Using our possesions to benefit others

Let’s read today’s verses Luke 16:1-8.

Jesus told His disciples, "There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. So he called him in and asked him, `What is this I hear about you? Give me an account of your management because you cannot be manager any longer.’ "The manager said to himself, `What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig and I’m ashamed to beg - I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’ "So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, `How much do you owe my master?’ "`Eight hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied. "The manager told him, `Take your bill, sit down quickly and make it four hundred.’ "Then he asked the second, `And how much do you owe?’ "`A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied. "He told him, `Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’ "The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light." (NIV)

The manager in this parable got caught for mismanaging the rich man’s possessions. He was being accused of squandering the things that were entrusted to him for his own selfish benefit. The manager was threatened with dismissal. Realizing that his future appeared bleak and uncertain, he devised a plan to insure his well-being. He summoned the people who were in debt to his master and he used his authority to condone part of their loans. To the one who owed eight hundred gallons of oil he said, "Take your bill and write a different promisory note for only four hundred gallons." And then to another who owed one thousand bushels of wheat, he said, "Write a note for only eight hundred." In doing this, the manager was making sure that those debtors would be grateful enough to welcome him into their homes when the time came for him to be evicted from his master’s estate. It may be argued that this manager was cheating his master by condoning the debts. But this condonation also had the effect of ensuring that the debtors would pay those debts because of the nice discount for them. The master was so glad over this that he commended the manager for his brilliant deed. He was aware that in Israel all unpaid debts must be totally forgiven every 7 years.

Let’s read the next verses, Luke 16:9-13.

Jesus was still speaking: "I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourself so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own? No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."

In these verses, Jesus was stating some principles about worldly possessions, which is also translated as "unrighteous Mammon". Jesus says that we must utilize these worldly possessions to benefit others specially the poor and less fortunate. Jesus says that in so doing, we will gain friends as well as an eternal home. This was what the manager was doing. Instead of using unrighteous Mammon for his own selfish benefit, he started to use it for the benefit of others. Part of being good stewards of worldly possessions is about SHARING. God wants us to use our possessions in a way that benefits others also. Selfishness is not good stewardship in the eyes of God. Jesus knew that if a person who owned very few possessions readily shared these with the less fortunate, such a person can also be counted on to share, even when God blessed him with much more. And only those who generously share their worldly possessions can be counted on to generously share God’s other riches. Man’s willingness to share is dictated by either love for GOD or love for MONEY. Jesus said that we will love one and not love the other; we will be ruled by one or the other. We have to decide which of the two is our beloved MASTER. Yes we need money. Yes we need worldly possessions. Yes we need food, clothes, and shelter. But we should not love worldly possessions or riches in a manner that is greater than our devotion to God. We must not pursue material things more than we pursue a relationship with God. When we utilize the worldly things that have been given to us - our money, our clothes, our houses, our cars - we should utilize them in a way which makes us more obedient and more faithful unto God.

Let us read the rest of today’s verses Luke 16:19-26. Jesus told a story as an example of how this works.

"There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen." At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. "Now the time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried in hell where this rich man was in torment. He looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. And so he called to him (the rich man called to Abraham), "Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue because I am in agony in this fire. "But Abraham replied, `Son, remember that in your lifetime, you received your good things while Lazarus received bad things? But now, he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you, a great chasm or separation has been fixed so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

Jesus spoke about a rich man who was living in luxury. At his gate, a beggar named Lazarus frequently came. This beggar was hoping to beg for food from the rich man, but the rich man gave him nothing. This rich man never even shared the crumbs that fell from his table, useless and wasted crumbs which a beggar like Lazarus was longing to eat. That rich man loved his worldly possessions so much; he wanted his worldly possessions to benefit only himself. He was selfish. He was not willing to share anything with Lazarus, not even a crumb. Was that rich man faithful in handling his worldly possessions? Would God be pleased to bless him with God’s other riches? Time passed, and both Lazarus and the rich man died. Lazarus the beggar went to where holy men like Abraham was. The rich man went to hell where he was tormented in flames. He suffered tremendously. He longed for even one drop of water to soothe his burning tongue. He begged Abraham to send Lazarus to dip a finger in water and bring it to him so he could lick even a drop — just like Lazarus longed to eat the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. But that was not possible. If the rich man could only turn back the hands of time and return to his rich life, he would surely be willing to give Lazarus a big portion of his wealth. Regretably, it was too late. He had failed his chance to be faithful in handling material possessions.

Today, some of us are rich, some of us are poor. But whatever our economic condition is at present, God still wants us to share with others our worldly possessions. Let us keep in mind what Jesus said: "He who is faithful with very little can be trusted to be faithful with much". If God sees that we cannot be trusted to be faithful in handling and sharing worldly wealth, He will not trust us with His other riches.