Photo by Monica Saavedra on Unsplash

Dear Friends in Christ,

Try as we might, it’s hard not to think of money. Try it. My guess is, unless you’re asleep, it’s hard to go an hour without thinking about it. I was talking to someone the other day about something completely different. However, before too long money came up. In this case a lack of it and how it seemed everything she needed, and didn’t have, required money. Money can and does exert a lot of influence on us – especially considering it’s a lifeless and, often, actually worthless object … after all there isn’t five dollars’ worth of paper and ink on a “five spot” … is there?

Jesus wasn’t much different with respect to how often He talked about money. Bible scholar John MacArthur observed Jesus told around 40 parables … and about a third of them dealt with money in some way. Jesus’ points of emphasis centered on what He knew would be potential pitfalls for His people – including the proper use of money.

One of Jesus’ more confusing parables is the Parable of the Dishonest Manager (Luke 16:1-13). If one doesn’t understand the context for the story, it seems as though Jesus is condoning dishonesty and using money to get ahead.

In Jesus’ day managers represented their master’s interests to the master’s debtors … often people who leased his fields for a predetermined sum. As such, the debtors trusted that what the manager said came directly from the master himself. In this parable, the master finds out the manager has been mishandling his resources. However, rather than throwing him in jail, the master shows mercy by simply going to let him go. Trusting the master’s mercy, the manager looks to solve his long-term problem by forgiving a portion of each debtors’ bill … hoping they would believe he himself convinced the master to reduce the debt. In this way, the manager used his master’s resources and reputation of mercy to secure his future. The master, true to his merciful character, accepts the new accounting … he also praises the manager for his cleverness in using what the master made available to him … the record of debts and his mercy … to secure his place in the future.

Jesus teaches using a standard Hebrew technique called “from lesser to greater.” Essentially, “If the master shows this mercy to his manager, how much more mercy will God in heaven display to those who have faith in His promises.” Jesus teaches His disciples, including you and me, that our Father in heaven has given us everything we have, including money, to manage on His behalf. He knows we might misuse money on our own selfish desires. Yet, He has mercy … forgiving us. He desires that we use money he’s given us, not only for our own satisfaction, but also to show His love and mercy to others. As we do, they’ll see the same mercy … and come to faith as we have. Letting our use of money be guided by faith, demonstrates our trust in our merciful Father and His promises of forgiveness and eternal life through His Son. This is a purposeful use of the riches God has given to each of us in accord with His will.

                                                                        In Christ’s Love,

                                                                        Pastor Jim