-Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)
Jesus taught a lot in parables. ALL of them make you think a little bit, and while most of them I understand pretty well (I think), to be honest some of them have always confused me a little bit. The reading for today and tomorrow have the 2 in them that always confused me the most. Today we’ll focus on the first one (this one has the header “The Parable of the Unrighteous Steward” in my Bible), and tomorrow we’ll look at the other (with the header “The Rich Man and Lazarus”).
Matthew 13:34-35 says, specifically: “Jesus spoke all these things in parables to the crowds, and he did not speak to them without using a parable, so that what was spoken through the prophet was fulfilled, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world.” (REV* translation used). Which prophet are they quoting here**? Why does he always use parables? I think it’s because it makes you think, and that you can also get layers and layers from them sometimes, revealing more than just a simple concept.
As a kid, I never got the “Parable of the Unrighteous Steward”. I mean, we have this guy who’s running the house, he’s about to get fired, and then he cheats his master. How is being a cheater good? Is the Bible advocating cheating here? These are things that stick in a young kid’s mind and make them wonder. What’s even more mind boggling was that his master praised him for his cunningness, after he was cheated! I never got it, it seemed to be antithetical to all the things the Bible was teaching.
I think I get it a little better now, particularly because I’ve learned how to dissect word problems to find the real things that they’re asking (or, in this case, telling us). The key bit of information here is found in Luke 16:4, “I know what I will do so that when I am removed from management, people will receive me into their houses.’ ” The guy knows he’s about to get kicked out, he’s already said (in v3) that he’s not really qualified to do other jobs, and he’s trying to set himself up so he’s not homeless out in the streets. To do this, he uses his master’s wealth, and lets some of the folks who owe his master money to shave off some (quite a bit if you look at the numbers) of their debt, so that they’ll now be indebted to him. Then, despite being robbed (in a sense), the master commended him for being cunning.
So let’s apply this to real life. Look around you. Some people are richer than others, some people are in authority over others, some people have advantages over others. It’s just the way it is. We also know from scripture (Ps 24:1 being my favorite example) that GOD OWNS EVERYTHING. This means that you are just a steward. Probably an unrighteous one, if you’re being honest with yourself (see Romans 3:23). So why not, like this unrighteous steward, use your master’s wealth to your own advantage?
If you have been given much or little is irrelevant, because everything belongs to God anyway. The question is: how are you using that wealth? How are you using that authority? How are you using whatever advantages you have? If you are cunning and wise, you will use them to make sure you’re not kicked out and homeless in the kingdom, when it comes.
Is this about the kingdom though? It absolutely is: check out v9: “And I myself say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they will receive you into their tents in the age to come. ” Any time we see the phrase “age to come” it’s talking about after the return, in the kingdom of God. You know, the Kingdom, that thing we’re supposed to be seeking first?
The moral of this story is: use your wealth, use your authority, use whatever advantages in this life you may possess to try to win friends and enter in to the kingdom of God. Jesus tells us very clearly in v13: “No servant is able to serve two masters, because he will either hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and think little of the other. You are not able to serve God and Wealth.” Please don’t get me wrong, having money is not bad in and of itself. The love of money is, though. It’s simply a matter of where we are putting our priorities. We are to love God, with all our hearts, with all our minds, and with all our strength.
This means that if we have much or if we have little, we use what we have to glorify God. If you have wealth, buy the groceries of that lady behind you in line at the supermarket. Buy a homeless person a hamburger. Support people who are less fortunate than you, and don’t take credit for any of it, but give God the glory. Support ministries as you can. Love your neighbor as yourself in other words, and every now and again when you are taking care of yourself (which we all seem to be really good at), take care of your neighbor as well.
If you don’t have wealth, well, use whatever you have. If you have authority, use it to help the servants of God. If you have your health, go mow the lawn of the widow who goes to your church. Give some extra clothes to the homeless. Visit the imprisoned and give them hope. Feed the hungry. Use whatever you have to benefit your neighbor, and it is to the glory of God. If someone you’re helping tells you “thanks!”, you tell them “don’t thank me, thank God!”. Remember that this current evil age that we live in is not our final destination, and that we are striving for a place in the age to come, a place in the kingdom. Use the Master’s wealth that He has given you to secure your own advantage in the age to come.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
- What gifts have you been given, and how can you best utilize those to secure your own entry in the kingdom, in the age to come?
- Do you currently view your own personal wealth as the goal, or the tool which may help you to reach your goal?
- How can we shift our thinking to be more cunning and wise, and plan for the kingdom? What specific things can you do that may help you?
PRAYER
Father God, thank you. You have given me so much, please give me also wisdom to use it well. You have given life, breath, and all things. Help me to use discernment, and to remember not the blessings, but the hand from which all these blessings have come. Help me to glorify you in all things. Thank you, in Jesus name, Amen.
* Some of you may have noticed that recently I’ve been using the REV version of the Bible in almost all of my Bible quotes. I am going to give it a shameless plug here, because it’s probably one of, if not the, most honest translations I’ve come across and it uses the name of God (YHWH, or “Yahweh”) where the name of God is written. This is a huge deal for me. The REV bible is available for free here: https://revbible.com/bcuk online, put forth by “Spirit and Truth” (https://stfi.org/). Check it out.
** David, that’s found in Psalms 78:2 (a lot of times we forget that David was a prophet but he absolutely was).
