2016-05-08 Luke 16:1-8 Speaking of Money (1): Shrewd Investing

SPEAKING OF MONEY (1): SHREWD INVESTING (Luke 16:1-8) May 8, 2016 Read Lu 16:1-8 – A prospective woman juror is asked about capital punishment. “I don’t believe in it,” she says. The judge replies, “This is a case about a woman whose husband took some money she was saving for a new dress and lost it at the track.” The woman thinks for a moment and then says, “Maybe I can change my mind about capital punishment.” Money affects the way we think about just about everything, doesn’t it? From the time we are old enough to know what it is, it dominates our thoughts. I can remember sitting on our farm in NE when I was probably 5 years old staring at the first dollar bill I ever had and thinking how much money that was. Money has a hypnotizing effect on all of us. Those who don’t have it want it. Those who have a little want a lot; and those who have a lot want more. Money itself, of course, is not evil. It is neutral. It is love of money that is the problem. But that love is an infectious disease. And believers are not exempt. I Tim 6:10: “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.” Money is like nitroglycerin. Handled properly it is very useful. But its volatility makes it a serial killer. Few people can handle money without blowing themselves up. It reeks of glitz and glamor, pulling people away from reality in the pursuit and preservation of riches that will not last. So it is no surprise that we find Jesus often speaking of money. Out of 40 recorded parables that our Lord gave, 1/3 of them relate to money. You are deeply mistaken if you don’t believe that the Lord cares how you handle money. He does. And that’s true whether your have a lot of it, a little of it or are somewhere in the middle. How we think about and handle money displays a lot about our spiritual temperature. So in Luke 16 Jesus is speaking of money to His disciples – His followers. This is instruction for believers. He does so by first giving a parable in vv. 1-8 we’ll look at this week. Then He teaches 3 fascinating lessons in vv. 9-13 which we will look at next week. Some have questioned whether this is really about money or simply about spiritual commitment. But there is no doubt that Jesus is speaking of money. His summary in v. 13 settles that issue definitively: “You cannot serve God and money.” The word wealth is used twice (9, 11). Riches is used in v. 9 and look at the context of v. 14: “The 1 Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him.” Those who heard this knew it was about money. Jesus’ intent here is to help us understand how God would have us handle money. Now, at first blush this parable is difficult. Is it teaching against making money out of other money? Is it teaching us to use sharp or even dishonest financial practices to get money? Is it teaching that it is okay to cheat someone else to solve our problems? As we look in more detail, we will see that it is none of those things. So, let’s look at the parable today – to see the one main message. Then next week 3 critical applications drawn from that. I. The Crisis (1-3) 1 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.” Notice first that this parable was addressed to the disciples. So it is for believers. Then Jesus invents a rich man who, in accordance with common practice, has a manager to oversee his affairs. But charges have been brought by someone unspecified that his manager is playing fast and loose with the rich man’s possessions. There is no hint of fraud. The “charges” brought are not legal charges, but accusations of unfaithfulness – perhaps by one of the workers who has observed this man – or a friend of the rich man who is concerned. The accusation is that he has been “wasting” his possessions. It’s the same word used in Lu 15:13 where we are told that the prodigal son “squandered his property in reckless living.” The root word means to scatter. Think of tossing $1000 bills out the window of a NYC high rise and you have the idea. We’re not told how this man is wasting resources. Perhaps he is buying unnecessary new equipment and getting some benefits on the side. Perhaps he was not negotiating the best prices. Perhaps he is not getting the best out of the laborers. He is neglectful. While not legally culpable, he is an unfaithful steward. He was using the owner’s possessions as tho they were his and forgetting his responsibility to the man who provided them. The owner’s action is predictable. 2And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? It’s an open-ended question designed to reveal nothing of what he has heard but to solicit further incriminating information from a manager who doesn’t know for sure what he has been told. Typical business ploy then and now. But the manager does not take the bait. He is silent. His silence is an admission of guilt, but at least he is not adding 2 information that the owner may not know. However, in this case, the silence confirms the already incriminating info the owner has so he responds: Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ In other words, “You’re fired! Pack up and get out, but first give me a final accounting.” Naturally, this precipitates a crisis for the manager. 3 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.” He’s lost his cushy job, but he is either too old or too out of shape to do manual work. And he is too proud to beg. Govt subsidies and unemployment benefits were not an option in those days. So he is in a world of hurt. “What shall I do?” That’s his dilemma. II. The Cure (4-7) Given his circumstances, the manager sits down and begins to think. And he comes up with a brilliant scheme – at least for himself. 4 I have decided what to do, (this phrase is kind of like “Eureka! I’ve got it!” He’s decided what to do) so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ Here’s his plan. The owner has fired him, but he still has to do that final accounting, so he still has access to the books. This opens the door to an amazing possibility. Rather than create an accounting, the manager begins to go to various clients who are indebted to the master and offer discounts on their loans -- thus ingratiating himself to them. They don’t now he’s been fired. In v. 5 he represents himself as still representing “my master.” He still has the notes, so the scheme works to perfection. To one he offers a 20% discount on his wheat loan. To another he offers a 50% discount on his oil debt. Other are not mentioned but implied. Before long, they are all in his debt – but at his master’s expense, of course. He has used his master’s assets to secure his own future. That’s the key to the parable. Now commentators have made all manner of suggestions to exonerate this guy. They just cannot accept that Jesus is making a positive parable about a cheating scoundrel, so they try to clean him up! For example, some suggest that since it was against God’s law to charge interest, and people often got around that by charging it not in money but in commodities – that what this guy was doing was deducting the interest portion of the debt, thus 1) obeying God, 2) bringing his master into conformity with God’s law and 3) putting 3 things right with the debtors. Everyone wins! That’s one explanation. Others suggest that he himself had been illegally adding his own commission to the loans and that he is now backing that out. That point is all manner of effort is made by good commentators to exonerate this fellow. But they all fail on one point. Jesus himself says he is disreputable. Look at v. 8, “The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness.” Any defense of this man’s actions is nullified by the fact that Jesus Himself says he was dishonest. So what is the point? Is Jesus teaching that the end justifies the means? Is He suggesting that any scheme to get oneself out of a jam is justified? Is He commending dishonesty? To answer that question, we have to look very carefully at our next point. The surprise ending to the parable. III. The Commendation (8) You’d think that Jesus would be condemning this guy for his unscrupulous behavior – continued robbing from his master after he has been fired, right? Instead, he is commended. First the master commends him, and then Jesus explains further. 8 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. So what gives? Shouldn’t this guy be condemned for major fraud? In real life, yes. In real life, anything commendable about him would have been overshadowed by his dishonesty. But this is a parable, and remember that parables have one main point. Jesus is specifically using this bad man to teach one critical truth. Three observations will answer for us see that. First, cheating is not commended. Jesus calls the manager dishonest (literally, unrighteous), so he is not being commended for his dishonesty. Neither Jesus nor the master are recommending dishonesty as a means of advancing one’s agenda. That is not glossed over and swept under the rug – it is acknowledged. They are not saying he is commended for cheating. Second – what is commended is his shrewdness (literally that he “acted prudently”). Given the crisis with which he was faced and the framework within which he lived, he did not continue his wasteful ways – instead he acted prudently to provide for his future. He thought ahead and found a way to provide future security, dishonest though it was. In the dog-eat-dog world that was his only frame of reference. He provided for a temporal future that was also his only frame of reference. He is not commended for his crookedness but for his shrewdness in planning for his future. 4 So the third observation – Jesus’ comment: “For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light.” He notes that the sons of this world (unbelievers) are more diligent in investing in a temporary future than the sons of light (believers) are in investing in an eternal future. John MacArthur says it this way: “Sinners are more skilled and diligent in securing their temporal future in this present age than those whose citizenship is in heaven are in securing their eternal reward in the age to come.” Some sinners are working harder to secure an easy retirement in this age than most believers are working to secure eternal rewards in the age to come. And when you consider which lasts longer, it becomes a no-brainer to suggest that perhaps we should think more diligently about using physical resources to secure eternal privilege and reward than most of us do. His point can be reduced to this – Don’t waste your life; invest your life. Use every legitimate means at your disposal to live for eternity rather than time. That is a very hard lesson to learn. But those who are wise will pay close attention. IV. The Correlation So, how does that correlate to my life? What does Jesus want? The audience is believers -- so by way of application we know that we are there, right? The rich man is God. He owns the whole universe. And the manager represents Jesus’ audience. So the big picture is that a God who owns everything has given certain things to His followers who now have a fiduciary responsibility to make the best use of them for His good as well as ours. How can we insure that we are not wasting His gifts by investing only in time and not eternity? To answer, let’s consider a few things God has given us to manage. How about our time? Whether it is 10 years or 100 we are to use it wisely. Eph 5:16, “making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” So what are we doing with our time to redeem an evil culture where God is systematically ignored? Is the way we do our work and the way we use our leisure time something we will be proud to submit to the Father’s examination – or is there a lot of waste going on? How about TV, video games, social media? Relaxing and fun, yes. Thus helpful. But we must ask, 1) what kind of activities are we watching and involved with – and 2) how much time do we spend at those compared to the time we spend with God in prayer, study of His Word and ministry? What does how we spend our time show about what we really love? There’s probably some waste there, right? 5 How about the spiritual gifts God has given you? Are you developing, refining and using those gifts. Or are they going to waste? Rom 12:6, “Having gifts (abilities to serve others spiritually) that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them.” Don’t let them go to waste. Use them not out of a sense of duty but out of love for God and love for others they are intended to benefit! The most precious possession given to our care is the gospel. I Cor 4: “1This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.” Are we faithful in sharing the gospel by word and deed? Do people around us know that Jesus died for them and invites them to receive eternal life by faith? Or are we wasting the best news mankind ever got? All those are possessions given to us as believers to use – not to squander. But there is another one that this passage is particularly aimed at. Money. Material possessions. God didn’t give those to us – or give us the ability to earn money just so we could spend it on ourselves. God says to those to whom He has entrusted money in I Tim 6:18, “18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share.” Next week we’ll see more detail about how Jesus expects this to work out. But the point is not to waste what God has given. Someday soon we’re all going to wish we had been more faithful, Beloved. Conc -- A good way to consider this is to ask, if they wrote your obituary today, would you be proud to present it to your Father? Or would you be shamed? That thought changed one man’s life. In 1888 Alfred Nobel, a Swiss chemist who made a fortune inventing and producing dynamite, read his own obituary in the paper one morning. It was actually his brother Ludwig who died in France, but the paper’s mixed identities. So there was his own obituary – under a headline, “The Merchant of Death is Dead.” It went on to describe a man who had gotten rich helping people kill other people. That view of his life was devastating to Alfred. He resolved to use his wealth to change that legacy. When he died 8 years later he left more than $9 million to fund awards to people whose work benefited humanity – the Nobel prizes. He changed his legacy. So can we, but we have to identify and root out those areas of where we are wasting the possession the Father has placed under our management. Let’s pray. 6