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A WISE AND FAITHFUL MANAGER

Luke 16:1-18

Key Verse:16:9  “I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.”

  Last week, through the parable of the lost son, Jesus taught us the Heavenly Father’s forgiving love and heart desire for sinners to come back to him. Before we came to know Christ Jesus, we were like the younger son who left his father’s house and squandered all his wealth in wild living. After hitting rock bottom, we came back to our senses, repented and returned to God. By his great mercy and forgiving love, God accepted all of us just as we are and made us his own sons and daughters. We are moved by God’s marvelous forgiving love and his heart desire for sinner’s return to his kingdom.  Indeed, the love of God is far greater than our tongue or pen can ever tell; it goes beyond the higher star; and reaches to the lowest hell.

After returning to our father’s house, we are apt to become like the older son who lost joy and gratitude in his father’s house. We become self-righteous, ungrateful, and judgmental of others. Some lose their joy in serving the Lord and their relationship with God becomes superficial. Now it is time for us to come back to our senses and restore our identity as heirs and co-heirs with Christ Jesus. It is time to participate in God’s love and share his joy for sinners’ repentance and entrance into the kingdom of God. Amen.

In today’s passage Jesus tells more parables to his disciples. These parables look unrelated to each other, but share a common point - Jesus wants his disciples to be wise and faithful mangers. God wants us to use our lives for advancing his kingdom. Let us ask for God’s mercy for deep understanding about Jesus’ teaching. Amen.

First, the parable of the shrewd manager (1-8).  Three qualifications are required in order for us to become great servants of God and spiritual leaders. We should be great Bible scholars and Bible teachers who have scholarly attitudes toward the word of God and are always ready to give answers to those who ask questions about the Scripture. We should be good shepherds to God’s flock and share his compassion, since if we only accumulate Bible knowledge without shepherd hearts we will become no greater than Pharisees. Lastly, in order to become great servants of God, we should learn how to become good stewards of our lives and for God’s ministry - in other words, be good and wise managers.

The disciples of Jesus, as we know, were men of heart. They loved Jesus and followed him right away whenever he called them. They shared Jesus’ compassion and vision. Nevertheless, they did not know how to manage their lives for their future and for God’s ministry. They lacked management skills. So Jesus told them the parable of the shrewd manager. Look at verses 1,2. “Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.” A manager is one who is entrusted to handle and care for his master or owner’s properties or business.  Generally a manager has rights and authority to use his master’s possessions for the sake of his master. In this parable, we are not sure how this manager wasted his master’s possessions. He might have squandered them in wild living like the prodigal son. He might have used them for his selfish purposes, or lost money due to his negligence. For any reason, this manager was accused and was going to lose his job soon. 

How did this manager deal with the crisis? Look at verse 3. “The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’ m ashamed to beg…”  This manager did not become angry or emotional in this crisis like the older son in the previous parable. He was not frustrated, either. Instead, he analyzed his situation by saying, “What shall I do now?” His job as a manager might be a desk job operating computers or ordering things by phone. So he was not strong enough to work as a helper in a construction company. His pride would not allow him to beg for help from his friends, either. What then did he do? Look at verse 4. “I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses. So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ “Eight hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied. “The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly and make it four hundred. “Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?” “A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied. “He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.” The strategy was to reduce the amount of the debts so that the manager could win the debtors’ hearts and prepare for his future. Humanly speaking, this manager was dishonest. He abused his position as manager and mishandled his master’s possession again for his selfish purpose. 

How was the master’s response to the manager’s behavior? Look at verse 8a. “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly…” To our surprise, the master commended the manager not because of his dishonest behavior, but because of his shrewd act. The manager was commended because he made things work out in the impossible situation.   When he confronted the crisis, he did not give up. He made every effort to make things work out. First, he analyzed the situation. Next, he found what he could do in the given situation.  He started with “What shall I do now?” and ended with “I know what I’ll do.” Then, he put his decision into action. He did his best to prepare for his future. Humanly speaking, he was dishonest and selfish. But, to the eyes of the master, he was shrewd. He knew how to overcome the problems and how to make things work out.

In the parable of the prodigal son, the younger son squandered all his wealth in wild living and became a hungry homeless person. He hit bottom in his life. What would you do if you were in his situation? Many people would despair and end their lives in misery. However, the younger son knew what he had to do. He might have said on the floor of the pigs’ pen, “What shall I do now” Then, he answered, “I know what I’ll do. I’ll go back to my father’s house.” The son analyzed the situation and found a way to make things work out. He decided to go back to his father’s house.

Like the manager and like the younger son, we must not despair because of our failures or mistakes. We must repent and find a way to solve our present crises and problems. Don’t think it is too late. It is never too late to start again. Like the shrewd manager, we must learn how to make impossible things possible. First, analyze your situation. Next, find a way to make things work out. Then, put them into action. Don’t be afraid of failure. I do not respect any businessman except Mr. Chung, the founder of Hyundai Corp. He was a wise manager for his family and for his company. Once he said, “I don’t fear failure. This is because I have learned more lessons from failure than success. I had joy when I became successful. However, I experience more joy when I solve problems one by one.”

In the beginning God created the world and man and appointed men to be stewards and managers for his created world. As Jesus’ disciples, God appointed each of us to be a manager for our life, time, money, health, family, job, relationships, knowledge, ability, talents and so on, for the glory of God. Let us pray that God may make each of us a good and wise manager for all his blessings. Those who fail in managing these things cannot become spiritual leaders.  

Look at verses 8b,9. “…For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.” In these verses, Jesus teaches his disciples how to use their lives on this earth. Indeed, the people of the world may be wiser than the children of God in making money or running businesses. However, the children of God know how to use their lives for eternal life. Children of God know how to use their money for the kingdom of God and for true riches. Money comes in and go out. However, whatever we invest for God’s kingdom in heaven will never disappear, but will last forever with a high interest rate. One missionary hired a young man. The missionary offered a job to him and taught him the Bible. Whether the missionary got immediate fruits from him or not, his love and effort for one soul will never be in vain. He is one who uses worldly wealth to gain friends. May God raise many wise and sacrificial Bible teachers and shepherds among us and through us. Amen.

Second, be a faithful and trustworthy manager. (10-15)  Now, another qualification to be a great servant of God is faithfulness. Look at verses 10-12. “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. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?” Some people want to become great men and women all at once without taking any responsibility. However, this is nothing but an illusion. No one can be great all at once from the beginning. Abraham Lincoln, the 16^th President of United States of America, used to work as a general store clerk. One evening he was counting the money in the drawers after closing and found that he was a few cents over what should have been in the drawer. He realized that he had accidentally short-changed a customer earlier that day. He could have put the money in his pocket since it was just a few cents, and no one would know about it. However, Mr. Lincoln took it all and walked a long distance to return the money to the customer. When Abraham Lincoln was honest in dealing with a few cents, he could run a government as an honest president.  Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little with also be dishonest with much. Faithfulness is not determined by the amount entrusted but by the character of the person who uses it. Do not cheat your conscience for few cents. Do not neglect a daily prayer meeting, writing a testimony, and one to one Bible study. They may be small things to your eyes. However, God will entrust greater work to those who are faithful with small things. There are many able and smart people in this world. However, as Bible history proves, God has used faithful people rather than able people. Faithful men are responsible men. Joseph in the Old Testament was a faithful manager. Indeed, he was a responsible man. He was faithful and loyal to his master wherever he went. He was faithful to Potiphar and to King Pharaoh. Above all, he was faithful and loyal to God.  Eventually God used him to save many lives and to make his family a great nation.

Verse 13 teaches his disciples again how to be faithful servants of God. Look at verse 13. “No servant can serve two masters. 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 Money.” Jesus never equated God with anything else in the Bible except Money. Indeed, money steals people’s hearts and leads them astray from their faith (1Ti 6:10) In dealing with money, his disciples must learn how to manage it. They should show their loyalty to God in any and all circumstances, in times of prosperity and in times of adversity. God gave each of us only one heart to serve Him. Deuteronomy 6:4,5 say, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”  A faithful manager is one whose heart is not stolen by things of the world, but is loyal to his master to the end. May God help us to be wise and faithful managers. Amen.

Third, Jesus Christ is a wise and faithful manager. (14-18) Now Jesus turned from his disciples to the Pharisees and taught them to repent. Look at verse 15. “He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.” At that time Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem to die as the Lamb of God for the sins of the world. He had very little time to stay on this earth. When he thought about the religious leaders who were corrupted with money and power, Jesus’ heart was broken. Jesus must have asked himself , “What shall I do now in this situation?” Jesus did not give up or despair. He did what he could do. He continually and repeatedly taught the word of God and preached the good news of the kingdom of God.

  In verses 16,17 Jesus taught the Pharisees that he himself is the Promised Messiah and that John the Baptist is the last prophet who proclaimed the coming of the Messiah. Look at verse 16. “The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached and everyone is forcing his way into it.”  Jesus said in Matthew 11:12, “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.” The kingdom of God is not given to those who are not interested in it. The kingdom of God is given to those who are earnestly, actively, and intensively seeking it. Jesus wants his disciples to use their lives for advancing his kingdom. Jesus wants each of us to become good, wise and faithful managers for our lives, time, money, relationships, and whatever is needed for advancing his kingdom. Jesus himself gave a good example of this. To his last moment on earth, he taught the kingdom of God. Even on the cross, he saved one soul who was hanging on a tree next to him. (Lk 23:43). Ask yourself. “What shall I do now?” And answer “Now I know what I’ll do.” May God bless you when you put what you planned into practice. Amen.

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