A Servant Named Shrewd

September 20, 1992 am

Lesson: Luke 16:1-13

Last Sunday we looked at Luke 15, a chapter the church likes to apply for its own evangelistic use, even though Jesus addressed it first to the Pharisees and scribes.

Today we look at Luke 16, a chapter the church likes to use to describe "others," even though Jesus first addressed it to his own inner circle of disciples.

This is a difficult passage, but before we look at the hard part, we need to address the obvious part, the truth which is assumed at the very outset.

The parable is about a trustee, or manager of an estate, called in some versions a "steward." Whatever the English word, the meaning is clear; the story is about one person entrusted with managing another person's wealth and property, charged with acting in his master's behalf. The disciples understood the meaning of 'steward':

I. WE ARE ALL STEWARDS OF ALL THAT WE ARE AND HAVE

Christians are people who have said, "Jesus is LORD!" We are people who have said that God has both CREATED us and REDEEMED us, and so we are acknowledging His ownership, His right to be glorified in every part of our lives.
1. Non-Christians and unbelievers reject this out of hand. We would expect them to! "No one is going to tell me what to do!" is the very essence of human nature.
2. What I cannot understand is Christians who have not settled it that they belong to God! Really, if we can say, by the Spirit of God, "Jesus is Lord!" then we have no choice! WE ARE STEWARDS!
HAVE YOU THOUGHT WHAT BEING A STEWARD MEANS?
1. Our THINGS belong to God. When we talk about stewardship this is usually what we are thinking about. Our money, our talents, our possessions are supposed to be dedicated to the glory of God.
  But this is not the heart or essence of what stewardship is about; it is the result of our being stewards.
2. [Coming a little closer to the heart of the matter] Our RELATIONSHIPS belong to God. Our inter-personal actions are to reflect God's ownership!
  We cannot "give" another human being to God, in the truest sense, for they have to do that for themselves. But we can and MUST give the relationships of life to God!
  The easiest relationships to give God are the ones that have not yet been crystallized. When we give God the future, and seek His will in entering new relationships, we avoid great heartache.
  The richest and most rewarding human relationships are when all parties involved cooperate in seeking God's will together.
  But in the less-than-ideal relationships of life: the mixed marriages, the give-and-take of church viewpoints, the misunderstandings between mixed generations, - the Christian Steward can invoke the lordship, the ownership of Jesus in his or her relationships.
  There is more truth here than I can pack into one corner of a twenty minute sermon, but let me use just one important relationship to represent them all:
  HOW DO WE GIVE OUR PARENT- CHILD RELATIONSHIPS TO GOD IN FAITHFUL STEWARDSHIP?
  The need for stewardship is especially keen in the parent-child relationship: Parents, what is YOUR goal for your son or daughter? I am not just talking about dreams and hopes— but what are you trying to do with the life that has been entrusted to your stewardship?
  Let me suggest one over-arching goal (and I borrow without apology from H. Norman Wright) [1]
  Our goal as parents is to empower our children to become mature and to release them to become independent from us and dependent on God.
3. [Our THINGS, our RELATIONSHIPS—these are vital. But] THE VERY HEART OF STEWARDSHIP IS WHEN WE GIVE OUR VERY SELF TO GOD! I cannot tell you how important this is!
  Is the Christian faith RADICALLY INDIVIDUALISTIC, or is it A SURRENDER OF (EGO) SELF to a Holy and Good God, and by so doing ENTERING INTO A COVENANT OF COMMUNITY WITH THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST??
  The latest outrageous claims of our hedonist media— "You deserve to feel good!" "Do whatever fulfills YOU!" — are as old as Eden. Unregenerate human nature wants to be god! Shakespeare put this in the mouth of a father of weak character giving advice to his weak son:
  "To thine own SELF be true, and it must follow as the night the day thou canst not then be false to any man." But the sad fact is that we cannot be true to ourselves apart from a relationship with our Maker. And those who do not pretend to know God cannot be expected to buy this business of being trustees of our lives.
  It is no good to surrender our THINGS, and our RELATIONSHIPS —our husbands, wives, children— if we do not truly surrender ourSELVES!
  The entire New Testament is written in the context of THE SURRENDERED LIFE! The life lived out for God in the community of believers!
  The New Testament does not indicate a METHOD of community, but the SPIRIT OF COMMUNITY IS THE ESSENCE OF THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH! We exist to edify the Body, to surrender our right to "self" to the Lord of the Body, and we believe and trust that this is the pathway to true life!
One other thing about stewards that is "obvious" here: STEWARDS ARE CALLED TO ACCOUNT! Christians shall give an account of their trust. As trustees, stewards, managers, Jesus made it clear on many occasions that we shall be called to accounting.
1. We ARE saved by grace, through faith, and not of works- - so when we come to know Jesus as Savior and Lord all our sins are forgiven, and we shall not have to answer for them. We do not need to face Judgment Day with dread.
2. The servants of God WILL face a time of accounting when rewards will be assigned according to the faithfulness of service. Over and over Jesus taught things like:
"Don't hide your talent in a napkin— or you will suffer loss!" "To whom much is give much shall be required!" There will be an accounting! These truths are obvious and can be accepted at face value from this passage. But the passage is not simple!
[Narrative: This servant Shrewd knew (all the above.)
He also knew his "number was up." So he devised a scheme to soften the crunch of judgment! He used his power of office to undercut the demands of his master— "don't pay the full amount!" He thought that maybe he might get a job with a competitor— And the master actually expressed a form of admiration—before the hammer came down!]

II. THE IMPACT OF THE SHREWD SERVANT STORY

[FORESIGHT IS GOOD!] The master of Shrewd commended him for planning ahead. "The children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light!" What can this mean?
A dedication to objectives and goals. The kingdom of God is not a profit-driven business. But there is no undertaking in all the universe as important as kingdom business.
And yet in our attitude we often treat the kingdom as a second-class hobby. We treat our paycheck with supreme deference; we then address our leisure and vacation times, our schedules of personal interest— AND THEN WITH WHAT IS LEFT OVER WE THINK OF GLORIFYING OUR MASTER.
The children of the world take their career success very seriously indeed. Can we children of light take a lesson from Shrewd? WHAT OBJECTIVES AND GOALS DRIVE US? WHAT GOALS DO YOU HAVE FOR YOUR CHILDREN??
["FORESIGHT IS GOOD!" BUT] "I'M AN EXCEPTION" NEVER WORKS IN CHRIST'S KINGDOM! To "cut corners" in the least bit in spirit, or in principle is to lose everything!
1. On the surface it would SEEM that this is one time that Jesus gave approval to doing a wrong thing for a right purpose (or, the classic "The end justifies the means.") But this is simply NOT so! The end NEVER justifies the means! Jesus NEVER violates His own holy character!
2. What recourse did Shrewd have? He should have thrown himself on the mercy of his master!
3. The lesson closes with a broad hint into the deepest truth of which we are capable of grasping: that eternity is the real target for our faithful relationships here and now! Ponder this enigmatic statement:
  "If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who shall give you that which is your own?" (11,12)

Conclusion:

If you are a Christian, you are a manager, a steward, a trustee. You have no choice whatsoever. The only choice that you have is...

WHAT KIND OF TRUSTEE ARE YOU GOING TO BE?

Prayer

Hymn No. 51 (Exalt Him) Because I Have Been Given Much

[1] Wright, H. Norman, The Power of a Parent's Words, Regal Books, Ventura, CA., 1991, pp 41,42