Do I Value the Things God Values?

SCRIPTURE: Luke 16:1-15
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 “‘Eight hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied.“The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred.’
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. ¹⁰ “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. ¹¹ So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? ¹² And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own? ¹³ “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.”¹⁴ The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. ¹⁵ He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.

OBSERVATION: This parable has always been perplexing to me. Why would the owner of the property commend the dishonest steward for giving away some of what was owed to him? Jesus is certainly not suggesting that we be shrewd in the same way the steward was. In fact, he draws a contrast between the people of this world and the people of God. I think that the answer to my query is that the people of this world have a certain admiration for others who use the system to their own advantage, even if it hurts them. Jesus goes on to say that we need to use our money in ways that line up with kingdom purposes. He also makes the point that how we handle money says a lot about how we will handle "true riches", which is spiritual insight and knowledge. If we can't be trusted to use money in ways which honor God, how can we be trusted with spiritual riches? The Pharisees reacted to this because they loved money yet considered themselves to be spiritually superior to most people. There are still those in the church today who are like these Pharisees. They act spiritual but are trying to serve two masters. It's why many people don't tithe. It's also why some pastors don't cut their salaries even when the church is going through a rough time financially. The last statement of Jesus sums up the matter, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight." God's values are not the same as those of men. When my husband and I were discussing this passage he said, "Isn't it interesting that we take surveys of people to find out what we can do that would make them want to come into our churches more when what we really should be asking is, 'God, what things do we need to do here that would lift up and reflect what you value?'. It's a great question.

APPLICATION: I need to examine my heart and make sure I am serving only one Master. I want to know what is detestable to God and what is highly valued by him and be in alignment with the latter. It is easy to get off track, even slightly, and miss doing the will of God because of the constant pull of the world system on us and our ability to find ways to justify ourselves that sound spiritual. I need the Holy Spirit to reveal to me anything that is amiss in my motivations.

PRAYER: Father, teach me your ways, your values and what I ought to do. I am so capable of justifying what I want to believe and do and make it seem like a spiritual endeavor. Search my heart and know my thoughts. See if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the everlasting way. In Jesus' Name, Amen.