How to Invest Your One and Only Life
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If I was to tell you that you only had five years left of your life, how would you live it? Everyone of us knows that we only have one life to live. How are we going to spend the time that we have here on earth? How are we going to invest our time? How are we going to invest our energy?
The first three weeks, the stories that Jesus told were told to the Pharisees and other religious leaders. We also know that there were tax collectors and sinners there as well.
In this weeks chapter, Jesus switches his main focus to speaking to the disciples. Jesus begins by telling them a story about a rich man who has to fire his manager. Let’s look at the story. Go with me to Luke chapter 16. I want to begin reading at verse 1.
1 Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions.
2 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.’
3 “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—
4 I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’
5 “So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
6 “ ‘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.’
7 “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.’
8 “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.
9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.
10 “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.
11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?
12 And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?
13 “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.”
During the time of Jesus, a rich man would often employ what was called oikonomos. It sounds kind of like the word we use, economics. It meant manager or administrator. This person would handle all the business affairs of his estate. The charge that this manager had squandered the rich man’s goods is an indication of either neglectful management or criminal misconduct. Think about it. In this story the manager offers no defense when he is questioned. The landowner wanted him to show him how he was handling everything.
This manager knows that he is going to get fired and so he tries to find a way that he can support himself. He knows he is not physically able to do manual labor. He says, “I’m ashamed to be.” In other words, “I’m to proud to beg.” So he comes up with an idea.
He calls in each of the people that owed his boss money and he lowers their debts. These debts were very significant.A hundred liquid measures of olive oil, or nine-hundred gallons, are equivalent to three years of a worker’s wages. A hundred measures of wheat have an even higher value, equivalent to over a thousand bushels or seven and a half years of wages. These debtors are not poor peasants but business associates or tenant farmers. To any debtor, the reduction of a loan by fifty, or even twenty percent, is substantial.
And, these debtors have no reason to doubt the authority of the manager, so they are eager to do as told, rewrite the loan voucher, and sign it. It is a win-win situation for both manager and debtor. No one raises the uncomfortable question as to why the paperwork is being doctored, and the rich man will be none the wiser when the manager hands over the books.
Look at verse 8 again. He says...
8 “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.
Now please understand this. Jesus does not give approval of the manager’s dishonesty. He was trying to make a point here. He says, “the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.”
Think about it. If we pursued the Kingdom of God with the same vigor and zeal that the children of this world pursue profits and pleasure, we would live in an entirely different world. It could be said that it is to the shame of the church that Coca-cola is more widely distributed than the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The world never stops pushing their agenda and the harder people push back, the harder they try. We as believers, don’t even push. When was the last time you talked to someone about your faith? When was the last time you offered to pray for someone that was hurting? When was the last time you offered to buy someone’s meal? When was the last time you offered to help someone in need?
That is what Jesus is saying here. The world is more shrewd in their business dealings that Christians are in spreading their message of hope and forgiveness.
And if you really want to make a difference, verse 9 needs to be put into play.
9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.
Basically what Jesus is telling us here is, “Put your money where your mouth is.”
We can talk about wanting to see God’s message spread all over the kingdom but until we take it out of the pocket and place it in the plate we are helping to see the kingdom fulfilled.
God can do more with that 10% tithe than you can. Plus he will bless that 90% when you tithe. If we don’t give the 10%, then 100% of the money we have is under a curse. I choose not to live under a curse. I want the blessings that God has for me. And I want to see what God will do.
The New King James translates verse 9 like this.
9 “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home.
The word mammon here is an aramaic word and is translated as wealth or money. Mammon was the name of a Syrian god of riches. Mammon tells you, “You don’t need God you need money.” Mammon is a spirit that rests on money. It wants you to think that money is more important than God. Mammon promises you everything and gives you nothing. Mammon will promise you security, it will promise you status, it will promise you riches, it will promise you fame, it will promise you opportunity, but if will give you none of that. Only God can give you these things.
Jesus closes this story in verse 13. He says...
Luke 16:13 (NIV)
13 “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 (mammon).”
Many of us have served mammon and when it doesn’t give us what we want we despise God.
Did you know that mammon has the spirit of anti-christ on it? The spirit of anti-christ is not threatened by Nuclear War, it is threatened by not being able to buy or sale. We read in Revelation that the anti-christ will force everyone to receive the mark of the beast and if you don’t have that mark you will not be able to buy or sale.
Mammon is always trying to get us to not serve God.
Never once did Jesus tell someone that the solution to their problem was more money. He never told a prostitute, a blind man, a lame man or anyone else that if they had more money then they would be fine.
We need to avoid the spirit of mammon. We do that by giving God our first 10% and that way God is blessing our finances. There is not place on earth that the spirit of mammon is stronger than in America. What happens when the stock market drops? People freak out. It is a spirit that tries to take the place of God.
Is Money evil? No. God uses money. When you give your tithe, God uses that to do amazing things.
Does God need our money? No, because He owns in all. And what you think is your money is not your money anyway. God owns everything.
Money is not evil but the love of money is.
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
Can I tell you what true riches are? True riches are people. The only thing that will last forever in this world is people. People last forever. God wants you to love people.
Money cannot make you happy. It can’t keep you warm at night. It can’t love you back. Money will not be there for you when you need someone to talk to. If you love money then you will be miserable for the rest of your life.
God loves you and He wants you to love His people. You can use money to reach God’s people. God is the only person that can take money and turn it into souls.
Look at verse 9 again.
9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.
Ask yourself this question. What should I do with what’s been entrusted to me?
My answer is this. I want to invest it in making friends for eternity.
I can’t invest my life in two places. So I am going to invest my life, my wealth, my time, my energy with the one that loves me and when to the cross and died for me.
I was created for something great. I want to invest my life in the kingdom and do what God has called me to do. No matter what it takes.