Day #21
Larry Trotter
Words
of Love
1 Jesus
told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting
his possessions. 2 So he
called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of
your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’ 3 “The manager said to himself,
‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to
dig, and I’m ashamed to beg— 4 I
know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into
their houses.’
8 “The
master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the
people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are
the people of the light. Luke 16:1-4, 8 NIV
Overcoming the Barrier
The chair of the
Finance Team had to step down for health reasons in a church I previously
served. I went to a young dad who was a CPA and fairly new in the church and
asked if he would serve. He was reluctant at first, but I convinced him that
his experience and fresh eyes could have a positive impact on our finances. He took
three huge ledgers home to get a better look at our financial picture. About a
week later he called to say that he had found two accounts at a local bank that
held over 30-thousand dollars drawing very little interest. After some further
research the money was from two memorial accounts that had been sitting in the
bank for years. No one had ever questioned the bank statements, the assumption
being that the money was connected to the church cemetery fund, but it wasn’t.
Cleary, there had been nothing surreptitious, no conscious attempt to hide the
money. It was, apparently, the easiest and safest thing to do, though it wasn’t
accomplishing much for the kingdom. The accountant asked the church for
permission to make some safe, short-term investments with the money, which, in
a year, resulted in the creation of three new ministries. His shrewd accounting
and investment actions brought the kingdom a little closer in our community.
I believe that strikes
at the heart of this somewhat baffling parable that, on the surface, makes it
appear that Jesus is suggesting we cheat others to benefit ourselves. You
should take a moment to read the whole thing (Luke 16:1-14) lest you think I’m
making this up. The manager in the story is about to get fired so he goes out
and reduces his clients’ bills to curry favor with them when he’s out of work. Jesus
applauds these shenanigans as shrewd business practices and suggests that the
“people of the light,” those who are seeking after Jesus, use the same shrewd
thinking to advance the kingdom he is announcing. Put differently, failure occurs
when we do the least we can get by with as followers of Jesus. When we, the church,
keep doing things the same way because it’s easy and makes us comfortable and rely
on ministry models that no longer engage the culture, we fail our Lord who came
to make all things new and literally turn the church upside down. See John 2:15
or Matthew 21:12 if you think that’s overstated. Failure to apply our
creativity and ingenuity to our calling as disciples can be a barrier to the
kingdom’s expansion within our sphere of influence. But, the power of Jesus’
love flowing through us unimpeded overcomes that barrier and urges us to think
outside the box, take some risks, and pull of some kingdom shenanigans. Who’s
with me?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, I confess that I have left a lot
of myself on the table when it comes to participating in your kingdom
enterprise. Help me to loosen up and imagine how the gifts and graces you have
given can impact the kingdom for your glory.
No comments:
Post a Comment