Invest in what matters. Direct your money to future, eternity-oriented purposes. God desires us to use our resources wisely and direct them towards opportunities that meets the needs around us. (Luke 16:1-14)

Transcript

OPENER

In the final week of our “Jesus Talks Money” series, we tackle one of Jesus’ most difficult parables.

Did you find this parable confusing? Did Jesus really just commend a dishonest person? What in the world does this all mean?

If you’re ready to check out, don’t give up yet. The Holy Spirit and I are here to help you make sense of it all. By the end of our time together, you'll be able to see the incredible gift that Jesus is offering you through this passage. Let's get started.

3 REASONS WHY THIS PARABLE IS CONFUSING

Why is this passage so confusing? Here are 3 reasons:

1. This parable is not meant to be imitated.

In Jesus' parables, there's usually a character we should imitate and one we shouldn't. These characters are often portrayed as faithful and unfaithful, wise and foolish, merciful and unmerciful, righteous and wicked.

However, in this particular parable, there's only a rich man and a dishonest manager, and neither of them appears to be acting in a godly manner.

This parable is not meant to be imitated. Instead, it serves as an illustration to contrast "people of the world" and "people of the light." More on that later.

2. The character prototypes are different than what we’re used to.

This might be the most difficult part. In this series, we’ve read several “wealthy man and servant” parables, and in all of them, the roles were the same. The wealthy man represented God or Jesus, and the servant or manager represented us.

That’s not the case here. We have no evidence to indicate that the rich man represents Jesus or God. And the manager is described as wasteful and dishonest. So, if we’re the manager, are we supposed to be wasteful and dishonest? That doesn’t make sense.

3. Jesus appears to praise dishonesty.

Even the moral of the story doesn’t seem to be clear. Is Jesus praising the manager who, out of self-interest, cheated his boss out of money so that he could make friends? What exactly was Jesus praising?

So, if you’re a little confused, you have good reason to be. But God’s Word is useful, and the Holy Spirit reveals, so let’s not be scared by a little confusion. God’s got us.

UNDERSTANDING THE PASSAGE

So, let’s talk about this passage. Here’s a summary of the three main things Jesus is saying in this passage.

Here’s an example of a non-Christian who was very smart to use his position, influence, and money to secure a future for himself on earth, albeit through dishonest means. Why shouldn’t Christians use their position, influence, and money to secure a future for themselves and others in heaven?

God gives you position, influence, and money to use wisely for his kingdom. When you’re trustworthy with it, God gives you more.

When it comes to money, there’s the world’s way and God’s way. You can only do one; you can’t do both.

Does that make sense? I hope so. Let’s go through the text and see some of these themes developed. It begins with a parable, followed up by a lesson direct from the parable, and then a big-picture principle.

The Parable

A bad manager is about to be fired by his wealthy boss for wasting money. He knows that he’s too weak for manual labor and too proud to beg, so he hatches a plan to secure his future by at least having a place to live after he gets kicked out.

He goes to all the people who owe his master money and cuts their debt. BTW, that is a phenomenal way to make friends—cut people’s debt. If Wells Fargo told me that they were cutting my debt in half, they would instantly become my best friends. I would take Mr. Fargo out for bubble tea and maybe even ride in their stagecoach.

So, this manager was cheating his boss out of money to gain friends, so that when he was unemployed, he would call in his favors. He was looking out for himself and securing his future.

The master eventually found out but didn’t rebuke him, even though he still called him dishonest. In fact, the master praised him for being shrewd.

Here’s a good definition of shrewd that perfectly describes what the manager did.

“To be shrewd means to be astute, sharp-witted, and perceptive in practical matters… Shrewd people are adept at assessing situations, calculating risks, and maximizing their own advantages.” -ChatGPT

And that shrewdness is the key to understanding Jesus’ teaching that follows.

The Lesson

Next, Jesus moves to the lesson from this parable. He gives an observation and then a command. First the OBSERVATION:

8 For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.

The contrast here is between people of this world and the people of the light, in other words, between non-Christians and Christians.

And here, Jesus does something he rarely does… He praises worldly people—not for their dishonesty, but for their shrewdness, for being “astute, sharp-witted, and perceptive in practical matters.” And he implies the question: Why can’t my followers be as shrewd as the world?

Then he moves to the COMMAND:

9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

Here’s where we see the parallel Jesus is making:

• The dishonest manager used his position, influence, and money to secure a future for himself on earth

• You, too, should use your position, influence, and money to secure a future for yourself and others in heaven.

He elaborates with a theme about money that we’ve heard before:

10 “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 12 And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?

With these verses, Jesus busts all of our excuses for not being generous. Here’s how Christian author Randy Alcorn described it in his book Money, Possessions, & Eternity.

“Jesus implies that all of us are being continually tested in little things… This principle invalidates all of our ‘if onlys,’ such as, ‘If only I made more money, I’d help the poor,’ or, ‘If only I had a million dollars, then I’d give it to my church or missions.’ If I’m dishonest or selfish in my use of a few dollars, I would be dishonest or selfish in my use of a million dollars. The issue is not what I would do with a million dollars if I had it, but what I am doing with the hundred thousand, ten thousand, one thousand, one hundred, or ten dollars I do have. If we are not being faithful with what he has entrusted to us, why should he trust us with any more?” -Randy Alcorn

Stewardship starts small, with the little or the lot that you have right now.

The Big-Picture Principle

Then Jesus closes with a big-picture idea, including one of his most famous statements about money:

13 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

How does this connect with the rest of the passage? I’d like to propose two connections.

FIRST, it’s a warning against thinking that we’re supposed to act like the world when it comes to money. Remember that this parable is not meant to be imitated. The manager, with his lying and manipulation, is driven solely by self-interest. He was serving himself and his money. That’s the way of the world.

In contrast, people of light are meant to be different. We are meant to serve God, with everything else coming in second.

The SECOND connection is found in that little word “money.” That is the Aramaic word mammon. Some of you might recognize that word if you grew up in a church that used the King James Version.

That word is used three times in this passage.

• “Use worldly wealth to gain friends….”

• “If you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth….”

• “You cannot serve both God and money…”

These seem contradictory, but they’re not. The difference is who controls whom.

The first says, “use worldly wealth.” The second says, “handle worldly wealth.” In both cases, the money serves you. But the alternative is you serving the money. And that’s what Jesus is warning against.

Rather than controlling wealth, wealth is controlling you. Instead of being the master of your finances, you've become its slave.

APPLICATION

Let’s bring this home…

The message of this parable is that if you are a Christian, you should use whatever position, influence, and money you possess for God’s purposes and God’s kingdom. In fact, you should be shrewd—astute, sharp-witted, and perceptive in practical matters.

When it comes to the position, influence, and money that God has given you, are you smart, strategic, and generous? Or are you lazy, careless, and selfish?

Are you utilizing money as a tool for kingdom work, or have you become a tool for your money—to earn more, save more, spend more?

Are you making money decisions with heaven in mind or earth in mind?

You cannot serve two masters. As John Calvin, the famous reformer of the 1500s, wrote, “Where riches hold the dominion of the heart, God has lost his authority.”

So, what really has dominion in your heart—God or money?

REFLECTION

I want to give you a challenge based on this passage. You can pick one of three challenges for this week. Think of it as a spiritual side quest as you go about your week.

1. Give Challenge - Give money more generously. Specifically, give to people in need, situations that demonstrate love for others, or causes that align with God's values.

2. Priority Challenge - Reassess your priorities. If money (or anything else) is taking a central place in your life, make a conscious effort to reorient and prioritize God.

3. Trust Challenge - Trust God more deeply. If you have anxiety about finances, take steps to trust God more, believing that as you seek His kingdom first, your needs will be taken care of (Matt. 6:33).

I’ll give you a couple of minutes to pick one of those and think about what it could look like for you this week.