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Last week, we explored the Christian as an athlete—running the race seriously, training strictly, and playing by the rules to win. Some of you thought I was criticizing recreational running, but my point was this: there is no such thing as recreational Christianity. We don't run for participation medals in heaven; we run to win.
We also learned that the biblical doctrine of sanctification is not "rely and relax"—it is trust and obey. Today, I want to shift our focus and look at the Christian as a manager. Let me invite you to turn with me to Luke 16, verses 1 to 15.
Jesus told his disciples: "There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. 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.'
"The manager said to himself, 'What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg. I know what I'll do so that when I lose my job here people will welcome me into their houses.'
"So he called in each one of his master's debtors. He asked the first, 'How much do you owe my master?' '900 gallons of olive oil,' he replied. The manager told him, 'Take your bill, sit down quickly and make it 450.' Then he asked the second and how much do you owe? '30 tons of wheat,' he replied. He told him, 'Take your bill and make it 24.'
"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.
"I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves so that when it is gone you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings."
Then Jesus continues:
"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? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own?
"No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money."
The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them: "You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God's sight."
This story is about a man employed as a manager who was not faithful in his work. The employer said he was wasting his possessions. The New American Standard Bible says he was squandering them—the same word used of the Prodigal Son in the previous chapter.
You might call this man the prodigal manager.
Now, how was he wasting? Perhaps he was running up huge personal expenses using the company's resources—traveling, shopping, eating at fancy restaurants under the false pretext of advancing the organization. He had the company card and was swiping it left, right, and center. Or maybe he was simply embezzling funds, helping himself to the organization's coffers.
But let me ask those of you who are employed: What kind of employee are you? Can your employer trust you with company resources? Are you wasteful? Do you lack integrity?
It's not just about money. What about the organization's time?
We live in an age of endless distraction. You open YouTube to watch just one video, and ten hours later, you're still watching.
But here is what Jesus teaches us: the little things matter.
In verse 10, He says:
"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."
Someone once said: Life is an aggregation of littles. He who despises little things falls little by little. The proverb warns us:
"A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of hands to rest—and poverty will come upon you like a bandit, and scarcity like an armed man."
Little things. I believe this progression applies to many areas. A little wastage here, a little embezzlement there, a little stealing here—and soon you see someone on TV charged with a major corruption scandal. It starts small. In the Song of Solomon, we are told to "catch the little foxes," because it is the little ones that start the destruction.
So here is my point, friends: Be careful of little wastes. Wasting time, wasting money, wasting resources. Be faithful with the little, because if you are faithful with the little, God will entrust you with so much more.
In verse 10-11, Jesus says:
"If you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own?"
If you're faithful in little, more will be entrusted to you. If not in this life, then in the life to come.
Remember the parable of the talents and the minas. Those who were faithful with little were entrusted with much. One person turned one mina into ten miners and was told, "You take charge of ten cities, because you are faithful with little things."
Your faithfulness with big things doesn't magically happen with a promotion. If you're not faithful with little things, a promotion won't change that.
I wish we understood this as Kenyan voters. Some of the people we elect to public office were not faithful with little things down there. In fact, in this country, if you fail down there, here is how you redeem yourself: apply for public office. "I mismanaged a company? No problem—I'll run for parliament." And then we entrust even more resources to that individual and expect development. But if they were not faithful with little, how can we expect them to be faithful with much?
Friends, be faithful with little things.
Because this manager was squandering what had been entrusted to him, the report reached headquarters. In verse 2:
"He called him in and asked him, 'What is this that I hear about you? Give an account of your management because you cannot be manager any longer.'"
He was given a show cause letter—a letter saying, "Why shouldn't we fire you?"
We don't know who reported him. Was it other employees? The auditors? His own family? It doesn't matter. The point is: the boss found out. And here is my point:
What is done in secret will always come to the light.
If you choose to live a shady life, don't lie to yourself that your shady dealings will remain secret forever. Someday it will be exposed. Then will come the day of reckoning—if not in this life, then in the one to come.
So the question I have for you is: When what you do is heard, will you be proud or ashamed?
Live in a manner that if your report is given, you'll have nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, you'll be saying, "Go shout it on the mountains, on the rooftops, over the hills—tell what I am doing! I'm proud because I'm a person of integrity."
There is nothing that kills gossip like news that is not juicy. If you live above reproach, there is nothing for the gossip mill to share about you. Walk in the light. No shady dealings. Because you are accountable.
Knowing that the boss had a solid case against him, the manager doesn't respond to the show cause letter. Instead, he calls himself to a little meeting, does some self-reflection, and then chats his way forward.
In verse 3-5:
"The manager said to himself, 'What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg. I know what I'll do so that when I lose my job here people will welcome me into their houses.'
"So he called in each one of his master's debtors."
The first debtor owed 900 gallons of olive oil—about 3,400 liters, roughly three years' wages. At about 1,000 shillings per liter, that's approximately 3.4 million shillings.
The manager told him: "Take your bill, sit down quickly and make it 450." That's 1,700 liters—1.7 million shillings. He slashed it by half.
Then the second debtor owed 30 tons of wheat, worth about 3.6 million shillings. The manager reduced it by 20%, bringing it down to about 2.8 million shillings.
Who would not love a person like that? Someone who just gets you back in the game?
Commentators have wondered: How was he able to do this? Was it ethical? Some suggest he removed his commission—he was willing to part with what he would have earned. Others say he removed the interest, which would make his boss look benevolent. Whatever the case, his strategy was to make friends while still in power so that when he was fired, he would have people to take him in or give him a job.
The master acknowledged his shrewdness. Instead of facing discipline, the manager went from a show cause letter to something close to employee of the year. He had strategically positioned himself.
But here is what Jesus emphasizes: He is not being commended for his unethical behavior. In verse 8, Jesus still calls him "the dishonest manager." He is not being praised for wrongdoing.
What he is being commended for is caring about the outcome of his life. He faced the consequences of his actions and came up with a genius plan for self-preservation. He thought deeply about what would become of him and did something about it.
He is commended for his shrewdness in using his influence to secure friends who would welcome him to their homes if he lost his job.
And this is how Jesus applies the lesson. In verse 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. I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves so that when it is gone you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings."
When Jesus says "the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than the people of the light," what does He mean?
He means that the people of this world have learned how to use their influence, their resources, to grow their networks and advance their own agenda better than we do. And He is saying: You can learn something from this.
Consider the LGBT agenda. Love them or hate them, they are shrewd. How?
First, they invest in the arts. They put their money into movies, theater, songs, drama. Someone once said that culture is not changed by the front door of reason but through the back door of the arts. The arts are powerful in shaping culture and worldview.
These groups have poured massive budgets into storytelling, cinematography, casting. Meanwhile, have you watched Christian movies? The first thing that comes to mind is: low budget. You watch and cringe. The storyline is weak. Ten minutes in, you know how it ends.
They beat us ten to nothing with storytelling and production value.
Second, they influence legislation and policy. They activate influencers who make noise—so much noise that you might think they're in the majority. But they're a minority. They lobby, they fund lobby groups, and laws change in their favor. They have even changed school curricula. In some countries, you can't talk about God or Jesus in schools, but they talk about gender ideology. They have normalized these ideas. They have a whole month to celebrate their cause.
Have you ever heard of "Light Month" for the people of light? No. But June is "Pride Month," and it's mainstream.
Jesus looks at this and says: "The people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than the people of the light." They use their influence, their power, their resources. They pour in their money. They advance their cause and their agenda. And meanwhile, we are asleep. Their agenda is growing while ours is shrinking.
Why? Because we are not leveraging our position, our influence, our money, our resources to advance the kingdom of God.
So what does Jesus mean by "use worldly wealth to make friends"? Be generous. Use your resources to advance the kingdom.
This is also what it means to be a good steward of God's resources. Everything you have belongs to God. You are a manager of God's possessions. How are you managing it?
The people of this world use their influence, their resources, their money, their time to advance their agenda. Let us do the same. Let us use our money and influence to make disciples and advance God's kingdom.
Let me give you some practical examples:
Supporting Christian arts. We have a studio here. To bring it to state-of-the-art standards costs about 1 million shillings. Some of you could say, "I will give toward that," because you know what it will do—it will help our musicians create quality work that reaches people and points them to Christ.
Supporting Christian drama and theater. Dr. Julissa Ro leads our Word to Life drama team and also runs an acting organization called Chia Chia Players. They put on plays that tell stories of faith. We should show up for these events, support Christian artists, and help them tell good stories. They lack funding and support because we don't show up.
Supporting youth ministries. The Mi3 football team is growing. They need balls, uniforms, equipment. We can support them so they can win games and win souls for the kingdom.
Supporting mission work. Young people are going to Germany as missionaries. We can support them because we know that in years to come, they will bring people to Christ.
Supporting interns. The interns here will become pastors and ministers of the Gospel. When you support an intern, you're investing in the future of the church.
I'm not saying you support everything. But you should constantly be thinking: How can I use my money for the gospel agenda? How can I be shrewd with these resources?
Someday you will enter heaven. And there will be a group of people coming toward you, cheering. They'll say, "Remember me? You supported that young person who went to Germany. I met them, they shared the gospel, and I became a Christian. When I got to heaven, I wanted to thank you."
Maybe Jesus Himself will come to you and say, "You did this to Me."
You'll say, "When did I ever do this to You?"
He'll say, "Whatsoever you did to the least of My brothers, you did unto Me."
Friends, be good stewards of God's money and possessions. The best way they can be used is to advance the kingdom of God.
I'm not saying don't feed your children. I'm not saying don't save for a rainy day. I'm saying: Have the mindset that these possessions belong to the Lord. Rather than squander them on fleeting pleasures, put them to good use in advancing His kingdom.
I also want to add: Don't open yourself up for exploitation. When a stranger comes to you with a story, direct them to the church leadership. We have ministries to help people. We can verify stories and follow up. But the principle stands: think of your possessions as belonging to God and ask yourself, How can I use this to advance God's agenda?
Jesus concludes with this:
"No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money."
The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them:
"You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God's sight."
The Pharisees were their master was money. When Jesus spoke about using shrewdness to advance God's kingdom, they rolled their eyes. They thought He was out of touch with reality. Their focus was on keeping money for themselves.
Notice that this parable comes right after the story of the Prodigal Son. The Prodigal Son had a big brother. When the father welcomed the prodigal home with a celebration, the big brother was furious. He felt entitled. He thought, "This is my inheritance—how can you use it to celebrate this brother who squandered his share?"
The big brother loved what the father had to give, but he did not love the father himself. His concern was his own possession, not his father's joy.
But Jesus—the true big brother—was willing to use His possessions to bring in those who were lost. He went Himself to seek the lost brother. He was willing to become poor so that we might become rich. He was willing to share His inheritance with us.
Will we become like Jesus, or will we become like the Pharisees?
Will we follow our Master, the Lord Jesus, in His willingness to use His resources, His time, His life to make friends and advance God's kingdom? Or will we be like the Pharisees, thinking only of ourselves?
This is how Jesus ends the lesson:
"What people value highly is detestable in God's sight."
Some of the monuments we build, the things we run after, the possessions we use—we do it all for our own glory. But God finds them monstrous. He says, "This is not even for My glory."
My prayer is that God will help us have a different view of what He has given us—and that we will be found, in the end, to be good Christian managers.
Dear Lord, we thank You for all You have entrusted to our care. We have so much to be grateful for. But Lord, if we have not been good stewards, we repent. Forgive us. Show us how to become better stewards.
In this story, we see that there is a way to use our resources that is commendable—to be shrewd in advancing Your kingdom. Lord, help us to be willing to use what You have entrusted to us—our influence, our power, our time, our money, our possessions—to make friends and extend Your kingdom.
Help us to see that what we have belongs to You, and we are merely managers. Help us to be good stewards in advancing Your agenda.
Lord, may we not be found like the Pharisees, loving money and keeping it for ourselves. May it never be said of us that the things we valued highly, You hated. But help us to value the same things You value.
Give us all the glory and honor, in Jesus' precious name we pray. Amen.
