Guest speaker Rev. Jeff Walsh

Have you ever gone to a carnival such as Mint Hill Madness and bought tickets for the rides? Do you plan how to maximize your time and your tickets on the things that look most fun? Sometimes we treat life the same way: how can I use my money and resources to maximize my own enjoyment of life? When we become Christians, God reorients our lives to serving Him rather than ourselves. Following Jesus means our money follows Him too, and Jesus spoke more often about our finances than probably any other subject.

The Parable of the Dishonest Manager

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. 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.’ 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. I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ 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.’ 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. 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” (vv. 1-9 ESV).

At face value, this parable may seem rather strange. Is Jesus condoning corruption or a mercenary attitude? When reading any of the parables, we need to keep in mind that they usually have one single point and the details of the story are tangential and not doctrinal. This parable is a message about having an investment mindset—invest in what is truly enduring.

The manager’s plan is meant to benefit him and provide him with resources when he is unemployed. It is a selfish and corrupt plan, but it is shrewd. His boss recognizes and praises his cunningness. Jesus isn’t condoning dishonest activity here. What He is saying is to use earthly wealth for eternal purposes and value. If even those who are worldly can invest in their future wellbeing, how much more can we who know what really matters?

How do we go about this? We invite Jesus into our thoughts and decisions on financial matters as the Lord over them. We can bring our concerns to God in prayer, consider what Scripture has to say about money and priorities, and talk to mature Christians who may have gained wisdom through their experience and their knowledge of the Bible.

Wise use of our resources according to Scripture might look like:

• Working to the best of your ability (Col. 3:23-24).
• Planning how to care for aging parents (1 Tim. 5:3-16).
• Making tithing a non-negotiable part of your budget (Mal. 3:10).
• Helping those in need (1 John 3:17).

Faithfulness in the Use of Money

“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. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?” (vv. 10-12).

Faithful use of earthly money reflects a heart that is being prepared for heavenly treasure. Some might be inclined to say “If I had money I would give it,” or “If I won the lottery I would tithe to the church.” But Jesus says that faithfulness is not a matter of how much we own. We are to be faithful to God with our money even if we have very little. If you’re not faithful to God with your earthly resources, God won’t entrust you with heavenly resources. We are all stewards, not owners, of earthly things. We brought nothing into the world and we will take nothing out of the world.

Faithfulness is a matter of the heart. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt. 6:21). As you allow God to shape your heart in the use of money, He will be preparing your heart to receive true riches in the age to come.

Undivided Hearts

“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” (v. 13).

In our culture we may not think in terms of having a master. We think more about our individual rights to do what we want with our lives and money. But Jesus indicates that if you have a divided heart, you have divided loyalties. It is impossible to give equal priority to both God and money. One or the other will always win out. God declares to His people:

“I am the Lord; that is My name; My glory I give to no other” (Isaiah 42:8).

“And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezek. 36:26).

God invites us to commit all that we have to Him, because what we do now really matters for eternity. We are to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, strength, money, and possessions.

“Teach me Your way, O Lord, and I will walk in Your truth; give me an undivided heart that I may fear Your name” (Psalm 86:11 NIV).

Discussion Questions

1) Is tithing a routine part of your budget? Why or why not? How hard would it be for you to change your financial priorities?

2) What else can we learn from Jesus’ other teachings about money? Consider Matt. 6:1-4; Matt. 25:14-30; Mark 12:13-17; Mark 12:41-44.

3) The Apostle Paul collected an offering for Jerusalem: 1 Cor. 16:1-2; 2 Cor. 8:1-15; 2 Cor. 9:1-15. How might this be a model for us as individuals and as a church to supply those who are in need?