Luke 16:10–18 (ESV)
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? 12 And if you have not been faithful in 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 he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” 14 The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him. 15 And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God. 16 “The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into it. 17 But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void. 18 “Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.
One of my good friends remarked to me that the stuff in chapter 16 is difficult to soak in. At the start of the chapter there’s a parable that is challenging for us to understand because our presuppositions and feelings get in the way, here in this passage we’re hearing some challenging things from Jesus which unsettle us, and at the end of the chapter, we get another parable which makes us uncomfortable as it challenges us to think about eternal outcomes and what we’re doing with the possessions with which we’ve been entrusted.
However, once again, we have a key that helps unlock our understanding of this passage and it’s right there in verse ten; faithfulness.
First, we’re to be faithful with the money that’s been entrusted to us. Biblically, we understand that money and material belongings are not something which we possess; the Lord entrusts them to us with the expectation that we are to be faithful in their use for God’s glory, blessing others, and not to be used to raise our own status in the world.
If, however, we are unfaithful with the wealth with which we’ve been entrusted, we’ll quickly find ourselves struggling between two masters and realize the impossibility of serving them both.
They only way to keep wealth in its proper place is to keep Christ at the center of our hearts so that Christ alone is our one true King and one way we reveal this to be true is by using the wealth which we’ve been entrusted in faithful service to His kingdom purposes as we’re called upon to do.
Faithfulness also relates to the conversation regarding the law and the prophets (the Old Testament). The law and the prophets held their right place as part of God’s plans and purposes, but they were not the last word, rather they were markers, signposts, pointing to how God was going to fulfill His promises through the gift of His Son Jesus as His kingdom breaks into the world through Jesus the Messiah.
That doesn’t mean that Jesus sets aside the law and prophets and they become irrelevant. Jesus Himself said that He has come not to abolish the law or the prophets, but to fulfill them (Matthew 5.17).
In other words, the law and the prophets have faithfully pointed to Jesus and the fulfilling of God’s promises for everyone rather than a select few.
Finally, faithfulness is upheld in Jesus’ remarks regarding marriage. In that context, marriage was a commitment that was being casually set aside. The example of faithfulness in the marriage union, Jesus is saying, is one of the highest callings for disciples.
“As soon as we begin to think of money, or land, or other people, as commodities we might own or exploit, we take a step away from our vocation to be truly human beings, God’s true children, and towards the other master, who is always ready to accept new servants.” N.T. Wright
Where are you feeling challenged to be shrewdly faithful with all that the Lord has entrusted to you?
God bless you and know that you are constantly in my prayers!
Scott