as it is for him. I speak from personal
experience here. The best part about Christmas, I think,
is seeing the pleasure on the faces of those I give gifts
to. And for some the temptation is to see giving gifts as
a way of winning or cementing the love of their children
or grandchildren. But that isn't at all what Jesus is
talking about here. He's talking about using our wealth
for others. That is for those we're not directly
connected with. Life isn't about looking after No 1, it's
about winning friends for God's kingdom. |
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Nor is life about accumulating wealth. The point
of the parable isn't that we need to accumulate wealth so
we can use it for good. Rather it's to make sure that the
wealth we have is used properly. I guess we could go
further and say that rather than being about accumulating
wealth for ourselves, life is about looking beyond
ourselves to those who need to belong to God's kingdom. |
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What are you living for at this moment? If
you're in the workforce, what are you working towards?
Are you working towards building a wealth base that'll
see you through to your old age? So you can continue to
live in the luxury to which you've become accustomed? Are
you working to pay off a mortgage? Are you working so you
can afford your children's education? Are you working for
the weekend, whatever that means? Are you working so you
can afford that dream holiday you saw on TV last week? Or
are you working so you'll have enough money to make
friends for eternity? So you can support the work of the
gospel both here and overseas? So you can help people
like Simon Eyabo's brother. Now don't get me wrong.
There's a place and a need to work to pay off your
mortgage. There's nothing wrong with looking forward to
your dream holiday. It's important to have enough to
retire on when the time comes. But if that's all we're
working for there's something wrong. If that's the limit
of our horizon, we may need some help with our vision,
our spiritual vision, that is. We might need to get out
the spiritual binoculars so we can see beyond the
immediate to the life to come. |
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What about those of you who are retired already?
What are you living for? Depending on the level of your
wealth, you may or not be making money in your
retirement, but nevertheless, ask yourself, what are you
living for? Are you living for yourself? Or for your
spouse? Or for your children or grandchildren, or great
grandchildren? Or for your nephews and nieces? Or are you
working to make friends for eternity? And remember that
for many of us, one of our areas of wealth is time. How
are you using your time? Are you using it wisely, to make
friends for eternity? Or are you wasting it? Frittering
it away on things that won't last? |
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What life is about |
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You see, this is what life is about for the
Christian. Jesus says, "Make friends for yourselves
by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone,
they may welcome you into the eternal homes." |
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There's no idea here of winning your way into
heaven, by the way. As I said, we have to read this
parable in conjunction with the preceding one, of the
prodigal son. There we see very clearly that it's the
grace and forgiveness of the Father that matters. But
nevertheless, God cares about how we use the resources he
gives us. That's why so much space in the New Testament
is given to exhorting us about our use of money. |
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And if you think back to the first reading
today, from 2 Cor 8&9, our prime model for use of our
riches is Jesus Christ himself, who though he was rich,
for our sake became poor, so that through his poverty we
might become rich. Like the dishonest steward in this
parable, Jesus saw the big picture. His horizon reached
to eternity. He saw that if he gave up his riches for our
sake, he could bring us all into the wealth that comes
from membership of God's kingdom forever. |
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That's what should form our view of life. We're
not here to work for the weekend. We're not here to plan
for our retirement. We're here to plan for eternity.
We're here to bring people into God's kingdom. And one
way of doing that is to use our money, our wealth, our
time, to support God's work. We mustn't fall into the
trap of being ashamed of our wealth or at the other
extreme of thinking that we don't have enough to spare on
God's work. Rather we should rejoice that God has made it
possible for us to give our money to support his work, to
make friends for eternity. |
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Have you thought about the fact that when you
give to the youth ministry fund you're making friends for
eternity? Have you thought that when you put your money
in the plate each week, or your money gets taken out of
your credit card automatically each month, that you're
helping to win people for the kingdom, and that when you
get to heaven they'll be there to thank you for
supporting those who shared the gospel with them, and fed
them with God's word? Think about the rejoicing there'll
be when we discover the unknown friends we've made
through our generosity. On the other hand, think how
sorry you'll be if you get there and there are few
friends to greet you. |
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There's also a hint here that when we get to
heaven the responsibility we're given in God's heavenly
city will depend on how we've shown responsibility with
our wealth here on earth. See how he ends the parable:
"If then you have not been faithful with the
dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true
riches?" |
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There's a great warning as well as a great
encouragement here for us believers. Make sure we take
the opportunities we have while those opportunities are
there, so we'll be ready when the time comes to receive
the inheritance God has planned for us. "Make
friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so
that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the
eternal homes." |
