Faithful

Faithful

Reading: Ezra 5-6; Psalm 138; Luke 16 9 Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your earthly possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home. 10 “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. 11 And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? 12 And if you are not faithful with other people’s things, why should you be trusted with things of your own? (Luke 16:9-12 NLT)

Jesus tells a detailed story in Luke 16:1-8 about a dishonest manager, who, upon learning that he was about to be fired, used his final days on the job to win favor with his master’s debtors at the master’s expense. At first glance, this story, told here to the wealthy Pharisees, seems to be an anomaly. Jesus seems to be approving dishonesty. It’s almost as if he’s saying, “Look out for yourself. Get all you can, any way you can!” He’s not saying that. But he uses the story to make a couple of very clear points about two very important issues. These are the things that I see for me in this story:
• Be generous with what you have – your own or that which you are responsible for. Generosity is expansive as well as expensive!
• If I use material resources in a generous, wise, and trustworthy way, God will reward that with true riches – things of eternal value. Use what I have to benefit others and not just myself.
• Faithfulness is a character issue. If you’re faithful in little things you’ll be faithful in the most important things. So be faithful.
• If I’m a faithful and trustworthy manager – servant, then God may bless me with something of my own. So be faithful. Worth saying again! Be faithful! Does this Jesus story or its application call for change or adjustment in how you’re using your “Worldly Resources?” The eternal results and reward make it worth the effort and the adjustment, friends. That’s just how I see it. Prayer: Father, I ask for a generous heart and a wise mind. May I be both generous and faithful. Help me to give generously and graciously. Help me to manage well and wisely. Bless me, I pray, and let your blessing flow through me to others. Amen.