Blessed To Be A Blessing
July 28th Luke 16:1-18 (NKJV)
The Parable of the Unjust Steward
16 He also said to His disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was [a]wasting his goods.
2 So he called him and said to him,
‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.’
3 “Then
the steward said within himself, ‘What shall I do? For my master is
taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg. 4 I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.’
5 “So he called every one of his master’s debtors to him, and said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
6 And he said, ‘A hundred [b]measures of oil.’ So he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’
7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ So he said, ‘A hundred [c]measures of wheat.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’
8 So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.
9 “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous [d]mammon, that when [e]you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home.
10 He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. 11 Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
12 And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own?
13 “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”
The Law, the Prophets, and the Kingdom
14 Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they [f]derided Him. 15 And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.16 “The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it.
17 And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one [g]tittle of the law to fail.
18 “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced from her husband commits adultery.
Footnotes:
- Luke 16:1 squandering
- Luke 16:6 Gr. batos, same as Heb. bath; 8 or 9 gallons each
- Luke 16:7 Gr. koros, same as Heb. kor; 10 or 12 bushels each
- Luke 16:9 Lit., in Aram., wealth
- Luke 16:9 NU it fails
- Luke 16:14 Lit. turned up their nose at
- Luke 16:17 The smallest stroke in a Heb. letter
LUKE 16:1-18
The unjust
steward was covetous. He had not been faithful to his master or to his
master's debtors. He had wasted his master's goods on himself. When
found out, his self-serving nature considered the options, and decided
there had to be a change. He decided to use his lord's money to make
friends so that when he was fired he would have someone to help him.
His master was apparently wealthy enough that he didn't take offense at the steward's discounting of the debts owed to him, but rather he commended the steward. He didn't commend his dishonest ways, but he was commending the fact that he had finally used his lord's money to plan for the future instead of wasting it on himself. Although the steward was motivated by what he would ultimately gain, there was prudence in his actions. This was lacking before.
In this sense, the children of this world (lost men) are wiser than the children of light (born again men) because they plan for the temporal future.
Jesus is telling us to use money (the unrighteous mammon) to make to ourselves friends that would receive us into 'everlasting' habitations. The use of the word 'everlasting' denotes that Jesus is now talking about our eternal future. The people who have been saved and blessed by our investments in the kingdom of God will literally receive us into our everlasting home when we pass on to be with the Lord.
Our material possessions have been given to us by God so that we are actually stewards of His resources. The Lord gave us this wealth to establish His covenant on this earth - not so that we could consume it upon our own lusts.
- You have been blessed to be a blessing!
His master was apparently wealthy enough that he didn't take offense at the steward's discounting of the debts owed to him, but rather he commended the steward. He didn't commend his dishonest ways, but he was commending the fact that he had finally used his lord's money to plan for the future instead of wasting it on himself. Although the steward was motivated by what he would ultimately gain, there was prudence in his actions. This was lacking before.
In this sense, the children of this world (lost men) are wiser than the children of light (born again men) because they plan for the temporal future.
Jesus is telling us to use money (the unrighteous mammon) to make to ourselves friends that would receive us into 'everlasting' habitations. The use of the word 'everlasting' denotes that Jesus is now talking about our eternal future. The people who have been saved and blessed by our investments in the kingdom of God will literally receive us into our everlasting home when we pass on to be with the Lord.
Our material possessions have been given to us by God so that we are actually stewards of His resources. The Lord gave us this wealth to establish His covenant on this earth - not so that we could consume it upon our own lusts.
- You have been blessed to be a blessing!
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