Luke 16:1-131And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. 2And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward. 3Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. 4I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. 5So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? 6And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. 7Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore. 8And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. 9And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. 10He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. 11If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own? 13No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. (Luke 16:1‑13)
The rapid consumption of goods in our materialistic society is causing alarm as we deplete the natural resources of this world. This causes us as Christians to wonder how we should use the material goods we have at our disposal. The instructions of our Lord in Luke 16:1-131And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. 2And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward. 3Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. 4I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. 5So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? 6And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. 7Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore. 8And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. 9And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. 10He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. 11If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own? 13No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. (Luke 16:1‑13) give us to understand His viewpoint concerning how we can please Him in the use of money and material things.
The steward was told in verses 12 to give an account of his stewardship, for he could no longer be steward. The issue at hand was not only the steward mentioned, but the whole human race. The Lord was calling in question man’s use of what God had given him. All through the Old Testament the failure of man is recorded. Then when the Son of God came, He called into question man’s stewardship. Could he give an account of all that had been entrusted to him? Could he remedy the failure? The action of the steward proved the answer. He knew he could not reconcile the account and pay it back, so he acted accordingly. He sought to make friends with those who could be kind to him after he was removed from his position.
The Lord Jesus tells us that the steward was commended for his actions. He does not commend him for honesty — he judged him to be unjust — but he commends him for his prudence, his foresight to act wisely in view of what was coming when his stewardship was taken from him. The steward was wise to sacrifice present temporary advantage for the sake of the future permanent benefit.
The Lord of all the earth in the same manner has determined that the human race has failed in its stewardship of this world. The world has been ruined by man and God is going to have to burn it up. But, before He destroys this world, He has given us a time to use the things in it a little longer. The Lord has plainly told us of the termination of our stewardship. It is vain to try to change the verdict or go about seeking to improve the earth. But before He destroys the earth, God in His mercy gives each of us who are still living on it a time to use material things. Our time of stewardship will terminate when we leave this world, whether by death or at the Lord’s coming.
The Wise Use of Material Things
How careful we should be with the material things that God has entrusted to us! The issue is no longer a question of preserving this world (the first creation) as an environment for blessing. There is a better world for which to prepare, in the everlasting habitations (the new creation). The things of this world are coming to an end. They have been ruined by man and cannot be recovered. The Lord Jesus is the only one who can remedy the situation.
The all important issue is not to find a remedy for this world, but to determine where we will go when we leave this world, and whether we will have any treasure in heaven! As good stewards of the material things of this world, we should not be wasteful. There is One who is ready to receive us in the new world. Let us seek to use the material things at our disposal for Him. Let us make friends with Him. He has promised to give something that will abide —that which is our own (vs. 12).
As to the part that cannot be returned to our Lord, there is One who can pay it. Yes, our Lord is able to put this world back into order, and He will do so in the end (1 Cor. 15:24). We can depend on Him for that, and we should acknowledge it and thank Him for it.
How wonderful to realize that the Lord of the first creation is also Lord of the new creation. He is able to put everything we have spoiled of the first creation back in order. He wants to give us new life to participate in the new creation. He is more interested in the destiny of our never-dying soul than merely exacting from us all that we owe. In fact, He came to pay the debt so it could be done on a righteous basis. It honors Him to accept this offer and own Him as Lord. The way is open to the Father’s eternal abode.
D. C. Buchanan