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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 16:5-9 (The Message)
‘”Then he went at it. One after another, he called in the people who were in debt to his master. He said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ “He replied, ‘A hundred jugs of olive oil.’ “The manager said, ‘Here, take your bill, sit down here—quick now—write fifty.’ “To the next he said, ‘And you, what do you owe?’ “He answered, ‘A hundred sacks of wheat.’ “He said, ‘Take your bill, write in eighty.’ “Now here’s a surprise: The master praised the crooked manager! And why? Because he knew how to look after himself. Streetwise people are smarter in this regard than law-abiding citizens. They are on constant alert, looking for angles, surviving by their wits. I want you to be smart in the same way—but for what is right—using every adversity to stimulate you to creative survival, to concentrate your attention on the bare essentials, so you’ll live, really live, and not complacently just get by on good behaviour.”’
On Monday, we read that this man was ‘going to be fired’. His ‘master’ had asked him to get a report together, to provide a complete audit of his business affairs prior to him leaving employment.
On hearing the devastating news, the man took some time out to reflect on his situation and to devise a plan on how best to proceed with his life. Today, we’re going to look a little deeper at what that plan involved and its implications for us as Christians living in a modern world.
Just like my story yesterday, this man decided to ‘look after his customers’ in order for them to treat him well in the days ahead. He figured that if he could get on the right side of the people, then he would not lack for any favours when he really needed them. He was faced with financial difficulty and needed as much help as he could get. His plan was simple but incredibly effective.
“Then he went at it”. Notice that the first point here is that the plan was no good if it stayed in the man’s head or written on paper. The plan had to be put into operation. There have been so many instances in my life where I’ve come up with great ideas and fantastic plans but have, on just as many times, failed to do anything about them. I moved from plan A to plan B, to plan C and so on without ever putting any of them into action. As a result, I achieved nothing. The old saying is that ‘If we fail to plan, we plan to fail’, however, it is of equal importance to put the plan into operation.
There has been much discussion and dispute as to the validity of this man’s plan. His plan was basically a dishonest one and would in fact, mean that his manager was being ‘robbed’ of what was rightfully owed to him. In verse 8 we read ‘Now here’s a surprise: The master praised the crooked manager’. Many people have a lot of issues with this, but please note that the master wasn’t commending him for his dishonesty. He was not saying that it’s ok to be dishonest or to wilfully defraud anyone. The man was being praised for his wisdom.
I’m reminded of the story of the talents where various people are entrusted with differing amounts and are called to account for their investment actions. Every one of us is called to be wise with all that we’re given. This is a continuation of our theme from yesterday where I asked us to be wise in how we operated the gifts that God has graciously given. In a modern age of so much complexity and difficulty, I believe the Church is being called upon to be at its best. Jesus called His disciples to be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves. May we rise to that challenge and to all that it entails.
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