Yesterday we discussed the parable Jesus spoke about a rich man and his financial manager. We saw that Jesus commended the manager for his shrewdness and stated we, His followers, should be just as shrewd, if not shrewder. But that wasn’t the end of Jesus’s teaching on the subject.
Jesus continued His discourse, speaking of being faithful. He said that whoever is faithful with little will be faithful with much. He also said the converse was true: whoever is unfaithful with a little will be unfaithful with much. Is Jesus solely alluding to earthly business management?
No, Jesus is not solely speaking about earthly business management, though He is using it as an example to make a point. The manager was seeking to procure safety and security for his life once he was unemployed. Jesus is pointing out that we should be even more concerned about securing eternal life by obeying God’s will.
As He continues, He states we cannot serve two masters. One will always be more important than the other. Ultimately, he speaks of the two masters being God and wealth. Now we get down to brass tacks. We cannot make our pursuit of earthly wealth out of selfish ambition be more important to us than serving God.
How are we to serve God? First, we spread the gospel. Beyond that, Jesus has told us to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, care for the widows and orphans, and love one another. If we allow our culture and our pursuit of wealth to take us away from doing these things, we have failed to be true followers of Jesus Christ. We become no better than the financial manager seeking to save his own skin in this world.
I pray we all are faithful with the little we have. I pray we seek to serve only one Master, God. I pray each one of us choose to serve God by obeying his commands and doing his will. Be faithful. Share God’s blessings. Speak the gospel. Serve the marginalized. Obey God’s commands. Do God’s will.
Luke 16:13 “No slave can serve two masters, for a slave will either hate the one and love the other or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
Marty Pressey 