We are Stewards, Students, and Servants

Have you ever felt defeated? What did you do about it? The parable in Luke 16:1-13 is quite intriguing. There is a rich landowner who gets word that his manager is mishandling his money, and so decides to fire his servant. But instead of wallowing in defeat, as soon as the dishonest manager hears that he is going to be fired, he does something so shrewd the landowner has to admire him a little. Jesus is not condoning dishonesty in this parable but instead making the point that if the world knows how to be clever with other people’s resources for earthly gain, why can’t followers of Christ more cleverly utilize eternal resources for heavenly gain?

As Christ-followers we say we love God but we mishandle our Father’s resources all the time. God calls us to be faithful stewards of His wealth, faithful students of His Word, and faithful servants of His work in this world. But instead, we spend His money on ourselves, misuse our free moments on mindless technology (that could be quiet time with the Lord), or use up our energy on the wrong mission. It’s no wonder we feel defeated much of the time. As John Maxwell says, most of us have uphill goals in mind but we have downhill habits that keep us from moving forward.