According to Luke: Risky Business and Righteous Blessings

According to Luke: Risky Business and Righteous Blessings

Opening Illustration:

Years ago, while a teenager, I was placed in a managerial role. I was working for a local gym in Montgomery. My job was to be there at the gym everyday at 4:30 in the morning. Did I mention to you that I was a teenager, 19 to be exact. How many 19 year olds do you believe could be depended on to be anywhere everyday at 19? Not many. I will tell you right now, that I was not a good choice for this job. I was constantly late and that infuriated those waiting to get in to work out. 

My boss told me that I was not allowed to sit...ever. That’s right, I had to be on my feet doing something the entire time. I could vacuum. I could clean. I could greet. I just could not sit down. My boss was never there at the gym at 4:30 a.m. so she never knew that I was sitting down. What she did not know couldn’t hurt her. I had developed a habit while working the gym. I would arrive around 4:30 a.m. and then head back to the spa area of the gym. I would find myself a nice massage table and sleep till around 6:45 a.m. You see my boss did not get to work till 7 a.m. 

Well you can only show up late for a few times until people start to complain. They did. One day, I got there at 4:30 a.m., opened the doors, and then went to sleep in the back. Because of the many complaints, my boss showed up early one day and busted me for sleeping while on the job. She told me that if she caught me sleeping again, that she would fire me right there on the spot. 

The next day came and I repeated my process. I thought that surely she would not come early one back to back days. I was wrong. Dead wrong. She came in and caught me red handed, out cold, asleep on the job. She fired me right there on the spot. 

In that moment, as a manager, I had been exposed, excused from my job and massively embarrassed. You see, I had to go home and tell my Mom and Dad why I was let go. It was because of my lazy, disobedient behavior that I had lost my job. Friends, to put it mildly, I was a bad manager who had been exposed, excused from his job and suffered the embarrassment. Ever been there before? 

Thankfully, I have done a lot of growing up since I was 19. 

Have You Ever Been Exposed, Excused, and Embarrassed?

Background and Context:

In Luke 15, Jesus is addressing the Pharisees. Now in Luke 16, Jesus is talking to His disciples. Even though this is not described as a parable, it certainly is a parable. This is one of the most difficult passages to interpret in Luke because it initially seems like Jesus is commending shady manager for his underhanded business practices. Clearly this cannot be the case as Jesus would never do such a thing. We know Jesus to honor honestly, dependability, character and integrity. The focus of this parable is how Jesus’ disciples, Christians, respond to earthly wealth and material possessions. Using money to extend the Kingdom of God is good while using money to build an earthly kingdom in our name is wrong. Money is not merely a means to and end rather it is a means to a beginning. So, let’s read this morning from Luke 16:1-13. 

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."

4 Points From The Manager’s Problem

I. The Indiscretion vs. 1-2

Luke 16:1-2 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.'

Point:

In the opening of Luke 16 we are introduced to two characters. We are introduced first to the rich man. We do not know much about this man outside that he had tremendous wealth. So much so that he needed help in managing it. He could have been a wealthy landowner or perhaps owned a sprawling vineyard. He was known far and wide for being a man of immense wealth and means. 

Next we are introduced to the rich man’s manager. This man was responsible for not only managing the rich man’s holdings, but he was also tasked with growing the wealth of the rich man. This man ran the day to day operation of the company. Today, he would have been a mixture of the Chief Financial Officer and the Chief Operations Officer. He had complete access to the rich man’s accounts and took it upon himself to collect the outstanding debts of his employer. 

Now we do not know exactly what this manager did, but whatever it was it was considered dishonest. Scripture said that the manager was wasteful of his employer’s possessions. The Greek word being used here for wasteful also means squandered. The word gives us a picture of a farmer who takes his seed and throws it up in the air letting it scatter wherever it lands. No planning. No preparation. To put it into today’s terminology, the manager was “making it rain”. He was taking that which did not belong to him and filtering it away. 

Point:

So bold was this man’s indiscretion that news was brought back to the boss. The boss believed what was said about him. The manager was confronted and notice that there was no defense. He had been busted and there was nothing that he could do about it. He had been caught red handed. He was guilty. This boss knew everything and his manager was left exposed. 

Point:

You see, in this parable we have two characters who represent more than a manager and a boss. In this parable, the boss represents God. He is wealthy beyond manager and has dispensed to His children gifts, talents, resources and energies. Some of these gifts are physical gifts. Others are spiritual gifts. We are to be using these talents to grow the Kingdom of God. We were not called to squander them or be wasteful of these gifts. After all, they are not our gifts but God.

I Peter 4:10-11 NIV

10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

The manager is me. The manager is also you. Blessed to work in God’s good grace. Blessed to be used. Does the boss need us? Does God need us? Absolutely not. God allows us to partner with Him and He takes tremendous joy in seeing us use the gifts for His glory. 

Ephesians 2:10 NIV

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Like the dishonest manager, you and I will stand before God and have to give an account for how we used His talents, His gifts, and His resources. Did we waste them on ourselves? Did we use them to serve God, to grow His Kingdom, and to see others come to Christ? 

Romans 14:12 NLT

Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God.

Jesus reminds us in Matthew 12:36...

Matthew 12:36 NLT

And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak.

That day of accounting is also known as the day of judgement. God will already know the answer, and we will have no defense. Like the dishonest manager, we will have no argument, no legs to stand on. 

Point:

Saying this, that day of reckoning does not have to be bad. It can be good. If we use God’s gifts to bless Him and expand the borders of heaven, then we will hear some tremendous words. 

Matthew 25:21 ESV

[21] His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.'

4 Points From The Manager’s Problem

I. The Indiscretion vs. 1-2

II. The Idea vs. 3-7

Luke 16:3-7 ESV

[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.'

Point:

So the manager is fresh out of a job. He becomes desperate as he feels that homelessness and poverty are on their way. He knows that he is not much of a worker. He says that he is not strong enough to dig. He is also prideful. So prideful in fact that he does not want beg. 

Point:

Have you ever met people like that? They think that they are to good to do a certain job. Maybe they have a bunch of fancy degrees so instead of finding work, any work that might support their family, they wait around for something befitting of their talent to come along. How silly and how wasteful. 

Point:

A few years ago, I was in Boston I called an Uber to come and pick me up. We began to talk and I discovered that he was a teacher. During the summer he drove with Uber. He was a glorified taxi driver. He had expensive degrees from Boston College and Harvard. I admired him for teaching and doing something that he loved. I also admired him for working during the summer, doing a job that I imagine that most people from Harvard would thumb their nose at. 

Well, this manger to good to do hard work and to prideful to ask for help. So he had an idea. He called together all those that owed his boss money. To one that owed a hundred measures, the manager changed his debt to 50. Another owed 100 measures of wheat and the manager changed the debt to 80. Why? Why did he do this?

Point:

Presumably the manager reduced the debt of each one of his master’s debtors. The debtors would have been very happy to receive a significant reduction of their debt.

The manager was really trying to make sure that when he was out of work, the debtors would be personally indebted to him, and they would treat him well at that time.

Point:

So, what the manager did was dishonest. It is hard to take a dishonest thing and turn it into a good thing. However, there is something important to notice here. There is real power in forgiveness. These people owed a specific debt and that debt was forgiven. It was lessened. The burden was made lighter. Because this dishonest manager forgive others debts, he was going to find favor.

Point:

I want to ask you a a question today. Are you one who forgets others debts or do you fixate on others debts. Are you a grace giver or a grudge holder? Oh friends give grace because one day you will need it yourself. I have always operated and leaned on the side of grace. I am sure thankful that I have surrounded myself with people of grace and forgiveness in my life. 

Point:

Do you know Wendy Brendle? Of course you don’t. She was my boss at the gym that I worked at when I was 19. The same gym that I had to get up at 4:30 in the morning everyday. The same gym that occasionally slept. Wendy was the boss that fired me. Wendy was also one of my very best Sunday School teachers when I was a youth pastor. You see, Wendy loves the Lord and she loved my youth group. She also loved me and Angela. I may have been a lousy employee but she was a great boss. A forgiving boss who forgave me. That’s the sort of person that I want to be, a forgiving graceful person. 

Matthew 6:14-15 ESV

[14] For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, [15] but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

4 Points From The Manager’s Problem

I. The Indiscretion vs. 1-2

II. The Idea vs. 3-7

III. The Investment vs. 8-9

Luke 16:8-9 ESV

[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.

Point:

Have you ever made a bad investment? Oh I have had my fair share of them. I really wish I could have been around to tell my Dad to make a $1000 investment in a little company named Apple in 1978. If he would have, the investment would be worth upwards of 10 million dollars today. That would have been a pretty solid investment. Sadly, we remember the bad investments and what they cost us more than the good ones. 

Point:

The employer discovers what his dishonest manager does and commends him for his shrewdness. You see, the manager would have generated a lot of ill will if he came back after the manager and reinstalled all the debt that had been forgiven. He might have an uprising or riot on his hands if he did that. So, he had to go with the flow. He couldn’t make waves. 

Point:

Jesus’ remark is that those of the world (“the sons of this [world]”) give more foresight to their future, they are more shrewd in their dealings with people than are God’s children (“the sons of light”). God’s children should be shrewd with possessions by being generous. Such acts show charity and foresight.

He also commended the dishonest manager for his commitment. You might thing that Jesus is saying that it is good to make friends by unrighteousness wealth. That is not at all what He is saying. Jesus is commenting on this man’s commitment to survive in the world. He would take any necessary step to ensure that he would have a roof over his head and food in his belly. 

Jesus is commenting saying that if “children of light” or His followers would show the same sort of commitment to the Kingdom of God, they would be able to achieve great and mighty works. 

Point:

So, what sort of investments are you and I making? What is our level of commitment to God?

Illustration:

When the explorer, Cortez, landed in Mexico with his 500 men, he did a wise thing; he burned the ships. His men realized that they must be committed to staying and to succeeding here because there was no turning back. This dishonest manager was committed to his way of living, even if it was dishonest. 

As believers, are there any ships that we need to burn? Any ships that may need to be removed so that we can functionally live for Christ? A habit that needs destroying. A relationship that is toxic. Anything that might hold us back from doing God’s will. 

Psalm 37:5 ESV

Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.

4 Points From The Manager’s Problem

I. The Indiscretion vs. 1-2

II. The Idea vs. 3-7

III. The Investment vs. 8-9

IV. The Implications vs. 10-13

Luke 16:10-13 ESV

[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."

Point:

So what can we take away from today’s parable? What is Jesus trying to communicate?

A. Be Faithful

Point:

Jesus said in verse 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.”

Illustration:

Sometimes people say that they would give more to God’s work if they had more money to give. But that is not always so.

Dr. D. James Kennedy told a story of a man who came to Peter Marshall, former chaplain of the United States Senate, with a concern about tithing. He said: “I have a problem. I have been tithing for some time. It wasn’t too bad when I was making $20,000 a year. I could afford to give the $2,000. But you see, now I am making $500,000, and there is just no way I can afford to give away $50,000 a year.”

Dr. Marshall reflected on this wealthy man’s dilemma but gave no advice. He simply said: “Yes, sir. I see that you do have a problem. I think we ought to pray about it. Is that alright?”

The man agreed, so Dr. Marshall bowed his head and prayed with boldness and authority. “Dear Lord, this man has a problem, and I pray that you will help him. Lord, reduce his salary back to the place where he can afford to tithe.”

Point:

You see friends, faithfulness is a central characteristic of God Himself. So, when we are a faithful people, we look like God. 

Proverbs 28:20 ESV

A faithful man will abound with blessings, but whoever hastens to be rich will not go unpunished

B. Be Generous

Point:

Did you know that Christians who attend church are generally more generous than people who do not attend church? It’s true. 

Illustration:

Generous Christians: The average amount of charitable gifts donated in ‘00 by households in which people regularly attend religious services was $2,151, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy. The average donated by those who do not attend religious services regularly was $964.

Be a generous giver. Give to church. Also, give to other agencies and charities. Give what you can give. Do not feel that you should give under compulsion. Give because of what the Holy Spirit is generating in you to give. 

Acts 20:35 ESV

In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

C. Serve God...Not Money

Point:

Jesus said in verse 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.”

There is no middle ground here. The note in the ESV Study Bible puts it well, “Jesus does not say ‘should not serve’ but ‘cannot serve.’ ”

We struggle with money because there is a sense in which it is necessary for life and wellbeing. But, money is so alluring and enticing, and if we do not learn how to master our money, it will become our master.

So, let us serve one master, and let that master be God.

Colossians 3:24 ESV

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

Go The Jesus Way...TODAY!