Great Grace

10/3/2015

Luke 16.10-11 10 “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. 11 If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?” – Jesus

In my vocation, I work with other people’s money. I am held responsible for how it is handled and how it’s reported. If I make mistakes there are strict consequences. The shrewd manager in Luke 16 made some mistakes with his master’s money and the manager lost his job, but not before he greased a few palms and secured his future. His master commended him for his trickery, but he didn’t hire him back.

When we look back through recent history we find that there are almost endless cases of monetary shenanigans in our world. Not only is the love of money the root of all evil, but the desire for money and what it brings, is a powerful power, and has led to the ruin of many. To possess great wealth one must have great faithfulness, erstwhile it's not how much money one has but how much money has one. Money appeals to a very dangerous part of our lives.

Jesus said if we’re faithful with little, we can be faithful with much. His point, methinks, is that to honor wealth properly if one’s wealth is small, helps to honor wealth properly if one’s wealth is great. I think Jesus is speaking to our attitude toward money and our relationship with it.

In this world we relate to everything in our lives – money is just one of the many things to which we relate. A relationship with money is knowing how to treat it and knowing how it treats us. Though money isn’t a living thing, it still has an influence in our day to day living. Do we possess money or does it possess us? In our relationship with money who is in control, us, or it? What would happen in our living if we kept money in its proper place? I think this is what Jesus was getting at.

I marvel that in this great world there are things called wealth and economy. I am amazed that God in all His wisdom has allowed us to live in a world where there is the exchange of currency. I am amazed that we have valuation; that we have this understanding of wealth and its transfer. But I am not amazed that in the midst of all this transaction that God has called us to be wise in our relationship with it, and to it.

One of the strangest verses in all of Scripture is Ecclesiastes 10:19:

A feast is made for laughter,
    wine makes life merry,
    and money is the answer for everything. (NIV)

Hmmm, what would our world look like if we treated money with respect, and each other with love?

Faithfulness goes a long way with God. Humility goes even farther. And I think there is a great grace available to all who struggle in their relationship with money – rich and poor, and indebted. My prayer today is simply this:

Lord, as I work with people to be wise with their money, may I partake of Your great grace to be wise with my own. May I be found faithful with little or much, and may my relationship with money be a relationship that honors You. Amen