31 Dec How to be shrewd with your money

Luke 16:1-13

He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. ² And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ ³ And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. ⁴ I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ ⁵ So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ ⁶ He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ ⁷ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ ⁸ The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. ⁹ And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings. 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.”

Tonight, for the last sermon in 2023, we are going to talk about everybody’s favourite sermon topic. What is that? Money. I don’t know if you can tell or not, but I was being sarcastic. Anyway, let me be honest. For many years, I avoided talking about money in the church. Why? Because I have seen the abuse of it. Many super-rich pastors encouraged people to give to the church and abused the church money to buy private jets, mansions, and 10 Mercedes. Because of it, I avoided talking about money in the church. I wanted to get rid of the misconception that lots of people have, “The church just wants my money. All they ever talk about is money.” But as I grow in my walk with God, I realise that I cannot be a faithful pastor and avoid the topic of money. Why? Because Jesus talked a lot about money. Do you know that Jesus talked more about money than heaven and hell combined? He also talked more about money than he did about prayer and faith. Almost half of Jesus’ parables are addressing money. If I preached on money as often as Jesus, it would be every third sermon. Just saying. But this is the first sermon I preach on money this year.

Here is why it is very important to talk about money in church. There are many areas of the Christian life that we can fake. We can fake prayer. We can fake ministry, Bible knowledge, and holiness. But do you know what we can’t fake? We can’t fake our use of money. Our bank account will tell us whether we have been faithful or not in our use of money. If we want to know what is in our hearts, check our bank statements. Our bank statement is a great indicator of where our heart is. It reflects our time, goals, priorities, and commitments. We can say we love God with all our hearts 10 times a day, but it means nothing if our bank account disagrees. One of the greatest indicators of true Christians is how they use their money. At the same time, one of the biggest sin blind spots for Christians is money. We only have two choices regarding money. Get this. We either master our money and use it for the glory of God or money will master us for our destruction.

Our passage for tonight is a strange parable. It is one of Jesus’ most controversial parables. I received more questions on this parable than all of Jesus’ other parables combined. The meaning of the parable is straightforward. It is not hard to understand. But the story that Jesus told is provocative. And it is directed specifically at his disciples, not the public. This is Jesus’ word for those who already decided to follow Jesus. So, if you are not a Christian, tonight you get to eavesdrop on what Jesus has to say to his disciples about money. And you might be very surprised. Because it is radically different from how you might think about money. Jesus is essentially asking all his disciples this question: Are you a good steward? And if we get what Jesus is teaching his disciples, if we understand what it means to be a steward, it will transform our lives. It will prepare us for 2024, to be people who have kingdom influence. Let’s look at it together.

I have three points for my sermon: our role; our job description; our master.

Our role

Luke 16:1-3 – He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. ² And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ ³ And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg.

Jesus is a master storyteller. He often uses a parable in his teaching. The parable goes like this. There is a rich man who entrusts all his riches to a manager. The job of this manager is to take care of the rich man’s possessions and make sure the rich man makes more money. Today we might call him a financial planner. The problem is that instead of making money, the manager is losing money. He is wasting the rich man’s wealth. And when the rich man gets the report, he is not happy. He says to the manager, “Come and see me in my office. And bring me the book. I want to see it.” When the rich man sees all the deficits in the book, he is upset. So, he gives the manager a two-week notice. The manager is basically fired but he has two weeks to leave the job. So, he goes home and, on the way, he says to himself, “What am I going to do? I’m fired from my job. And I’ve gotten used to drinking $7 latte and flying in business class. There is no way I can go back to Nespresso and fly in economy class. And I have been working as a financial planner all my life. I am not strong enough to do a labour job and I am ashamed to beg. What am I going to do?” Then he has a brilliant idea.

Luke 16:4-7 – ⁴ I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ ⁵ So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ ⁶ He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ ⁷ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’

What a guy. So, he calls up some of his boss’s clients who still owe his boss a lot of money. He meets one of them and says, “How much do you owe my boss? 100 measures of oil? Here is what I am going to do. I am going to write you another bill that says you only owe him 50.” So, the manager cut the debt in half. 100 measures of oil are equivalent to about $120,000 today. That means the debt is cut to $60,000. The debtor must be over the moon. Then the manager meets another client, and he asks, “How much do you owe my boss? A hundred measures of wheat? I tell you what. I am going to reduce it by 20% and make it 80.” 100 measures of wheat are equivalent to $300,000 today. So, the debt is cut to $240,000. This debtor must also be very happy with the manager. So, what the manager does is he calls different people who owe his boss money and write off some of their debts. He saves them a lot of money. And here is what I know about all of us. We love anything or anyone that helps us save money. Especially, a lot of money. Can you see what the manager did? He did his boss’s clients a huge favour so they feel indebted to him. Maybe as he writes off the debt, he winks at them and says, “Don’t forget who saves you a lot of money today.” So that later when he is out of the job, he can call them to return the favour. “Hey, do you remember what I did for you? Can I stay in your place for free for the next few years?” What a scheme. The manager devised a brilliant strategy to ensure his future. He uses his boss’ money to win the hearts of people. And look at what happens next. It is shocking.

Luke 16:8a – The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. This is the point of controversy. Can we agree that what the manager did is wrong? He is being dishonest with his boss’s money. But instead of being condemned, his boss commended him. The boss finds out what the manager did and says, “This guy is good.” It does not make any sense. Today, we call this a financial fraud, and it is illegal to do so. Listen. If your boss gives you a two-week notice, do not, I repeat, do not start calling people who owe money to your company and cut off their debts. That’s not the point of the parable. Your boss will not praise you for it. You will go to jail for it. So why is the dishonest manager being praised? Pay attention. The boss doesn’t approve of the manager’s actions, but he praises the manager for his shrewdness in thinking ahead and planning for his future. He doesn’t praise the manager for messing with his money, but he praises him for thinking smart. Let’s stop here for now and let me show you how this parable speaks to us.

The master in the parable represents God, and the manager is all of us. Whether we want to admit it or not, everything we have right now is not ours; it belongs to God. God owns everything. We own nothing – not a house, not a car, not a toothbrush. We don’t even own us. Everything we have belongs to God. Psalm 24:1 – The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein. There is nothing in this universe that God cannot rightly claim, “Mine.” But then God kindly and graciously trusted us with his riches. We are stewards of his riches. What is a steward? A steward is a person who manages something that belongs to someone else. It means that we are not the owners of everything we have; we are the managers. One time Will Smith was being interviewed. And the interviewer asked, “When did your kids learn that they were rich?” And I love his answer. He said, “Let me just stop you right there. I am rich. My kids are not. I let them use some of my money, but it is not theirs.” Same thing with us and God. Whatever we have, God gave it to us, and he has a purpose for it. And here is the thing. One day you and I will stand before God to give an account of what we do with what God has given us. And if we waste God’s possessions, he will hold us accountable.

So, here is a point of reflection: Do you see everything you have as fundamentally yours or God’s? Be honest. Who owns all your resources? Because knowing who the owner is makes all the difference. If you see it as yours, you will ask, “How much should I give to God?” But if you see it as God’s, you will ask, “What does God want me to do with it?” The question is not, “God, what do you want me to do with my money?” The question is, “God, what do you want me to do with your money?” The way you think about your possessions is very different if you know you are not owners but stewards. When you know you are stewards, you know you can’t just do anything you want with it because it is not yours. There is nothing that you can rightly say to God, “It’s mine.” Some of you might say, “But I worked hard to earn this money. I am the one who worked 70 hours a week and earned this money.” Yeah, but who gave you the brain to think? Who gave you the skill? Who gave you the job that you have? Who gave you the health to go to work? Who allowed you to be where you are today? Have you ever considered how different your life would look if you were born in the jungle of the Himalayas? Everything you have is given by God. You do not own any of it.

Before we move on, let me say a few things to parents. Because I know this is a real struggle for every parent. Parents, everything you have belongs to God, including your children. I know you love your children dearly. I know you gave birth to them, and you have invested years in raising them. You made so many sacrifices and shed buckets of tears for them. I know you want what’s best for them. They are so precious to you. But never forget they are not yours. You are just stewards of God’s gifts. And one day you have to stand before God and give an account of how you raise your children. Are you raising your children for God and God’s glory? Or for your own wants, desires, and glory? God has entrusted you with children not for you to control them or let them do whatever they want, but for you to direct them to God and let God direct them however he wants. You are not the owner of your children; God is. It means you must learn to let go of your children and put them in God’s hands. Your role is to point them to God and His words, and then you must trust God is guiding them and directing their steps, even though it is very different from what you want for them. One prominent Christian family counsellor was asked this question. “At what age should parents learn to let go of their children?” She answered, “From the moment they were born.” Why so early? Because they were not yours from the very beginning. If you wait until your children grow up before you learn to let go of them, it is going to be extremely hard. Remember this. Everything you have comes from God. Everything you have belongs to God. Everything you have is for God’s glory.

Our job description

Luke 16:8b-9 – For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. ⁹ And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.

This is Jesus’ point. Jesus is not telling us that it is okay to cheat people. He is not saying it is okay for us to be dishonest. He is giving an example of how clever people of the world are when they act for their own best interests. What the dishonest manager is praised for is not his unrighteous deeds but his shrewdness. To be shrewd is to act with sharp discernment; it’s to be clever. This is the key that unlocks the parable. Jesus is making a comparison between the way the manager prepared for unemployment with the way Christians ought to prepare for eternity. Jesus is saying, “The people of this world are way more clever in planning for the future than Christians in planning for their eternal future with God. If only Christians would think and plan about their eternal future more…” In other words, this is a rebuke to Christians.

In preparation for this sermon, I read one funny story that makes the point. It is the story of a doctor, a lawyer, and a preacher. The three of them had a friend who died. They were all in the bedroom of the hospital room when the friend was dying. The friend who was dying said, “When I die, I want to carry $30,000 to the grave with me. So, I’m going to give each of you $10,000. And at my funeral I want you to come, and I want you to place it in the casket because I want to take the money to the grave with me.” Then he died. The doctor, the lawyer, and the preacher came to the funeral. They all leaned over the casket and put something in. After the funeral, they met each other to discuss their friend who had died. As they began to discuss, the doctor confessed. He said, “Well you know Bob was my patient for years and I know he wanted me to put this $10,000 in the casket but I’m sure he would want me to keep a little bit for myself. So, I put $8,000 in there and I kept $2,000 for the unpaid bills while Bob was sick.” The preacher also confessed. “Bob always talked about our church needing a new piano. So, I only put $7,000 in the casket, and I kept $3,000 for the new piano that I know Bob would want us to have.” Then the lawyer spoke up. “Well let me tell you what I did. I kept my $10,000. I also went into the casket and picked up your $7,000 and your $8,000. And then I wrote a cheque for $30,000 and put it in the casket.” Some of you will get that later. The lawyer was shrewd. Because he knew that the cheque was not going anywhere. The lawyer was the son of this world. The sons of this world are often wiser than the sons of light because they are future-oriented. That’s Jesus’ point. They are thinking about their future on earth. And if they are planning so much with the 70-80 years they have in this temporary world, how much more should Christians plan for their eternity? But the sad reality is that non-Christians are often smarter than Christians in planning for their future.

So, how should we use our resources to plan for the future? Two things Jesus teaches us. First, use money to make eternal friends. The term ‘unrighteous wealth’ in verse 9 is referring to money. We are to use our money to make eternal friends. Why? Because one day our money will fail us. Notice Jesus does not say, “if it fails” but “when it fails.” So, our cash will fail us for sure. There are three ways money can fail us. First, it disappears. I think we all have had the moment where we look back on three years and we look at what we made and we are like, “What did I spend my money on? Where did it all go?” Or it disappears when the stock market drops, or we lose our job. So that’s one way it fails us. Second, we can have so much money to do everything we want, and we are still empty. That’s why the author of Ecclesiastes says, “I drank pleasure until there wasn’t anything else to drink and I still had no joy. I bought cars until there weren’t any better cars to buy and I got bored. I had women until there wasn’t a type I hadn’t had and I was not satisfied. I have everything but I’m empty and frustrated. Everything is meaningless.” So, it fails us that way also. Third, we are going to die. What good is our money on earth when we die? We can’t buy our way into heaven. We can’t go, “Hey Peter, I have something for you.” That doesn’t work. Our money will fail us. That is why the best thing to do with our money is to make eternal investments.

So, let’s talk about investment for a bit. You are smart people. You know the best thing to do with money is to put it into something that will increase in value. One of the best ways to start investing is through the best online trading platform uk. It is better to limit how much money you’re making now if it means in the long run, you’re putting your money into something that is going to increase and get more and more valuable, right? So, when Jesus says, “Your cash will fail,” he is saying, “Let me give you a very important perspective. There is no such thing as a good investment in this world. There is nothing in this world, no asset you can put your money that will last. Absolutely nothing. So, send your money forward to something that will literally last forever. Put your money into the eternal dwellings. Spend your money in such a way that brings people to God. Build the kingdom of God. Do something you can never lose.” This is what Jesus is saying. Our money will go somewhere: this temporary world or the eternal kingdom of God. The proper use of money is to make eternal friends. And by friends, Jesus is referring to people who will call us friends in heaven. There will be people who come to know God because we use our money wisely. And they will welcome us into the eternal dwellings. That’s the investment worth making.

And let me speak to parents once again. Parents, what are you teaching your children about money? Because if you don’t teach them how to use their money, the culture will. And our culture tells them every day, “YOLO. You only live once. You have to live for the moment. You have to spend your money on what makes you happy. If you want that big-screen TV, buy it. If you want a better car, go for it. If you want to travel the world, do it. Do what makes you happy. Spend your money on yourself. You deserve it.” That’s what the culture is telling us every day. To live for the moment and not for eternity. Whenever we sense the meaningless of this temporary world, do you know what we do? We go out and spend money to make ourselves feel better. We live in a consumer culture, and it goes against what Jesus is teaching us. But the opposite extreme is also unhealthy. Most of you are Chinese Asian and you have Chinese Asian parents. Do you know what Chinese Asian parents are famous for? Saving money. So, if you grew up in a Chinese Asian family, your parents must have taught you from a very young age to save money. It’s like the most important rule of life. You must save money no matter what — even a $1 difference matters. And there is some wisdom to it. But at the end of the day, that savings account will still fail you. That is why the best use of money is not to save it or spend it but to invest it in the eternal kingdom. So, parents. Do you live as if eternity is real? Are you teaching your kids to do the same? Or are you only teaching them to spend money on themselves or to put it in the piggy bank? I learned how to be generous from my parents, especially my dad. My dad is very quick to give money away to help those in need and to the church. He is one of the most generous people I know. And it rubs on me. Generosity became my DNA. Parents, teach your children from a very early age how to use money in the light of eternity. And not only teach them but also show them how you prioritize God and eternity with your money.

The second thing Jesus teaches is to be faithful with what God has given us. Luke 16:10-12 – 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? Listen carefully. What God is looking for is not abundance but faithfulness. God does not care how much we have; he cares how we use what he has given us. We can have a lot or a little. It doesn’t matter. The question is, are we faithful with what we have? I have met many people who said, “If God bless my business, if I have more money than I do now, then I will give to God.” But it doesn’t work that way. Jesus says, “If you are faithful in very little, you will be faithful in much. If you are dishonest in very little, you will be dishonest in much.” In other words, if we can’t be faithful while we make $20 per hour, we will not be faithful when we make $2,000 per hour. This is the unbreakable principle of life. What we would do with more is seen in what we do with what we have right now. Whatever we do with a little, we’ll do with much.

And then Jesus takes it a step further. If we are unfaithful in money, do not expect God to trust us with true riches. In other words, money is not true riches. Money is a test of whether God can trust us with true riches. And if we are not faithful in managing what is God’s, then God will not give us that which is our own. Jesus is saying, “If I can’t trust you with my earthly wealth which is here today and gone tomorrow, why would I trust you with the true and eternal wealth of God’s kingdom?” I love the way John Piper puts it. “The possession of money in this world is a test run for eternity. Can you pass the test of faithfulness with your money? Do you use it as a means of proving the worth of God and the joy you have in supporting his cause? Or does the way you use it prove that what you really enjoy is things, not God?” But the sad reality is the test of money is an area where many Christians failed miserably. If we are a steward, it means everything we have is not ours. We are managing God’s possessions. We are a financial manager. If we are a financial manager and we are not using the money the way the owner says we should, do you know what that is? It’s thievery.

Let me show you how it works. Malachi 3:8 – Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. In the Old Testament, God told the people of Israel to give 10% of their income to God. If you say, “What? 10%? That’s a lot,” you are not thinking clearly. Let me put it this way. What if a billionaire comes to you and says, “Would you manage my money for me?” You ask, “Well, what are the terms?” He says, “I want you to invest my money. Every year, you can keep 90% of the returns and just give me 10%. Would you like that job?” You would not say, “Let me think and pray about it.” You would say, “Let me sign the contract right now.” I don’t know of any job that has that kind of term. But don’t you realize that is what God is offering us? He is saying, “It’s all my money. I am giving it to you. But I only want 10%. You can live on the other 90%.” Do you think that is a lot? Of course not. So, Malachi is right in saying, “If you don’t give God even that 10%, you’re not just stingy; you’re a thief.”

I know what some of you are thinking. “Tithing is an Old Testament concept. It is not in the New Testament.” And you are right. We don’t find the command to give 10% in the New Testament. But let me ask you this. Are the standards for believers in the New Testament higher or lower than the standards in the Old Testament? Do the believers in the New Testament receive less grace, less benefit, less revelation from God, or more? Of course, they receive more. Therefore, the standards are higher. It means that if we can’t even give 10% of our money to God, we are not faithful with what God has given us. The truth is God not only deserves 10% of what we have, he deserves 100%. We can’t do whatever we want because it is not our money. Do you know why it is very hard for us to give generously? Because we think it is our money. But once we realize it is not our money, giving generously gets easier. Understanding who owns our money changes our experience with giving. Giving away someone else’s money is a lot of fun. That’s how God wants us to think about our money. We are called to be faithful with what God has given us.

Our master

Luke 16:13 – 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.

This is very interesting. When Jesus tells his disciples that they cannot serve two masters, he does not give them the option of God and Satan. Do you know what the option is? God and money. In other words, we must make a choice. There is no middle ground. We either use God to serve money or we use money to serve God. Which one is it? Who is the master of our heart? And this is the reason why Jesus talks a lot about money. Not that he hates money. God is the one who gives it to us. What he hates is the misuse of money. Jesus does not want money to be our master. Money is a good servant but a terrible master. But the temptation to make money our master is extremely strong. How so? Because with money, we can get whatever we desire. Money is incredibly good but incredibly dangerous at the same time.

You know this. There is something about money that makes you feel self-sufficient. Isn’t that true? When you have lots of money in the bank, you feel secure. A fat bank account makes you feel like you are ready for everything that will happen in the future. You feel like you are in control. But it only takes a single phone call to prove you wrong. And money also makes you feel powerful. When you have lots of money, you start to think that you have a say in everything. You might not know anything about politics or church, but you feel like people have to listen to you because of your fat bank account. Money can also give you the comfort of life and the approval of people. Money essentially feeds all the core idols: power, comfort, approval, and control. And because of it, it is very easy to be addicted to money. Money makes you an addict. It is a fact that the more money you make, the smaller percentage you give away.

One day, a man came to his pastor and said, “Pastor when I was making $50,000 a year, I would give generously to God. I gave 20% of my income. But now I’m making $500,000, it is really hard for me to give 10% of my income to God. Would you pray for me?” The pastor said, “Let’s pray. God, would you please take this brother back to $50,000 a year so he can start giving generously again.” The fact is, you get richer, yet you feel poorer than before. Jesus is clear that we can’t serve God and money. But here is the problem. Even though Jesus says we cannot, we still attempt to serve both God and money. And we know how to Christianise it to make it look like we are serving God alone. We say things like, “I want to be successful for the glory of God. I want to be very rich so I can buy a building for the church. I want to make a lot of money so I can help people.” Yes, okay. But if we are chasing Jesus so that we will be rich, we are not chasing Jesus. We are chasing riches using Jesus. And it is not going to work. That’s why Jesus says we have to choose: God or money? And we can’t be a good steward unless we master our money.

So the question is, how do we master our money? And I end with this. The only way to master money is we have to see the worthlessness of money and the true worth of Jesus. That’s the only way. Money cannot give us what we truly desire, but Jesus can. Money cannot give us the significance and the security we deeply long for. Money will not die for us. Money as a master will only enslave us. We will never feel enough, and money will choke us to death. But Jesus is different. Jesus is the only master willing to die for us to give us the significance and the security we desire. Jesus is the only master who if we serve him will satisfy us, and if we fail him will forgive us. Think about the gospel. Jesus was extremely rich. Jesus owned the heaven and the earth. He created everything. He was lavished in glory, majesty, and perfection. He had no need whatsoever. He had all the riches in the universe, and yet he became poor. He left his glory and walked on earth for 33 years as a man who did not possess anything. He was the richest person in the universe, and he became the poorest of criminals. Why did he do it? He did it for you. He did it for me. For our sake he became poor, so that by his poverty we might become rich. Jesus is the only master who emptied himself of all his money to turn enemies into friends. Jesus is the faithful steward who used all his wealth to make friends for himself in the eternal dwellings. And the only way for him to turn enemies into friends is his death on the cross. That’s what Jesus did for us. It cost Jesus everything to make us his eternal friends. That’s the true worth of Jesus. Do you see it? It is only when we see the true worth of Jesus as our master that we can master our money. Friends, one day we will have to give an account to God on how we steward his gifts. The question is, how are we using his gifts? What do we need to do, change, or give away for us to be good stewards? I pray that we may live our lives with eternity in mind. Let’s pray.