In Luke 16, Jesus told a story to his disciples about a financial manager who was responsible for the wealth of a rich man.  We call it the “Parable of the Shrewd Manager”.

At the end of the story Jesus taught three things about wealth, money and possessions.

Wealth can keep us from being Passionately Devoted to God

“No one can serve two masters.  For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other.  You cannot serve both God and money.” (Luke 16:13)

Jesus tells the disciples that no one can serve two masters, that a person who is trying to please two masters will hate one and love the other.  And Jesus says this is true of our personal relationship with God and wealth.  We cannot pursue wealth and God at the same time because the pursuit of money and possessions will distract us from pursuing God.  It’s not that Jesus wants our money, He just wants us!  We give our money and possessions to show that these things are not our master, that we are instead passionately devoted to Jesus!

Wealth is to be used to Help Others

“Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends.  Then, when your earthly possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home.” (Luke 16:9)

James 1:17 says that every good and perfect gift comes from God, so if our wealth can be a stumbling block, why have we been blessed with it?  In Luke 16:9 Jesus tells us that we have been blessed with wealth so that we can invest it in things of eternal significance.  Jesus says that we cannot take our wealth, money and possessions with us when we die, so instead we should use our money and possessions to help others experience life and relationship with the eternal God.  It’s not that Jesus wants our money; He wants us to be relentlessly focused on helping others.

Wealth is Not Ours to begin with

“If you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven?  And if you are not faithful with other people’s things, why should you be trusted with things of your own.” (Luke 16:11-12)

In the story, a servant is fired because he wasted the master’s money.  The servant forgot that money entrusted to a servant is not the servant’s, it belongs to the master and must be used for the master’s purposes.  Our money and possessions are not our own, they belong to God and are entrusted to us; we are only stewards.  And Jesus says if we are faithful with how we handle our wealth, then we will be trusted with more and be trusted with the true riches of heaven.  We give our money and possessions because they aren’t really ours, they are God’s.