S -Luke 16:1-13 (NIV)
The Parable of the Shrewd Manager
16 Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. 2 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.’
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— 4 I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’
5 “So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
6 “‘Nine hundred gallons[a] of olive oil,’ he replied.
“The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.’
7 “Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’
“‘A thousand bushels[b] of wheat,’ he replied.
“He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’
8 “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. 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.
10 “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. 11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 12 And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?
13 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
O - My observation is to learn the lessons of this rejected manager who was not stewarding well his assets. It became clear to the manager that he was gonna get laid off from his job. Now the manager was a shrewd man and he went to his masters debtors and forgave them all a portion of his death so that when he left his job he would have people who appreciate the debt he forgave them. Then the master commends him for being shrewd with what was not him, and he will find favor with these people who are not children of God. These people who aren't children of the light follow him but reject the light. Then he wraps it all up sharing what the parables was saying. Jesus told them that no one can serve both God and money.
A - The application for me is to look at how I am stewarding my money. Right now I work hard at making money to support my family, and after making the money I tithe out of my abundance and leave it to the organizations I donate to steward the money. God is telling me that while that meets the letter of the law but misses in the heart of the law. I sense I am to tithe out of an expected abundance and be actively involved in its usage for Kingdom purposes. I need to go and look at where I am contributing to a organization but I am not actively involved, and I need to volunteer my time and money to them based on their need and my willingness to get involved.
P - Dear heavenly Father, thank you for your revelation on this parable. I repent and turn back to you lord because I am not stewarding the resources you have provided me to bless others but rather I delegated the blessing to another organization. Please Lord show me your ways to steward the resources you have given me. I pray all this in Jesus' name Amen.
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