devotional post #2010

Luke 16:10-12

Luk 16:10 “The one who proves faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and the one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.
Luk 16:11 If then you haven’t been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will entrust you with the true riches?
Luk 16:12 And if you haven’t been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you your own?

the now test

Jesus presses this parable on us because it exposes a subtle but dangerous illusion: the belief that money and possessions exist primarily to make us happy. That is the default setting of the human heart. We assume that if we can gather enough, secure enough, or enjoy enough, we will finally be satisfied. But Jesus reframes the entire conversation. Wealth is not the substance of life; it is a stewardship. It is not the true treasure; it is the test before the treasure.

In the parable, the dishonest manager is commended not for his ethics but for his insight. He recognizes that his present resources are temporary, and he uses them with the future in mind. Jesus takes that principle and applies it to every disciple: whatever we possess now—money, influence, opportunities, relationships—is not ours to keep. It is entrusted to us for a season, and the way we use it reveals the condition of our hearts.

This is why Jesus calls wealth “little things.” Not because money is unimportant, but because it is temporary. It belongs to another. It will not follow us into the age to come. Yet it is precisely in these temporary things that our faithfulness is tested. If we treat wealth as a personal entitlement, we fail the test. If we treat it as a tool for loving those the Father loves, we begin to handle it with kingdom wisdom.

The rich man in the next parable failed this test spectacularly. He assumed his comfort was permanent. He assumed his status would carry over into eternity. He assumed that stepping over Lazarus day after day had no consequences. But Jesus shows that the true riches—the riches of God’s kingdom, God’s joy, God’s presence—are given to those who use their temporary possessions in ways that reflect the Father’s heart.

This is the challenge for us. We are not asked to despise wealth, nor to idolize it, but to steward it. To see every possession as a trust. To ask, “How can this serve the Father’s purposes today? How can this bless someone he loves? How can this small thing prepare me for the greater things he longs to give?”

LORD, show us how to wisely invest all that you give us today, so that we may be found faithful stewards of your gifts.