The Parables of Jesus: Luke 16: 1-8
1Jesus told his disciples: "There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. 2So he called him in and asked him, 'What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.'
3"The manager said to himself, 'What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I'm not strong enough to dig, and I'm ashamed to beg— 4I know what I'll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.'
5"So he called in each one of his master's debtors. He asked the first, 'How much do you owe my master?'
6" 'Eight hundred gallonsa]">[a] of olive oil,' he replied.
"The manager told him, 'Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred.'
7"Then he asked the second, 'And how much do you owe?'
" 'A thousand bushelsb]">[b] of wheat,' he replied.
"He told him, 'Take your bill and make it eight hundred.'
8"The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.
I'm totally gonna rip this off from a sermon that I heard Andy Stanley preach one time, but it's so good that I just have to.
One of the things I love about reading the parables of Jesus is his ability to take something common (like someone about to be fired from their job) and find a spiritual application to it.
This money manager one day gets a wake up call from his boss, he's told to wrap up any orders he may have, 'cause he's out of here. Many of us would have just walked away from the job, left things a mess and made the owner pick up the pieces. He may have wanted to do just that, but as he was thinking, he realized that he didn't want to work with his hands, and he was too proud to beg, so what was he going to do?
At this point, this man had a little bit of time, and a little bit of resources. So he put these things to use in the best way he could. He used his little time and little resources and was able to gain favors from different people, so that when he was fired, he had a few people who owed him. His boss was obviously the same way, because he just laughed at the guy.
It's the same thing with us, we have a little time here on Earth, and a few resources (money, friends, the Bible) to work with. Are we using them for the best possible purpose? Or are we wasting them away? Do something with your time and resources today.
-Jeff-
