Sunday, June 12, 2022

Luke 16:1

Luke 16:1 says, And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods.  Jesus told His disciples about a rich man who had accused his steward of wasting his goods.  When we are entrusted with things from God, we need to use them wisely so that He will never accuse us of wasting them, but one day we will be held accountable.  Verse two adds, And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.  The man told the steward that he was to give an accounting, and that he would no longer be a steward.  If we fail to use the things of God wisely, He may no longer entrust us with anything to use.  Verse three states, Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed.  The steward said he didn't know what he would do, because he couldn't dig and was ashamed to beg.  Matthew Henry says it was more that he was unwilling to dig and he wasn't humble enough to beg, even though he had a greater reason foe shame because he had been cheating his master.  If we have been being blessed by God and He quits blessing us because we have been squandering what He blessed us with, what would we do, especially if self pride and an unwillingness to work got in the way.  Verse four adds, I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.  The steward had a plan to indebt those who he had been a steward over to him.  Though this might be good for the steward, he was further cheating his master.  I don't believe this is our best plan.  We should humble ourselves before God, accept responsibility, and ask for His forgiveness.  Verse five continues, So he called every one of his lord’s debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord?  His plan included all those who were debtor's to his master.  We are all debtor's to God, and no one else can really reduce that debt, except Jesus Christ.  Verse six says, And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty.  The first man said a hundred measures of oil when askedwhat he owed, and the steward told him to write down fifty instead.  The man had to be willing to go along with the steward's plan.  What we need to realize is that we cannot get away with cheating God, so we should never go along with a plan that would cause us to try to do so.  Verse seven adds, Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore.  The next man said he owed the master a hundred measures of wheat, and he was told to put down eighty.  They were both still cheating their master.  Verse eight continues, And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.  The master commended his former steward for being wise in working for a way to provide for himself.  He then said that the people of this world in their generation, or life, are wiser in the eyes of the world than are the children of light.  We may find that those who do not put their faith in God but use their own cunning and understanding to attain the riches of this world are more successful in this lifetime than those who follow Jesus Christ.  This will only last for this lifetime though.

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