The Shrewd Manager
We are called to account for the way we manage God’s resources.
KEY VERSES
Luke 16:1-3 (NASB)
1 Now He was also saying to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and this manager was reported to him as squandering his possessions. 2 And he summoned him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an accounting of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ 3 And the manager said to himself, ‘What am I to do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig; I am ashamed to beg.’” 4 I know what I will do, so that when I am removed from the management people will welcome me into their homes.’ 5 And he summoned each one of his master’s debtors, and he began saying to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 And he said, ‘A hundred jugs of oil.’ And 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?’ And he said, ‘A hundred kors of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ 8 And his master complimented the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of light. 9 And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it is all gone, they will receive you into the eternal dwellings.
Luke 10:10-13 (NASB)
10 “The one who is faithful in a very little thing is also faithful in much; and the one who is unrighteous in a very little thing is also unrighteous in much. 11 Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true wealth to you? 12 And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? 13 No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
UNDERSTANDING
Name a time in your life when you have been held accountable by an outside authority (i.e. a question from the dentist, a teacher, a parent, your boss, the IRS, etc.).
How do you feel and/or respond to direct questions that are meant to reveal the truth about you?
Regarding issues related to personal finance, what is a question you don’t believe anyone has the right to ask you? What is a question that would be helpful for believers to ask each other about money? Explain.
Jesus’s disciples had left everything to follow Him. Is it surprising to you that Jesus felt it necessary to tell them this parable about mismanaging God’s resources? Explain.
Pastor Jeff said about verse 1, “This verse is a mirror. It is a reflection of all of us, because we are all in this verse.” How are you a manager of God’s resources?
All of us can relate to squandering our possessions, so the question in verse 3 is key. What are some ways we can answer the question, “What am I to do?” so that we don’t continue to live that way?
Why did the master commend the manager?
How would you define “shrewd”? When is shrewdness a negative quality? How is it a positive quality in this parable?
Pastor Jeff explained it this way, “We are to use our present opportunities to prepare for the world to come. We are wise if we do and foolish if we don’t.” What are some ways you can use God’s resources to prepare for the world to come?
Sometimes people reason that they will give more generously when they have more to give. What do Jesus’s words here teach you about that type of thinking?
What does this passage teach you about the biblical worldview? How is that different than the worldview of our culture?
If you can’t serve both God and money, what implication does that have for the way you use it?
APPLICATION
Pastor Jeff gave two steps of application in this week’s sermon. First, he said, “I want you to go home and think about what I have said. Go back and read the text for yourself. Evaluate Jesus’s words. Decide for yourself if I, as your pastor, was completely honest and forthright with you.” What thoughts and/or questions do you have from this week’s text and message?
Second, he said he wants us to do a checkbook checkup, taking a blank piece of paper and drawing a line down the middle. On the left side, write “This World” as the heading, and on the right side, “Eternity.” Study your spending over the last 30 days, and assign each transaction to either the left or the right column. When you do this, what do you imagine you will discover? What are you to do in response?
WANT TO DIVE DEEPER?
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GIVING
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