Imagine you hired an architect to build your dream home. The architect is the most highly skilled at designing the finest homes. But instead of letting the architect design the home for you, you come up with your own amateur home designs and ask him to simply approve it. You feel so excited thinking that the best architect is going to design your home when the home has been designed by yourself.
I presume this happens a lot in our Christian journey in our relationships with God. We ask God to lead and guide our lives, but we have already planned how we build our lives, organising our fortunes and shaping our course. In this case, we’re not seeking God’s way, but we’re seeking his approval of our own way.
It is very much the case with the ‘shrewd’ manager in today’s passage from Luke’s gospel. His master, the rich man in the parable knew that his manager was wasting his money, so he called him in and said, “I’m asking you to turn in a complete account of your handling of my property. And you are fired.”
The manager wasn’t seeking his master’s way; he was simply seeking his master’s approval of his own way. We believe God is our master. We say and sing a lot that God guides us, protects us, and leads us.
The problem is; we agree with this idea in our minds, but we don’t live it out. This prevents God from truly working as our master. We aren’t seeking God’s way; we’re simply seeking his approval of our own way.
John Wesley was born in 1703 and died in 1791 at the age of 88. He was a minister, a theologian, and an evangelist.
He once wrote, “When the standard of our living increases as Christians, when our incomes increase as God’s children, the standard of giving should increase as well.”
His first job was as a lecturer at Oxford University, where he earned 30 pounds a year. This was a good salary for the time. His living expenses were 28 pounds, so he gave 2 pounds to charity.
A few years later, his income was around 1,430 pounds. He lived on 30 and gave away almost the entire 1,400 pounds. What a great example of Christian giving!
‘Giving’ for the sake of God’s Kingdom was his greatest desire in all his life. What he desired most became his master.
What you desire most becomes your master. Jesus put it at the end of the reading today, “You cannot serve both God and money. You cannot serve two masters.”
The question is, what do you desire, yearn, and long for most? What is the actual master of your life?
Today’s reading from the Gospel of Luke tells a story about a shrewd manager. The word “shrewd” means to be clever and sharp, but it can also mean being cunning or tricky.
In the story, the manager isn’t an honest person. He uses his master’s money to make friends, especially with those who are in debt. It’s a confusing story, but the important part is how Jesus concludes it.
After the story, Jesus turns to his disciples and says, “Likewise, use your wealth to make friends, so that when it’s gone, you’ll be welcomed into an eternal home.”
What did Jesus mean? Was he telling us to be dishonest or tricky to fix our mistakes? No, that’s not the point. Listen carefully again. “Use your wealth and resources to make friends, so that when it’s gone, you’ll be welcomed into an eternal home.”
Let’s not focus on the manager’s cunning or tricky nature in the story. Instead, let’s focus on how his such actions benefited those who were in debt. Many ordinary people became slaves because they could not pay back their debts in the first century Jewish world.
I believe the lesson is this: We live in a temporary world with eternal consequences, and how we live on earth is already a part of the consequences we’ll face in heaven. Whatever you do for others will be remembered and rewarded by God.
This week’s story of the shrewd manager isn’t so different from last week’s story of the good shepherd seeking the lost sheep.
Just as John Wesley did in the eighteenth century, we should increase our giving as our standard of living increases. To God, the amount of money we make isn’t the point. God is more interested in how we use it for Him and for others, especially for those in need or debt.
In Luke’s gospel chapter 3, Jesus guaranteed a promising gift and blessing to the act of ‘giving’. “Give, and God will give it back to you. Your gift will return to you in full, pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.”
We can’t serve both God and money. We can only serve God by using our money. Giving is our privilege. Giving is receiving. Giving is a blessing.