Luke 16: 1-8
1-2 in this parable Jesus said that a rich man employed a dishonest manager to run his business
One day the rich man gets a report that the dishonest manager is wasting his money
The rich man calls in the dishonest manager and asks for a final business report and tells him he will be fired
3-4 the dishonest manager comes up with a plan to secure his future by making friends with his employer’s debtors
5-7 the dishonest manager invites his employer’s debtors to meet with him and offers them a final payment discount to settle their debts
To the debtor who owed money on his olive oil purchase – the dishonest manager offers him a 50% discount
In today’ value = $75, 000 discount
To the debtor who owed money on his wheat purchase – the dishonest manager offers him a 20% discount
In today’ value = $100, 000 discount
By doing this, the dishonest manager put his employer’s debtors into his debt!
By letting them off paying the full amount they owed to his employer, these debtors now owed him a favor!
What favor do you think the dishonest manager wanted?
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8 Even though the dishonest manager ‘ripped off’ his employer for $175, 000, Jesus said, that the employer ‘admired’ his dishonest manager!
The employer did not admire the dishonest manager’s dishonesty – he admired his money management skills in securing his own future
In this parable Jesus is not recommending we that we ‘rip off’ other people to swindle money out of them to secure our future
Jesus is teaching us this parable so that we might learn principles of money management
9a ‘Here’s the lesson’: 9-13 Jesus gives us 3 principles of money management
1/ Money should be used to ‘benefit others and make friends’
9 Use money to benefit the people of God and when those people go before you into Heaven, when you arrive later, they will welcome you into your new eternal home
Will people be waiting to welcome you into Heaven because you gave money to benefit them in this life?
EG: Luke 16: 9-31 Do you remember (Last week) Jesus parable about the rich man in Hell?
The rich man had every opportunity to use his money to benefit the poor man who was laid at his gate every day – but he did not
Lazarus died and went to Heaven and was comforted there by Abraham – the poor man was now a rich man
The rich man died and went to Hell – the rich man was now a poor man
Dear friends, don’t be deceived, the love of money will separate you forever from the love the God – you will perish in Hell
But, if you use money to benefit the people of God, you will be welcomed into Heaven by those people – as Jesus said, ‘friends’
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