Managing Your Life
Notes
Transcript
Handout
He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings. “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters, for 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 God and money.”
Luke 16:
How many of you would say that you are in management?
He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings. “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters, for 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 God and money.”
Two People In Today’s Story
Two People In Today’s Story
The rich man in this story is God
Possesses all the wealth
Everything in this story is ultimately a possession of the rich man
YOU are the manager of today’s passage
All of us are in service to God
None of us own anything unless God gives it to us
We Are All The Dishonest Manager
We Are All The Dishonest Manager
What we know about the manager
God is perfectly holy WHILE he is also perfectly loving
He managed the rich man’s resources
Though we are imperfect stewards
He mismanaged the resources of the rich man
He sought to recover some of the money through dishonest means to save his skin
He was afraid of the rich man
He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings. “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters, for 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 God and money.” The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him. And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.
Question One: How many of you are afraid of God and are just trying to save your own skin?
Question Two: How many of you can say honestly that you have been a perfect manager of God’s resources?
If you’re like most Christians, the answer to question one is that we spend a lot of time in faith just trying to save our skin from God.
Also if you’re like any human, you must confess that you have not been a perfect manager.
The unrighteous steward is an example of one who is unrighteous in both little and big things. But he is also faithful in little and big things, as was evidenced by his unswerving faith in his lord’s mercy (the big thing) and his faith that the debtors would trust that his changing the accounts (a little thing) was a reflection of his lord‘s mercy.
But notice something important here. Jesus does not commend the manager for perfection, but commends him even despite his imperfection.
The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light.
The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light.
If the rich man…the master…is God, why would he commend this less than honest manager?
If the rich man…the master…is God, why would he commend this less than honest manager?
It’s because the rich man, the master, is good even though the manager is not! So let’s look at the rich man.
The Master…Or Rich Man
The Master…Or Rich Man
That do we know about the rich man?
We know that the resources belong to the rich man
We know that he employed the manager
We know that he was ready to fire the manager over his failures as a manager
We know that once the manager started managing, despite his imperfect motivations and results, the rich man was pleased.
What does this have to do with God and you?
Implications
Implications
In this story, the rich man has given the manager responsibility over his resources.
Has God not also given you responsibility over His resources?
Let’s start with the easy ones…the low hanging fruit
Have you been managing the finances God has given you?
Have you been managing your careers
Have you been managing
Have you been managing your physical posessions well?
If the answer to any of those is no, then may I offer that you are no less guilty of mismanagement than the manager in this story.
Those are easy though. How about this.
Have you been managing the most important resource you have been given?
Your life
Have you managed your heart and mind?
Are you overseeing your thoughts, and your actions?
None of us can look at the Commandments of God and say that we have fulfilled them perfectly.
Have you loved God above all things…always?
Have you remembered the Sabbath? Always?
Have you always honored parents, never lusted after another, never had a thought of stealing, never slandered the reputation of another, never been jealous or coveted after another’s possessions or position in life?
In short, have any of us perfectly managed the resources of our bodies, our minds, our hearts, or God’s worldly posessions?
If we’re honest, none of us have done so perfectly.
We all , as a result of our mismanagement, deserved the same fate as the manager in this story. We deserve to be banished from the presence of God.
Amazing really that we aren’t. We’ve all mismanaged more than a few dollars. We’ve mismanaged our whole lives.
The Real Point
The Real Point
Isn’t it good, though, that God is even more merciful than the rich man in this story.
What we are so quick to forget is the one thing that must never forget.
WE possess nothing of our own, but we are given everything by our loving Heavenly Father.
He is a God who joyfully lavishes gifts upon us and calls on us only to receive and then manage the gifts.
We aren’t expected to create the gift. We can’t.
And what is this great gift? The offer of salvation in Jesus Christ.
Friends, we have far more than a few dollars to manage.
We, the church, and the individuals within the church have been given the Keys of the Kingdom of God.
In repentance and baptism God has handed you riches beyond compare.
And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”
The forgiveness of sins.
The gift of the Holy Spirit.
You produced nothing and received everything.
You can, however, manage your Master’s resources in a way that honors His lavish and gracious Spirit.
What we learn is that God is not afraid to rattle our spiritual cages when we become spiritually lazy, slothful, and selfish.
He does not expect perfection. Indeed, we learn in this story that He can forgive even selfish impulse.
None of us manages God’s resources perfectly.
But we are called to manage what God gives us. Scripture is full of warning for people who become spiritually lazy, slothful, and negligent.
But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.
Amazing isn’t it, that God does not call on us to even continue in law keeping perfection.
I wish we could. Don’t you? But we can’t and Jesus knows this.
Notice though, that Paul does not create distinction between God’s severity and His kindness.
WE cannot make the mistake of thinking that the Gospel in some way creates a lower standard of holiness…a cheap grace that gives us license to willfully mismanage the gospel God has given to us.
The Gospel of Grace DOES recommend our imperfection and gives us mercy.
We are, inturn, expected to continue in God’s kindness, to continue in the Gospel life.
In short, upon receiving all of the good gifts God has given us, we must manage those gifts.
Friends, the riches of our Heavenly Father are forgiveness, peace, joy, kindness, gentleness, self control...
As we receive those gifts through faith in Christ Jesus, let us remember that we too can repent of our sinful management. We too can be accepted and much loved managers of the Kingdom of God.
We too can give up managerial sloth, and we can begin to mranage the riches we have been given in Jesus Christ.
AMEN
AMEN
The unrighteous steward is an example of one who is unrighteous in both little and big things. But he is also faithful in little and big things, as was evidenced by his unswerving faith in his lord’s mercy (the big thing) and his faith that the debtors would trust that his changing the accounts (a little thing) was a reflection of his lord‘s mercy.
Just, Arthur A., Jr. . St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1997. Print. Concordia Commentary.
Just, Arthur A., Jr. . St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1997. Print. Concordia Commentary.