Be Faithful To The Lord In All That You Do

Commentary

In this parable, Jesus paints us a picture of a wealthy man who had hired an asset manager for himself. We can view this as the role of a believer in Christ on Earth. When God gives us material or monetary gain, we must understand that it all belongs to Him and we're to be good managers of those resources.

The asset manager became worried at the prospect of losing his comfortable job and having to work a more difficult, manual labor job or worse, beg on the streets. The asset manager didn't take seriously the role that he was given and was foolish with his master's assets. Therefore, in his gross mismanagement, he lost a good position.

Think about your own life. Ask yourself, how have I managed what God has given to me? Perhaps you leaned too much on "retail therapy" in times of stress and anxiety, instead of leaning purely on Jesus and got into debt. Or maybe you've been selfish with your money, not giving cheerfully or helping someone in need when you had an opportunity. If you've had situations like that before, it's important to ask the Lord's forgiveness, seek Him for wisdom, and move forward.

Commentary

This man became desperate, not wanting to work a harder job or be on the streets. So he resorted to slashing the amounts owed to his master by his clients. Essentially, he used his master's money to find favor with those people in hopes that they would help him out later.

This was an extremely shrewd move and in this situation, one that was immoral and dishonest. We can expect this kind of behavior from unbelievers; this world is ripe with greed and selfishness. But how many times have we seen "Christians" using the good name of God or His resources for their own ungodly benefit?

When you mess up, there is never an easy way out, especially with God. If you're a born-again believer, then God, in His loving way, will ensure that a lesson is learned for your good.

Commentary

If you hadn't studied this parable before, then I bet you are surprised at the master's reaction. We should understand that this positive reaction is only toward the shrewdness. Jesus is teaching us that as believers, we should have that kind of cleverness and "go-getter" attitude when doing Kingdom work. God desires that we use those resources He gives us in clever ways to help win people to Him.

We can understand verse 9 to mean that we should be using a portion of the money and material things that God has blessed each of us with to bless others and to further the Gospel. In being faithful to God with His resources, you're actively living out the two commandments, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind" and "love your neighbor as yourself".

Loving those around isn't being nice to them; it's truly looking out for their best interests as you would your own. Treating others with the same care and consideration as you do yourself. Providing for their needs if you have the means. I tell you it is hard to do, impossible even in the flesh — but not impossible with Jesus.

Commentary

All it takes is a little faithfulness. You don't need to do anything good under your own power, but instead by the power of Jesus. Let Him do the work through you, and in doing so, you will be faithful in much.

How you manage your life, your money, how you work— those things are all indicators to others as to the kind of person you are. If you're untrustworthy or undependable, who will even ask for your help? Even worse, what kind of witness for Christ do you have if your actions paint you as being unstable or unwilling?

If your life is a display of nothing but unfaithful behavior, with the "new you" looking just like the "old you", then it's time to ask God to reveal your heart to you.

Commentary

Money is a good thing. It's needed to buy food, shelter, and clothing. It's used to print Bibles, buy TV time for preaching, print Gospel tracts, and so on. But when a person is trusting in money to save them from difficult situations, that, my friend, is a very bad place to be.

It's not wrong to have money and use it for bettering your life. But it's so important to guard your heart. If you come to a place where money is the solution to your problems, then where have you placed Jesus in your life? Shouldn't Jesus always be our first and only solution?

Your faithfulness to Him will always lead to blessing in your life. But unfaithfulness will always eventually lead to destruction. You could have everything you wanted, money, plenty of leisure time, health, then one day it could all be taken away. If you don't have Jesus, then what do you have left?

Today we see so much of a religiosity that resembles what the Pharisees displayed. Those who outwardly put on a good show, mimicking the "Christian look" and behavior around others, pretending to be faithful to Jesus, but scoffing at what He teaches through His Word. Inside they are still driven by an unchanged, hard heart. Their steps are ordered by impulses from their selfish hearts, in a self-delusion that tells them that they can earn God's favor without truly being faithful to Him.

Today make certain that you are living faithfully to Jesus in your own life, no matter where you are or what you are doing.