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This week we begin looking at Luke Chapter 16. Please read verses 1-15 every day this week and, if possible, use a different translation each day, asking God to open your eyes to fresh revelation from His Word.
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Luke 16:10-13 (NIV)
‘”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? “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.’
In previous devotions, I have mentioned the company for which I work and also briefly talked about our Chief Executive Officer. He is from Spain and whenever I see him, there seems to be a persona of self-confidence about him. He speaks well, (in various languages), always looks incredibly smart and there is just something about him that is ‘trustworthy’.
I have no doubt that he is a wealthy man and this is built upon a foundation of good solid economic understanding and practice. There is also no doubt that he practices what he preaches. Ultimately, he is responsible for his own salary but also for the livelihood of the many thousands of people employed by the company. He is able to not only manage his own finances, but also those of the company for which he is responsible.
I think the key to understanding this difficult parable is to define the two aspects that Jesus mentions in verse 12. He mentions ‘worldly wealth’ and ‘true riches’. We can further define these as being ‘someone else’s property’ and ‘your own property’.
Let me try to explain this further. I firmly believe that everything that we have is a gift from God. Our families, our friends and our financial security are all found within His Hands. All that we possess comes through Him and He allows everything we experience to be used for our good. “For we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him” Therefore, we can consider that nothing we have, actually belongs to us. It has been gifted to us to be used in the appropriate manner.
Earlier in the book of Luke, we heard Jesus tell the parable of the man who wanted to build bigger barns to receive the increased harvest that he was expecting. He was concerned with accumulating as much wealth as possible so that he could retire in comfort. It is into this context that Jesus says “You fool; this night your soul will be required of you”. His ‘possessions’ would mean little and only what was truly ‘his’ would be required.
We can and should plan for our earthly future, ensuring that financial needs are met for our families, however, Jesus is saying here that none of that actually belongs to us and that we should take greater care and plan even more meticulously for our ‘spiritual future’. How wise are we when it comes to things of a spiritual nature? There may be many people reading this who know the very latest currency rates and move money from account to account in order to take advantage of higher interest rates. The message for today is that we should take even greater care of the things that are actually our own – namely our spiritual being and existence. May we be wise in everything we do for the Saviour, and ensure that our spiritual development and growth is perfectly aligned with His will and His purpose for our lives.
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