Topic: The Investment of Stewardship [Tony Evans Ministry 2 March 2020]
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In His Presence: No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth (Luke 16:13).
In this parable, Jesus told the story of a steward who messed up. He shared this story with His disciples because He was concerned that they might develop the mindset of the Pharisees, “who were lovers of money… listening to all these things and… scoffing at Him” (v. 14). In this parable, a very rich man delegated responsibility for his assets to a steward. But this man squandered his boss’s possessions, and the result was that he was about to lose his job. This is not a story about spending; it’s a story about investing. And one day, God will call us to an accounting of what we have done with what He has given us. We will have to answer according to how we have squandered or invested the blessings He entrusted to us.
The steward came up with an idea. He went to every person who owed his master money and lowered their debts so that he would have something to give the master. The master then “praised the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly” (v. 8). Jesus’ point was: “The sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of light” (v. 8). In other words, sinners are often smarter than saints. This unbelieving, conniving servant was able to secure his future. He messed up his past, but he put things in motion to take care of the future and he was praised for it.
One Minute Please
Just as sinners act shrewdly to cover their bases for their future on earth, Christians had better act shrewdly to cover their future in terms of eternity