Today's Scripture
Luke 16: 1 – 13 Three to Thirty
Then Jesus said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property. 2 So he summoned him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Give me an accounting of your management, because you cannot be my manager any longer.’ 3 Then the manager said to himself, ‘What will I do, now that my master is taking the position 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 dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.’ 5 So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 He answered, ‘A hundred jugs of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.’ 7 Then he asked another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘A hundred containers of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill and make it eighty.’ 8 And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. 9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.
10 “Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. 11 If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? 13 No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
RJ's Devotion
What the passage says
V. 1-2 A master’s servant, who was squandering his master’s money, were about to be punished for all his misdoings.
V. 3-7 So the servant summons all people, who are in debt to the master, and settles the payment, for his own insurance.
V.8-9 To our surprise, the master commends the servant, because of his wisdom. The action of this servant was unjust, but he was commanded by the wisdom. This is certainly a surprise, however, we shouldn’t dwell on this too much.
V. 10-11 However, Jesus concludes the story by saying that, as servants, we need to be faithful and trustworthy.
What does the passage say to me/us?
The servant lives a self-centered life. Probably, the reason why he squandered his master’s possession, was for his own benefit.
He was not only unjust but self-centered that he didn’t care for others. The only time he was commended by his master was when he settled the debt with others. He was still unjust but, at least, he did something good for others.
What is Jesus trying to say through this parable?
As a servant of our Lord, we need to do and live for others, not for ourselves.
Living for others ultimately fulfills our obligation to live for our Lord.
When we live for others, there is certain risk that might follow.
However, we do it, because not only it is justice, but also it is the will of our Lord.
Jesus says, “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it” (Matthew 16:25)
If doing good to others is God’s will for us, wouldn’t taking some risk be justified?
Prayer
Lord, we are your servants, living for your glory. Help us to fix our eyes onto your mission, and do what is needed. Give us the wisdom and courage to live for your glory. In Christ name, we pray, AMEN
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