Being Faithful With What You Have

A message on Business Meeting Night

Luke 16:1-13 And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. 2 And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward. 3 Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. 4 I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. 5 So he called every one of his lord’s debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? 6 And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. 7 Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore. 8 And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. 9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. 10 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. 11 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12 And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall 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 else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

God has been putting the parables of Jesus on my heart lately – and tonight we’ve got a doozy! One Commentary stated:

“Luke 16:1-8 contains probably the most difficult parable in Luke”
Darrell L. Bock, Luke

This parable is only found in the Book of Luke, though the conclusion:

Luke 16:13 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Is also found in Matthew 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

A couple of interesting things about this parable is that it serves as a bridge between the previous parable (the parable of two sons) and the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. In this parable the “unjust steward” (verse 8) did the same thing that the younger son did in the parable of the two sons

Luke 15:13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.

Luke 16:1 There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods.

The “unjust steward” was supposed to properly manage all that he had for his Master Who was far away. Yet the “unjust steward” did not manage his assets. His lifestyle became such that others knew he was not fulfilling his duty. The “certain Rich Man” became upset at this report he received, so He sent a message to the “unjust steward”:

Luke 16:2 And {the Rich Man} called {the unjust steward), and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.

The Rich Man fired the steward outright! His position was terminated, and his services were no longer needed. The Rich Man wanted the unjust steward to send him the books – to “give an account of thy stewardship”. But the Rich Man told him plainly “thou mayest be no longer steward”. You’re fired! There’s no second chances here.

The unjust steward is at the end of his rope. What in the world is he going to do? Now here’s where it gets interesting. The steward does something that Jesus commends him for. We read:

Luke 16:3-4 Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. 4 I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.

The steward know that his time is short. He is going to be cast out into the street. Just as the wayward young son was, he is about to find himself in a horrible place. So what does the steward do?

He decides to use what he has for the future.
He doesn’t have long, but he’s going to invest what he has wisely!

Luke 16:5-6 So he called every one of his lord’s debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? 6 And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty.

The commentaries spend their time trying to figure out exactly how much “a hundred measures of (olive) oil is”, but that’s what makes this parable so difficult. The parable is not meant to be difficult. Jesus said that the reason He spoke in parables is so His disciples can understand Kingdom truths (see Matthew 13:10-17).

Matthew 13:10-11 10 And the disciples came, and said unto {Jesus}, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? 11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

Unbelievers only need to know how to be saved in Christ. Believers, however, are indwelt and guided by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19; Romans 8:9; Acts 2:38; James 4:5; Romans 5:5). If you are Spirit filled the Lord will guide you into understanding His truths. If you are NOT Spirit filled, you will not understand. What did the unjust steward do?

He simply reduced by 50% what one person owed on oil.
Now was he stealing from his employer?
Absolutely not!
First of all, Jesus would not commend stealing.
Second of all, the Rich Man would not commend
theft from himself!

We read in verse 8:

And the lord commended the unjust steward,
because he had done wisely

People just don’t do that … and Jesus was NOT saying that theft was WISE. Theft is a sin against God and man (Exodus 20:15; Romans 13:9). The Bible tells us:

Ephesians 4:28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

The Lord Jesus is not commending stealing when the unjust steward when he called the second debtor:

Luke 16:7 Then said he to another, And How Much Owest Thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore.

and tells him to reduce what he owes on wheat by 20%. This is not theft. Do you know what the unjust steward is doing?

He is giving away his commission!
He is giving away what is owed to him.
He was worshiping money, and living for money.
Now he is giving away all that is due him
so that when his current life is ended
he can be blessed in the next stage of life.

The Master commended this repentant but previously unjust servant for his wisdom in using his funds wisely. Now Jesus tells us, His disciples, that we are to:

Luke 16:9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.

The key to this parable is in the words “when you fail they may receive you into everlasting habitations”. This unjust steward used what was his to benefit others so that when he was homeless he could go and work for them. Jesus tells us to use what is ours to make friends – to win people to Him. Every person we win to Christ will one day meet us in Heaven – referred to as “Everlasting Habitations”. There is no everlasting habitation on this earth. Everything on this earth is temporal, passing. But there are two Everlasting Habitations found on the other side of the veil.

One is Heaven.
The other is Hell.

Everyone you meet and talk to is headed toward Heaven or Hell. Those who receive Christ as Savior and Lord are headed toward Heaven. Those who reject Christ as Savior … like the rich man discussed in the next parable (you remember “The Rich Man and Lazarus” of Luke 16:19-31). That which God has given us MUST be used so that we can win others to Christ. God is not honored when Churches become banks where money is stored or museums where people come to see the old things. The Church’s mission has been and will always be to win the world for Christ.

Period.

What we as disciples do with our money will one day be judged. If we invest it wisely to win others to Christ our Master – Who has “saved us and called us with a holy calling” (2 Timothy 1:9) will commend us. When we use what He has given us for Christ’s glory then He will bless us with other things. Jesus emphasizes this by saying:

Luke 16:10-12 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. 11 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12 And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?

Jesus told us in another place to “store up our treasures

Matthew 6:19-21 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Jesus ends this parable with …

Luke 16:13 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

The things that our Lord has allowed us to have are but on loan to us. Everything we have – our homes, our church, our community, our nation, even ourselves – all belongs to God the Son. Jesus Christ is the “Heir of all things” (Hebrews 1:2), and by Him all things are reconciled to God (Colossians 1:20). Let us heed our Jesus and use what He has given to us for His glory.

We may not have tomorrow!

May Christ touch your hearts with His Word!