Joshua 7:16-9:2 / Luke 16:1-18 / Psalm 82 / Proverbs 13:2-3
Luke 16:8-9 “The rich man had to admire the dishonest rascal for being so shrewd. And it is true that the children of this world are more shrewd in dealing with the world around them than are the children of the light. Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home.”
Every time I’ve read this story my sense of right and wrong has been offended LOL! I’m not saying what the “rascal” did was right (read verses 1-7 for the story), but he certainly found a way to cover his assets, knowing that his poor management skills were costing him his job. I doubt his actions would fly in today’s society.
The highlighted portion above also irritates me because I don’t want anyone to “one-up” me, so I decided to look further into the verses to see what I could gain. It makes me wonder if we children of light could stand to be more shrewd, or if our perspective is simply different from the children of darkness.
What is shrewd? We’ve defined it before, but let’s do that again for the sake of clarity. Shrewd is the word phronimos, which means prudently or wisely.
That defined, we all know that Jesus would not condone unethical business practices, so He is not telling us to be poor managers and to cheat our employers. I guess that’s kind of Admiral Obvious!
One fact we must remember is that the world has a monetary system and God’s Kingdom has a monetary system. The two have little to nothing in common. The world tells us to accumulate wealth in unending measure. The Kingdom says to sell all and give to the poor.
Matthew 6:20 says it best – Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.
How do we, as children of light, store up treasures in heaven? As usual, we’ll only touch on a few ways (and perhaps you’ll share what you find with me!). Below are several verses that will be helpful.
Ephesians 4:30-32 And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
Proverbs 11:24-25 Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything. The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.
Matthew 7:12 Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.
Prudently and wisely for us looks different from prudently and wisely for those who live according to the world system. They are thinking only of themselves and only for today. We are considering both ourselves and others, and we are aware that our treasure is in Heaven.
Stuff or people? The here and now or eternity? The earth or heaven? I believe we must make decisions based on these criteria and any others that would come from a heavenly worldview. Whatever we think we’ve lost in the world system has been gain for us in Heaven. Lose to gain. Give away to store up. Be last to become first. There it is again – the Upside Down World!
