Day 38. No one can serve 2 masters

Luke 16:1-13 The Unjust Servant

During the time when Jesus was ministering on earth, he often confronted the religious leaders of the day. The Pharisees were one of two prominent groups of religious leaders in Israel. They were devout in their religious practice, however they had made up many written and oral rules to add to the Scriptures of the Old Testament. Their devotion to God became aesthetic, only in appearance. In our modern society, we are often times very much like the pharisees. The Bible and the teachings of Christ take a back seat to Christian catch phrases and assumptions about how we ought to live. The Pharisees believed specifically that man could and should be devoted to gaining wealth and devoted to God, however Jesus turned this notion on its head. The very fact that Jesus ministered to the poor was not only a fulfillment of prophecy about the Messiah, but also was condemning to the pharisees.

Directly before Jesus talks about the rich man who was in Hades and a poor beggar named Lazarus who was in Heaven in Luke 16 we find Jesus' parable of the unjust servant. As we read it is important to remember that Luke also organized this passage placing it directly after the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, the lost son. The focus of these parables is God's grace and active pursuit to rescue sinners. In the parable of the unjust servant we see God's expectation for His people to be about the same pursuit rather than gaining riches. In the parable there was a rich man who had a servant in charge of his finances. When people bought grain or oil, this man would keep the books and collect payments. However, he was apparently in some way wasting the master's goods. Perhaps he was treating himself to some unwarranted gifts or simply doing a bad job of keeping up with his responsibilities. Regardless, he was about to get fired. He was afraid of the shame that would come from begging, and he was too weak to do manual labor. So he allowed people to who owed the rich man to pay a portion of their debt and be cleared of the rest. By doing this all the people were in a way indebted to him, and the rich master praised him for it. Jesus when on to say this statement regarding the parable.

Luke 16:8b "...the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of light."

What is he saying? Most unbelievers are wiser in the ways of the world than believers are in the ways of God. Worldly people are better at using worldly wisdom than Christians are at using Godly wisdom.

Luke 16:9 "And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they will receive you into the eternal dwellings."

We as Americans live in perhaps the most wealthy country in the world. Jesus is not saying we should use our wealth to buy off people or to lure them with bribes. He is instructing his followers on how to view money. Money is a part of this unrighteous world which is passing away. We should use wealth to further the kingdom of God not to further our kingdom on earth. Imagine, a family in need has a heating bill, but no oil to warm their house. I pay the heating bill. Will they be more or less receptive to hearing about a God of mercy if I do so? What if I reject the idea of paying the bill, even though I easily could cover the cost, because I want to get a newer I-pod. What does this reveal about me? Am I more concerned about my image, my pleasure, and my position in this world? Or am I more concerned about my opportunity to use my worldly resources to influence someone else by Loving them and sharing the Good News about Jesus.

Imagine this. A church sends money, or people, or Bibles to support missionaries sharing the Gospel in an impoverished country instead of getting the latest style of carpet even though the old carpet still has plenty of usefulness. Will this use of wealth do more or less to further the kingdom of God? A churches priorities are either earthly in focus or not. If the main focus is on the building and not on the building up of the people, it appears to be unjust in the sight of God.

You have the opportunity to get a supersized value meal and a frappe at McDonalds or you can get a more meager meal, and get something for the boy or girl at school or in your neighborhood who doesn't have any friends. Which use of money has more potential to further the kingdom? Money invested in yourself alone or money invested in others as well?

Luke 16:10 "He who is faithful in little things is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much."

Even our smallest decisions about wealth, reveal big motives in our heart. Jesus says that the way we use our money demonstrates our faithfulness and trustworthiness with the eternal things of the kingdom of God. "No one can serve two masters." (16:13a) Don't love money, Don't despise Christ.