What do you do if your life is in trouble? Most people do nothing, but there is hope if we do something. Steve, along with guests J.D. King and Zion Vierra, examine Biblical answers to this problem.
The Shrewd Manager
Luke 16 tells the Parable of the Shrewd Manager, who wastefully and poorly managed a rich man’s possessions. Jesus used this parable to call out the religious leaders of his day for being wasteful in managing the temple and the religion. Today, the church suffers from a lot of poor management, even by sincere people. God gave us His Word to guide our lives, yet many good preachers neglect preaching sermons on the Word of God. Self centered topics like building up self-esteem take the focus away from Jesus.
In Luke 16, the wasteful manager was fired. He cleverly went to those who owed his master money, changed their bills, and decreased their debts. His actions were not dishonest or illegal but shrewd. In the Jewish community, tax collectors were not well liked. They collected taxes, setting high rates so that they could give to Rome but also scraped a large amount off the top to keep for themselves. So the shrewd manager was able to lower the debtors’ bills likely by cancelling the portion of the debt he would have taken.
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When he knew his life was in trouble, he did something about it. The manager found favor with all the debtors he helped. Now he has connections and opportunities for future work. The manager set himself up for the future.
Verse 8 says, “For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.” Jesus was telling the religious leaders their lives were in trouble. The Messiah had come, and they were not interested. They were wasting their lives on other things as though there was no Messiah.
“Do something so God can help you become all that you need to become.”
When we are in crisis, we cannot afford to do nothing. We must respond immediately. In the church today, people know their lives are in trouble but listen to sermons that tell them to just keep going and living the way they are. Be shrewd like the manager. When your life is in trouble, do something about it. We don’t need a life in trouble but a life in God, and He will help you become all you need to become!
1 Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions.
2 So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’
3 “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—
4 I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’
5 “So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 “‘Nine hundred gallonsof olive oil,’ he replied. “The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.’
7 “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.’
8 “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.
9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.
Questions:
If your life is in trouble, what are you doing about it?
In what ways can you be less wasteful of the Word, your church, sermons, etc.?
What does the Shrewd Manager teach us about setting ourselves up for the future?
Resources:
Purchase J.D.’s books: Regeneration, You’ve Been Duped, and Shift: Leading in Transition at The Resurgence Store.
