“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?”
~ Luke 16:10-11
Dishonesty. Unfaithfulness. Misplaced trust. We hear and read about it all the time. A secretary in a small company’s accounting department has been secretly stealing money. A politician has misused thousands of taxpayer dollars for expensive trips and luxuries. A spouse can’t trust his or her partner with the checkbook or credit cards because of broken promises.
How about you? The Bible says, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it” (Psalm 24:1). Everything really belongs to God. That means everything in your possession is on loan to you from God. God simply asks you to be a good manager of everything he has lent to you. God lends you your time, talents and your treasure so that you can use them to serve your Savior, your family, and others less fortunate than you.
What kind of manager have you been? Are you making time not only for your employer, but also for your spouse and family, and for service to your church? Is your talent focused just on your job and personal hobbies, or do you view your gifts as opportunities to benefit others? When that paycheck arrives, do you always wonder first how you can use that money for your benefit, to bring you pleasure? Or, as the Bible says, do you first set aside a sum of money for the Lord in keeping with your income? (See 1 Corinthians 16:2)
And what about the greatest treasures God has given you, the treasures that money cannot buy? What about that forgiveness for our selfishness? What about that knowledge of Jesus’ suffering and death—what he went through—just so we could have that forgiveness? What about that sure and certain hope of heaven which we never could have earned or purchased on our own? What about the promises of God to give us what we need, even if we don’t have all that we want? Are you sharing those treasures? Does your family know about them? Your friends and neighbors? Are you using your gifts to help others in places all over the world to find real and everlasting treasure in Jesus?
What it comes down to is this: What matters is not the amount of gifts or the value of the treasure God has given. It’s the trustworthy character and the faithfulness of the one to whom those gifts have been given.
Look to Jesus. See the trustworthy character of Jesus as he faithfully obeys his Father’s will to die for you. Let that be your guide to developing Christian honesty, trust and faithfulness with all the gifts God has given and loaned to you.
Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for all your gifts: food and family, spouse and children, home and job, earthly and heavenly treasure, forgiveness and salvation. Forgive my stinginess in serving others or in sharing with others. Make me more and more generous like you. Amen.
Living Hope Church 