The Stewardship that Points to Heaven

 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.’ 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.’ 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.’ The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings” (Luke 16:1-9).

Jesus followed His parable that ended with an exhortation to keep our hearts sanctified and set apart for Him with another parable that touched on how His disciples should manage worldly possessions as we travel through this temporal life on toward eternal life. He spoke to them in the hearing of the Pharisees so he used an example that would convict their corrupt hearts while at the same time exhort His disciples to pursue true holiness. The wicked, selfish manager was so concerned about his impeding fate that he used his unrighteous gain to ingratiate himself to his master’s debtors. Jesus used the tale of this hard hearted person to challenge our hearts to discover and practice the stewardship that points to Heaven.

Diligent disciples should live today with a longing for tomorrow. The wicked manager’s fear about the possibility of a destitute future drove him to change the way he did business in the present. He used his position and relationships with his master’s debtors to secure a better future for himself. Jesus urged His disciples to invest the worldly things we accumulate on our journey toward Heaven as seed that can produce eternal treasure when it is sown into the lives of others… “Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys” (Luke 12:33). The way we handle earthly treasure is a revelation of who in in control of our heart… “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Luke 12:34).

Daring disciples are willing to risk passing possessions in order to rescue perishing people. The selfish manager’s concern for his own welfare in the reality of losing his position compelled him to defraud his master and deceive others to gain a sense of comfort for himself. Jesus urged His disciples to use our worldly possessions to influence the destiny of others that might never have heard the gospel… “They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might” (2 Thessalonians 1:9). He invites us to invest all the temporary treasure He has blessed us with to gloriously transform the future of others by sharing the gospel with them… “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:3-4).

Developing disciples are learning to sow unrighteous seed to produce a harvest of righteousness. The unrighteous manager was so self-centered that he did not realize he was merely accumulating more fading mammon. When we give our unrighteousness to Christ, He transforms it into a harvest of righteousness that glorifies God… “He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness” (2 Corinthians 9:10).

As we grow up into Christ, our lives can attract others to His righteousness as we practice…

The Stewardship that Points to Heaven.