Money Monster - "Wasted"
- Series: "Money Monster" - Tame the Beast
- by: Chris Mayfield 10/25/09
Faithful in Little, Then Faithful in Much
We sometimes half jokingly pray for God to allow us to win the lottery or inherit millions of dollars all the while we promise that we will do great things for the kingdom if it happens. But if we look at how we steward and spend all that God has given us now, what evidence is there that we will do any more good than we are doing now? Verse 10 in this chapter is powerful, “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much”. Before we can ever talk about stuff, we have to talk about getting our heart right with God. Then we have to live out faithfully what we say we believe.
God understands our deceitful minds and weak hearts which are prone to wander and he knows exactly what we would do with any amount of superfluous money. If we grumble and moan about giving back to God that which is already His to begin with, and don’t responsibly handle what we have now, how can we expect God to put more into our stewardship? We must learn to be trustworthy with little and with worldly riches—not to mention fully understanding what true riches are—before being given much to be trusted with that is of true value.
Engage the Text
Luke 16:1-17
- What’s the difference between ownership and stewardship? In the parable, who owns and who stewards?
- Why does the rich man commend the dishonest manager? What did the manager do that others fail to do?
- What does it mean to be shrewd? How can Christians be shrewd and righteous?
- Jesus says that unrighteous wealth will fail us. What does this mean? What is unrighteous wealth? How will unrighteous wealth ultimately fail us?
- What “true riches” is Jesus speaking of in verse 11?
- How have you seen this principle of serving two masters play out in your own life?
From Thought to Action
- Why is stewardship of the gospel, our bodies, our money, etc. such a struggle for us? How is it all connected to the gospel? Which specific areas are you failing to steward faithfully? What steps are you taking to correct this?
- Just as the manager is called upon by his boss to give an account of his work, so too, we will be called upon by God to give an account for what we have done with what we have. What have you been entrusted with? How are you stewarding those things?
- Do you have any unrighteous wealth or means of unrighteous wealth that you need to forsake? What is it? How will you let go of it?
Can you think of an example of a time when you were trusted with something small and a time where you were entrusted with something big? Share your experiences.
