Use what you have for good

Luke 16:1-13
by Brian Knitter

This difficult passage of scripture points out some things that we may not understand, based on our false assumptions. We may understand that we need to recognize God’s authority (though we often choose to ignore this), but so many of us do not recognize God’s possessions, which is everything including our very lives. We think our stuff is our stuff.

In this parable, a steward (a manager of another person’s stuff) got caught wasting funds. Because of this, he was told that he would soon be out of a job. In order to save himself from a life of poverty, the steward went around and cut the debts of those who owed his master, so the debtors would look upon the steward favorably. The steward made friends by forgiving debt and showing mercy. He became generous with the wealth that wasn’t his, and his master praised him for it.
I must admit, I found this parable confusing, but the key to it is this: The master is God, and we are the unfaithful stewards.
The parable is confusing because we view our wealth and possessions as our own — after all, we worked for what we have. But God doesn’t see it that way. Everything we have belongs to God, and while we work for our wages, it is God who grants us the ability to produce wealth by giving us abilities and talents. Without God, we would not exist. Without Christ, we would soon be “out of a job (in Hell).” When the steward got the wake-up call that he would soon be out of a job, he got to work by being generous with what he had (which wasn’t really his) so he could win and influence friends, and maybe, maybe receive mercy from his master.
God gives us everything, and at some point, He is going to ask for an accounting of what we did with what He gave us. Have we squandered our Master’s wealth or have we used it wisely to further His kingdom? The moral of this story is this: Use the possessions God has granted you to win the hearts of others for Christ. Be generous and forgiving. Don’t squander what you have been given. Seek forgiveness from the Master for what you have squandered.