In the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost +
Christians can be lazy and dumb. Christians can be foolish and unwise. Not that we should be, not that believing in
Jesus is an excuse for us to be careless in life or anything like that – but
sometimes Christians can just live in a la-la land where we expect everyone to
be nice and to do what we want and we all love each other and isn’t it
wonderful. Blech. The world isn’t pretty all the time. Just because we find delight in it doesn’t
mean that everything is fine. Just
because we are Christians doesn’t mean there will be no trials, no sore spots,
no rough sailing for us. In fact, Christ
warns us that the world will hate us because of Him. And so, to help us prepare for what this life
on earth will hold for us, our Lord tells us the parable of the Dishonest
manager. Hear the Word of the Lord.
He
also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and
charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. And he called him and said to him, ‘What is
this that I hear about you? Turn in the
account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ Here’s the situation – there is the manager –
and he’s got a cushy job. It’s a good
gig. And he’s living out his life, when
disaster strikes. He gets fired. The rich man hears that the manager is doing
poorly, so the rich man cans him, fires him.
Note, the rich man doesn’t say, “Give me an account, explain what you’ve
done.” Nope. I’ve heard stuff, turn in your account, turn
in your books – you’re fired. Suddenly,
out of the blue, the manager is fired, going to be left on his down. Disaster has come – and we don’t know if he
deserves to be fired. He might have been
a fine manager, but jealous people wanted him gone. Or he might have been rotten and is simply
getting his comeuppance. Either
way. Disaster comes. How does the manager respond?
And
the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the
management away from me? I am not strong
enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg.
I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management,
people may receive me into their houses.’ There’s no denial here. There’s no –the sun will come out tomorrow-
from the manager. His life is ruined,
and he knows it. He’s realistic. He knows he’s going to be out of a job. He sees the implications of disaster and
realizes that in a bit, it will be too late to do anything. So he acts.
So, summoning his master’s
debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down
quickly and write fifty.’ Then he said
to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’
He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’
He said to him, ‘take your bill and write eighty.’ What does the manager do? He bilks the rich man, he steals from him –
sort of. Technically, the manager is
still the manager until he turns in the books – the accounts are his to oversee
as he pleases until then. What the
manager does is completely legal – the manager has every legal right, until the
books are no longer his, to erase debt.
It’s sleazy, it’s dishonest, but it is perfectly legal. And so, before he finally hands over his
books – the manager basically made himself a pension. He saw the hard times that were coming, he
saw his own lack, and decided that he would make a living off of the rich man.
And you would think that the rich man
would be livid, that he would be incensed, that he would be spitting
nails. Nope. The
master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. The rich man is impressed – that’s good
thinking. That’s foresight. The rich man looks and it and thinks, “Well,
I was going to fire him, it makes sense that he would look out for
himself. That was pretty smart of
him.” The manager didn’t panic; he
didn’t freak out – he kept a level head and got through the situation.
So why then, does Jesus tell us this parable? What are we to learn from it? For
the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation
than the sons of light.
Shrewd. To have understanding of
what is going on around you. To be
shrewd is to be realistic concerning disaster – to know that bad things are
coming and to prepare for them. This is
the wisdom that the dishonest manager has – he knows what situation he is in,
and he takes it into account. The sons
of this world, the people out there who don’t believe in God – they are shrewd
too. They see the world for the dog eat
dog rat race it is. They know that it is
cutthroat and harsh and mean and gritty – and they prepare for it. They are prepared to handle disaster when it
strikes, because they know it will strike them.
This is the danger to Christians – this is why Jesus
speaks this parable. We can be so
foolish and unaware sometimes. We can
get this false idea that simply because we are Christians disaster won’t hit
us. If our faith is just strong enough –
nothing bad will happen. You guys have
heard people say that. If you believe
enough, your loved one will get better.
If you pray hard enough, everything will work out. That’s foolish. Christ says “Pick up your cross and follow
me,” not pick up your ample checkbook.
How did the world treat our Lord?
They mocked Him, they whipped Him, they crucified Him. Why should you expect different in this life,
O Christian? Satan has designed your
fall. He wants you to stumble. If you can’t be distracted by wealth, maybe
problems will shake your faith.
And this, sadly, is what happens when we base our
faith on improper things, when our faith looks to success – if you are a
Christian you will have money and power and wealth and everything will work
out. Really? Is that the sign that God loves you? Then why does our Lord say, “Blessed are the
poor, blessed are the meek”? The thing
is, once Satan gets you thinking that way, once Satan gets you thinking that
God makes the people He loves rich – if financial disaster comes – your faith
is not built upon Christ but upon the stuff that just vanished. Or what about basing your faith on your
emotions? I want to feel God, I want joy
joy happy happy feelings. Does that mean
if you are sad, is that a sign that God doesn’t love you anymore? Does that mean if tragedy strikes and you
mourn, you weep, that God doesn’t love you?
Satan would have you think that – our Lord says, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” God’s love for you isn’t based upon your feelings. Whether you are happy or sad, does that
change the fact that God loves you? If
you are shaken, if you are devastated in your life, does that change the fact
that Christ Jesus died for you? Not in
the slightest – but Satan wants your focus, wants your attention anywhere but
Christ. If you pay attention to stuff,
Satan rejoices – because when that stuff goes away, Satan has you. Satan loves it when you rely on your emotions
– because emotions change, we get down, and we start turning in on ourselves
and our feelings and our problems, and we forget the Truth – we forget Christ,
and our faith is shaken.
This is not what Christ Jesus wants
for you. This is why Jesus wants you to
be wise – this is why Jesus gives us this example. Know that bad things will come in this
life. You are still in the world, and so
things will go poorly. There will be bad
days. There will be disaster. Relationships and friendships will fall
apart. Loved ones will die. Jesus knows this, and He wants you to get through
it. This is why Jesus teaches us not to
love the things of the world – so that when the world takes them away, we
aren’t devastated. He doesn’t want us to
fall apart.
And
I tell you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous wealth so that when it
fails they may receive you into the eternal dwelling. What does this mean? Don’t love your stuff – don’t love the things
of this life – give it away. Share with
folks, don’t hold on to everything – why?
Because it will fail. The things
of this world will fail – and if your focus, if your hopes are tied to it you
will fail as well. Rather, have your
eyes upon the eternal, have your eyes upon Christ. He will never fail. Whether the bills are paid or whether they
aren’t – that is true, the Cross is true.
Jesus has died for your sins.
That’s where you live. Whether
you are happy or sad, You have been baptized, Christ has claimed you as His
own, has publicly declared that you are His forgiven, redeemed, and precious
child – and a bad day, a horrible day doesn’t change that. This is why we always look to Christ, this is
why we hear Jesus, Jesus, Jesus died for me, over and over here. This is why we receive His forgiveness each
week. Because Christ puts our eyes where
they ought to be – on Him. That way,
when the trials of life come, we hold our ground; this is how He keeps our feet
from slipping, and how He keeps us steadfast.
We live off the bounty of the master, freely given to us.
Be wise Christians, be shrewd. Know that bad things will happen. Know that disasters will pop up – and don’t
pretend otherwise. But know this – that
no matter what happens, Christ Jesus has died for your sins, and never let
anything or anyone tell you otherwise.
This is the wisdom God wishes you to have, that you see Him and His
forgiveness at all times, no matter what trials you face. In the Name of the Father and of the Son and
of the Holy Ghost + Amen.