“He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much

Luke 16:1-18 (NASB) from the daily reading in the One Year Bible (link on links page)

The Unrighteous Steward

16 Now He was also saying to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and this manager was reported to him as squandering his possessions. ² And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an accounting of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ ³ The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig; I am ashamed to beg. ⁴ I know what I shall do, so that when I am removed from the management people will welcome me into their homes.’ ⁵ And he summoned each one of his master’s debtors, and he began saying to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ ⁶ And he said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ ⁷ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ And he said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He *said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ ⁸ And his master praised the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of light. ⁹ And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they will receive you into the eternal dwellings.

¹⁰ “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much. ¹¹ Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you? ¹² And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? ¹³ No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

At first read this parable sems to have a rather confusing message. It seems that Jesus is commending this manager for his dishonest methods of gaining approval and advancement in the world. When we look at the whole text though we see that the true message is something else entirely. The first thing we note here is that the manager was not doing his job well. He was squandering his bosses possessions. We aren't told how long the manager had this job, but what we are told is that he was found out and held accountable for his actions. As followers of Christ we are told:  Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, ²⁴ knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. (Colossians 3:23-24)   In this natural realm we should do the very best that we can at whatever our job is. In doing so we will be a good testimony of our faith and we will prosper in our jobs, gaining respect and possibly advancement. 

The key to what Jesus is really saying about the actions of the manager are found in verse 8.    his master praised the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of light.    All that He is really saying here is that often worldly people are better at conducting business than Christians. God is not opposed to money or material possessions. Many Christians believe the lie that to be a good Christian they must live in or near poverty. Jesus says: The thief cometh not but to steal and to kill and to destroy. I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.(John 10:10)   An abundant life is not dependant on our financial status and material possessions. But, it does not require us to have little or nothing. The key to riches and material possessions is in our heart. It is okay for us to possess material wealth and good things. It is not acceptable for us to come to the point where our things possess us.  In verse 13 of the text, Jesus says: No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”    A person can live in poverty and still have a problem with greed and the love of money. Money itself is not the problem. It's our heart. 1 Timothy 6:10 says: For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. Whether we have much or little the love of money is the root of all sorts of evil. 

Returning to our text, there is one final and vital message that Jesus teaches in this parable.   “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much. ¹¹ Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you? ¹² And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?

He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful in much. This is a principle that Jesus taught several different times and ways. The parable of Talents in Matthew 25:14-30 focuses on that message. What we need to understand from the application in today's text is that in comparison to the great power, authority and kingdom riches God wants to entrust us with, handling worldly riches is a very small thing. Yet if we can not do and manage that well, how can we be fully trusted with all that God wants to do for us and through us.

Like the manager in today's text, we will be accountable for what we have done or failed to do. I am not talking about salvation.  For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; ⁹ not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.(Ephesians 2:8-9) Verse 10 of Ephesians 2 continues by saying: For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.   We are not saved by works but we are saved for works. Jesus says: Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.(John 14:12)

That's what we are saved for! That's what we are called to!    To do the things Jesus did and more!      If we are truly being good stewards or wise managers of all that God has given us then we will see the fulfillment of Mark 16:15-18 in our lives.

 “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. ¹⁶ He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. ¹⁷ These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; ¹⁸ they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” 

“He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much.   

Start small, but believe big!