Focused on the Things of God

Luke 16:1–13 ESV

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. 2 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.’ 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. 4 I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ 5 So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ 7 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.’ 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. 9 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. 10 “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. 11 If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? 13 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 parable from today’s reading and Jesus’ comments that follow are part of the hard sayings of Jesus that we began with a couple of weeks ago on hating your family in order to follow Jesus. We have the story of the unjust manager who acts in ways to save himself rather than being righteous. It is a story that demarcates those who are of Christ and those who are of the world.

We live in a time when those kinds of juxtapositions are not welcome. This is mainly because we have a hard time deciding what is of the world and what is not. We do not want to be seen as people who are “holier than thou.” We want to be welcoming and loving. This can lead us to turning a blind eye to unrighteousness just so others can like us.

The parable comes on the heels of the three parables that deal with lost things and particularly the parable of the lost son. Some scholars see 16:1 as the beginning of a new line of teaching by Jesus. However, recent scholarship notices a continuity between the parables that come before it. What is the fate of the son who stayed with his father? We leave him filled with jealousy because of the welcome his sinful brother received from the father. All of this is in the context of the Pharisees and scribes questioning Jesus because he eats with tax collectors and sinners. Now, we come to a story that is hard for us to interpret. Scholars and theologians have been trying for centuries to understand what Jesus was trying to portray here.

Because of all the spilled ink on this parable, it may be best to try to look at it from a 30,000 feet view. In the context of all that Jesus has said up to this point, what does it mean for us as his disciples? I hope that we can dissect this together to learn what Jesus is trying to teach us about being a follower of him.

1. A disciple lives by a Christlike ethic not a worldly one. (vs. 1-8a)

What do we do with this parable? We have a manager over a rich man’s dealings with tenet farmers who has been unjust and dishonest in his practices by lining his own pockets. The rich man fires him. Instead of showing remorse for his actions, he concocts a scheme to cook the books so he can get another job. So, he calls some of those who still owe and has them pay less than they owe. This allows him to curry favor with them so that he might get a job or help them get a job since he has helped them. They know they are bilking on their accounts to the rich man, but they still go along. When the manager returns to his former employer with payment, the manager is commended for his shrewdness.

Usually, we try to make a one-for-one comparison in Jesus’ parables. Last week, we can see Jesus in the shepherd bringing back the lost sheep and in the woman sweeping her house for the lost coin. But here, a one-for-one comparison brings many more questions. To say that the dishonest manager is an example of discipleship makes discipleship about cheating others. Even to make the master into God or Jesus sounds like God wants us to do it if the outcome is profitable. We know neither of these is viable options because of the nature of God and his call upon us. Instead, Jesus outlines the difference between how the world operates and how the kingdom of God operates. Most English translations use the word “dishonest” to describe the manager. However, the word literally means “unrighteous.” So, the dishonest manager is a perfect representation of the unrighteousness in the world. The parable is about what it means to be of the world.

It is about getting ahead for yourself no matter the cost to others. You step on others to gain something more for yourself. We see this in our work - even in ministry, it happens. Some are chasing the next thing and will do whatever it takes to get there, even if it is dishonestly.

As kingdom people, our ethic is entirely different. We are not out for ourselves. Our lives are given to others. We find our reward and blessing in benefiting others above ourselves. The greatest command is to love God with all we have and to love our neighbor as ourselves. On these things hang all the law and the prophets, Jesus tells us in Matthew 22:37-40. Our ethics and way of life are not to get ahead at any cost. It is to love God and others more than us. It is to be a people who live contrary to the world. The root of sin is self-absorption and self-worship. It is when we set ourselves up as God. This is how the world operates. It is about what I want and what I can gain. It is not about giving ourselves to others. Jesus gave us that example when he died for us while we were sinners. This proves God’s love for us. He is the embodiment of love, saying that all it takes to feast at my table is a desire to be with me and turn from the world. We turn away from worldliness and toward Godliness. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we become more Christlike.

2. A disciple uses this life to prepare for the next. (vs. 8b-9)

Disciples are opposite to the world. People in the world get ahead by taking everything they can for themselves. As followers of Jesus, we get ahead with God by using what we must help others. We live out a sanctified life as God pours his love into us and brings us to perfection in love. We do not use manipulation tactics as we find with the dishonest manager to get our way with God or others. Jesus says that there are sons of this world and sons of light. We are to be a people of light. 1 Thessalonians 5:5-6 say, “5 For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or the darkness. 6 So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.”

The dishonest manager stole his master’s resources and used them to prop himself up by gaining friends so that he could get a job and provide an earthly and temporary home for himself. But that probably wouldn’t last long because he was still incompetent. Jesus tells us that we should be shrewd in using our resources to help others so that the kingdom is benefited, not us. All that we are and have been given to us by God. We may work and gain possessions in this life, but all of it comes from God - our health, talents, and abilities. These things are God-given even if we have worked to craft and hone them. Christ is calling us to gain friends with the gifts God has given us to bring them into God's kingdom and allow them to become sons and daughters of light.

Giving ourselves in a way that brings honor and glory to God is the heart of discipleship. Our lives are not our own but his. This life is preparation for the next. All the good we do with our resources, gifts, and lives is so that the kingdom of God will grow. When we enter the eternal dwellings that Jesus mentions, it will be a time when we see the treasure we have stored in heaven. It will be those whom we have helped, and they have given their lives to the Lord. We may not always see what the love of God flowing through our lives has done or what it has meant to another person, but when the time comes that enter eternal life, whether, through our death or Jesus’ coming, we will witness the great things God has done through the gift of our lives. The manager had only temporary rewards and a temporary home, but ours is eternal.

3. A disciple uses all that God has entrusted us with wisely. (vs. 10-13)

As disciples, we are to use all the gifts given to us in wise and honest ways. Jesus contrasts how the unrighteous and the righteous are faithful or faithless. It is only when we use what God has given us in wise and fruitful ways that we are given more in terms of the true riches of God. Using all that we have for self-centered purposes is a testimony to what is most important to us. If we do nothing for others with God’s gift, our self-serving becomes our god. If we do not use our resources for God’s glory, we cannot be trusted with the true riches of the kingdom. We will misuse the heavenly treasures in the same way. Jesus tells us in verse 12 that all we have belongs to another. If we misuse that, how will we be given that which is our own? Nothing we have on this earth - possessions, talents, gifting - is ours to use just as we please. It is something that comes from God. He bestows upon us his grace and mercy giving us what we have so that we might use these things for his glorification, not ours. We cannot live in a way that we claim God in one breath while taking advantage of others or using what has been given for selfish purposes. We cannot serve both God and money. We cannot make the gifts God has given to us into a god that we worship with us at the center.

Paul writes in 1 Timothy 6:17-19, “17 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. 18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, 19 thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.” The generosity of the Christian is a hallmark of our faith and ethic. Our action toward others is seen in how we use our gifts to help those in need. This witness of our faith is a statement to the world that we love and care for our neighbor. We are here in this world to make a difference so that the kingdom of God might spread. This witness of love brings others into the fold. It is our testimony to a self-serving and self-worshiping world that life has purpose and meaning when n you give yourself to others.

If we are honest, money and possessions are an enslaving force. All of us is a materialists enslaved to our possessions on some level. Things of the world can become a demonic power trying to possess and gain control over us. God demands that we switch our loyalty entirely over to him. His call to us is not to be held and enslaved by the world and sin but to be enslaved to Christ. Our service and work should be completely devoted to him. When it is, all that he has entrusted to us in this life will be part of taking the kingdom into the world so that others can know Christ personally.

What is a disciple? A disciple is focused on the things of God more than the things of the world. A disciple does this by living a sanctified life wherein the love of God is poured into us to overflow as we are transformed into the likeness of Christ and leaving behind that which the world has offered to us. It means that the way that we treat others in ways that glorify God, not us. It means that we show the world a different way of life that brings people closer to God and live as a witness to the purposes of God to spread his kingdom. Jesus shows us by his example that a life of unrighteousness can only bring false happiness in this life. But when we give ourselves entirely over to him, God can bring blessing to us through our generosity and love in this life and the next. May we live as witnesses to God and glorify him in all he has given us.