Our Sermons

Bible Passage: Luke 16:1-15
Pastor: Pastor Berg
Sermon Date:  May 15, 2022

We’ve reached the third quarter of our stewardship challenge–A God-Lived Life. And as we’ve said before, normally when you hear the word stewardship, you think of money. Yes, money is a part of stewardship–it’s something God has given us, something he wants us to manage and use wisely. But so far, we haven’t really touched on money.

Today as we explore the God-lived life as a life lived shrewdly–we’ll touch on money a bit. But really, even as we talk about money–it’s more the attitude about money than the money itself. 

To think about this, I want to use the question asked by the scoundrel in Jesus’ story. Maybe you think that’s a bit harsh, but this guy is a self-centered narcissist who is dishonest and unjust: Does that description really make you want to listen to him? But here’s the thing. In this story, Jesus takes us from the known to the unknown. Jesus introduces us to a character we can relate to–Mr. Selfish. And I think you know how we can relate to him. Too often, we are him. We make decisions based on three factors: me, myself, and I. 

We’ll get back to that. First though, his question. It’s the first thing we hear him say–“What will I do?” Jesus uses his example and tells us to ask the same question: “What will I do? Will I live for the now, or live for the new? What will I do?

Let’s set the stage. Jesus tells a story not to make us want to be like this guy completely, but to point out one particular characteristic. Jesus is not asking us to emulate his selfishness, dishonesty, or stealing. The ONE thing Jesus points to as worthwhile, the one thing Jesus wants to demonstrate in his story: he was shrewd. That’s the thing Jesus was illustrating. He was shrewd, prudent, he thought through the situation and thought about his goal and used what he had to reach the goal. Let’s read the story again.

“Jesus also said to his disciples: (Notice, he is now talking to his disciples. He wants us to learn something here.) “There was a rich man who had a manager who was accused of wasting his possessions. The rich man called him in and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you can no longer be manager.’” 

The man had been given responsibilities. The job of a household manager, often translated “steward,” was an important one. He had full control of the master’s stuff, his business dealings, his resources, and his job was to use all of that for the master’s good. Apparently, he had done something wrong and was now getting fired. Keep in mind, this word steward or manager is the same word often used to describe us as believers. Everything belongs to God. We are stewards of it, managers. And knowing what God says about how we are to use our stuff, I think there are more than a few of us who should be right there with the guy in the parable getting fired. But here’s where we see the guy’s shrewdness. He thinks through the situation: 

“The manager said to himself, ‘What will I do, (There’s our question) since my master is taking away the management position from me? I am not strong enough to dig. I am ashamed to beg.”

His options for taking care of himself aren’t good. But then it strikes him. The steward’s great insight is to see that the solution has to come from outside himself. He doesn’t have the resources in himself. But for just a little bit of time yet, he still has use of his master’s stuff. Until he hands over the books, he’s got something. Think of how that applies to the stuff we have here until this life is done–just a short bit of time. So, this steward says, “I know what I will do, so that when I am removed from my position as manager, people will receive me into their houses.’” 

“He called each one of his master’s debtors to him. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He said, ‘Six hundred gallons of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and write three hundred.’ These are huge numbers. Likely we’re talking about long-term renters of the land, those who are partners of sort with this wealthy master. 

Then he said to another, ‘How much do you owe?’ And he said, ‘Six hundred bushels of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill and write four hundred and eighty.’”

That steward used the authority over that stuff he had been given with a goal in mind. Obviously, the master had plenty of reasons to be upset with what this guy was doing. This guy who failed him was now giving away his money, his wealth. But he was also doing something else. He was counting on what he knew of his master. His master was, at heart, merciful. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have even imagined he could get away with this. The only way this works is that the master goes along with the steward’s plan and does this kind thing for those people. The master realized it and commended that unjust manager for it. Did you notice why? It wasn’t for being unjust. Listen to verse 8: “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. (That’s the point of Jesus’ story–acting shrewdly–using what we have for a specific purpose.) Jesus goes on: “For the children of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the children of the light are.”  

The lesson we learn is to be more shrewd with the things we’ve been given, BUT with a different purpose. That becomes really clear as Jesus goes on and gives his application of this story. Verse 9:  “I tell you, make friends for yourselves with unrighteous mammon, so that when it runs out, they will welcome you into the eternal dwellings.” (We have an eternal purpose far greater than anything else in this short life. But what we do in this short life matters.) “The person who is faithful with very little is also faithful with much. And the person who is unrighteous with very little is also unrighteous with much. So if you have not been faithful with unrighteous mammon, who will entrust you with what is really valuable? If you have not been faithful with what belongs to someone else, who will give you something to be your own? No servant can serve two masters. Indeed, 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 both God and mammon.” There is only one number one. It’s been said: “There are a lot of things God will put up with, but 2nd place is not one of them.

“The Pharisees, who loved money, also heard all these things and sneered at him. He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the sight of people, but God knows your hearts. In fact, what is highly regarded among people is an abomination in God’s sight.” 

There’s a lot there. But notice the main point. Jesus isn’t defending the man in the story for what he did. He’s commending him for how he used the stuff he had for the time he had it. His goal was wrong–his own self-preservation. He wanted to find a way to serve himself. And yet, Jesus makes it clear, we have a better goal. We have true riches. We have what is valued by God instead of what is valued in men’s eyes. So, be all the more shrewd with it! Jesus tells us to use our money, our resources, for what really matters. 

Jesus is the perfect example of just that. While this parable focuses on money, Jesus showed it in every aspect. He came to the earth for a limited time–somewhere around 33 years. He had that time to work like every human. Notice how he used his time and resources: Already as a 12-year-old in the temple, he was using his time to live as a disciple, growing in the Word. Then again and again, we see him prioritizing time for prayer–committed to growing his relationship with his Father. We see him prioritizing souls–those he had compassion on were like sheep without a shepherd, so that he gave them time even when it was inconvenient for him.

Through it all, we see him prioritizing our eternity. He was committed to going up to Jerusalem to be betrayed and beaten, to suffer and die, for us. For all the times we put our now life over our new life, he gave his life. He put us first. He remembered our eternity when all we could think about was how to enjoy our best life now. He literally saved us from ourselves.

That changes how we look at things. That gives us NEW life–life forever in heaven, and a new kind of life now–one that is a God-lived life. As his disciple, it’s a life of service, and a life that is shrewd–that uses what we’ve been given in order to live that new life, like that new life is as important as it is. 

Well, what does that look like for you? Well, look at your challenge cards. There are some great ideas on there, ways to be more shrewd with what we have–things like prioritizing God’s work in our personal budgets. That’s remembering what Jesus says about that mindset that focuses on eternity instead of focusing so much on the now. And remember, it has always been his stuff! We can trust that he is a merciful master and that he’ll keep his Word to us that we will have plenty. Then, assess your offerings to God. From all that he’s provided, find the offering that tells him, “Dear Lord, I challenge myself to trust you even more because your mercies are so great!” Consider 10%–Challenge yourself–because what is most important comes first.

We’re back at the question, What Will I Do? The choice is yours. May God strengthen you to live a God-lived life–a life lived shrewdly. God grant it for Jesus’ sake. Amen.