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How to Use Money Wisely (Part 2)

To use money wisely we must use the money we have to help people.

Jesus is telling us to use money to help people in a similar way as the manager did in the parable. This is what is meant by "using worldly wealth to gain friends." The New Living Translation translates verse 9 as "…Use your worldly resources to benefit others…In this way your generosity stores up a reward in heaven." It might be argued that the manager did not use his own money but the master’s money to help others but that goes back to the first point, we’re always using the master’s money; we have none of our own. Keep in mind the master commended the owner for being shrewd or wise enough to do this.

Why is it wise to use money to help others? The answer is because money is temporary but the reward for helping others is eternal. Jesus makes this point in verse 9 where he says about money, "When it is gone you’ll be welcomed into eternal blessings."

First I want you to note that Jesus emphasizes the temporary nature of money. One day it will be gone, either through our own deaths, economic downturns, or foolish expenditures, so it is wiser to use it in a way in which the benefits are everlasting.

There’s a story about a wealthy Christian who somehow got obsessed with the idea of taking some of his wealth to heaven. Now he knew the Bible clearly teaches that you can’t take it with you. But so obsessed was he with this desire that he just prayed & prayed that God would give him permission to take some of his wealth to heaven with him. Finally, his persistence in prayer paid off. God spoke to him & said, "Okay, enough all ready! You can take one suitcase with you into heaven." Well, the story continues with the man deep in thought, "What do I take? What are the most valuable things that I can put into my suitcase?" Well, he finally decided, & filled his suitcase full. Then one day he died, & when next we see him, he is slowly approaching the pearly gates dragging his suitcase behind him.

St. Peter met him there at the gate & said, "Wait a minute. What do you think you’re doing? You’re not allowed to take anything into heaven." The man answered, "You don’t understand. I have special permission from God Himself to take this suitcase into heaven."

Peter rubbed his beard & said, "Well, that’s very unusual. I can’t imagine God letting you do that. Let me look inside your suitcase & see what’s there." So the man dragged the suitcase over, & Peter opened it to see that it was filled with gold bars & gold bricks & gold ingots. Peter said, "Well, all right. If God said so, I suppose you can take that in if you want. But why in the world did you go to all this trouble just to bring more pavement to heaven.

Money has no value in heaven, so the wisest thing you can do is invest in what will have value in heaven, which is using money to help others.

It’s like when I came back from a mission’s trip to Mexico. I had exchanged some American dollars for Mexican pesos for spending money while there, but I did not use it all and so I brought some of the pesos back to America. Now those pesos are useless here, I cannot even buy a pack of chewing gum with them. That currency is not accepted here but rather must be exchanged into an acceptable currency. It is the same in heaven. All the money we have acquired or spent on ourselves has no value. In heaven the only currency that counts is good deeds done to our others and the only opportunity you have to exchange money for this acceptable currency in heaven is in this life.

1 Tim 6:17-19 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

When I consider this principle, it is difficult to understand the actions and attitudes of some people. Since the terrorist attacks of September 11th several news shows have reported an increase in the sale of big-ticket luxury items. Why would people spend more on self indulgence in these uncertain economic times? Well some research was done and some polls were taken in order to answer this question and what they discovered is that people felt that their lives might end sooner than they expected, so these people reasoned that they had better live it up now. This is a foolish way to think. If you think you’re going to die soon, then the wise thing to do is invest in eternal rewards by using money in such a way that God can bless you for all eternity!

A woman gave her son Billy 2 quarters. One was for his Sunday School offering. The other was for an ice cream cone on the way home from Sunday School. Billy was flipping one quarter in the air and catching it on the way down. This happened 8 times or so when all of a sudden Billy missed catching it. It rolled down the storm sewer and was gone. Billy looked skyward and prayed, "Sorry, God." At some point you will have to make a choice between obeying and serving God with your money or spending it on your wants, if you love money you will in essence say, “Sorry God.”

The people of Jesus' day sought to "justify" or excuse their attitude towards money but Jesus reminds them that God "knows their hearts." He knows your heart also! Not only does God know how you handle money but more importantly he also knows your true motivations. Make sure that in your heart you value and see money in the same respect as God does, which means you see money as a tool to help others and to honor God. Jesus notes that what is highly valued among men, and by this he means the accumulation and use of money for selfish indulgences, is "detestable in God’s sight." I hope you will value what God values. God values faithfulness, helping others, generosity, and sacrifice.

How to Use Money Wisely (Part 1)

Today I will be sharing with you three principles for using money wisely. Before I get to those particular principles, I want to explain and elaborate on this parable, which has often been perplexing to people. In New Testament times extremely wealthy people would hire managers or stewards to oversee their financial affairs. These managers would keep the books, approve of expenditures, pay employees, and track loans. Today we call such people "financial managers."

In Luke 16:1-15 we are told the story of a man who hired a finance manager. "There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions.Lk 15:13,30 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. 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 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?' 'Eight hundred gallons of olive oil he replied. The manager told him, 'Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred.' "Then he asked the second, 'And how much do you owe?' 'A thousand bushels of wheat,' he replied. He told him, 'Take your bill and make it eight hundred.' 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. "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.

"No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."

In this story the manager has been caught "wasting" the owners possessions and so is told that he should get the books in order because he will be fired (vs. 1, 2). The Hebrew word translated as "wasting" is the same Hebrew word used in the story of the Prodigal Son to describe his selfish indulgence when he "squandered his wealth." This lets us know that the manager was not just guilty of making some bad investments, rather he had misappropriated the owners funds to spend it inappropriately on his self. He was in charge of the money but had used it to indulge himself rather than to further his master’s purposes. The manager realizes that he is a real heap of trouble because he will not be able to get another job managing money, he is too old or to weak for manual labor, and too proud to beg. How are his needs be met in the future? He does not ignore this dilemma but prudently considers his future well-being. In the process he comes up with a plan to secure his future needs. He decides to use this last opportunity as the owner’s legal manager to help other s by reducing the debts they owed to the owner so that they will show him a favor when he is in need. As a result of using the owner’s money to help others he rightfully expects that "people will welcome him into their houses." A phrase Jesus repeats in verse 9 in the application of the parable. Most parables have something in the story either shocking or unexpected. In the parable of the Good Samaritan it is shocking that a despised Samaritan would be the one to show love to his neighbor. In the story of the Prodigal Son it is unexpected that the father would lovingly welcome home a rebellious and foolish son. This parable also has a conclusion that is unexpected and bewildering. In verse 8, Jesus says that when the master found out what the dishonest manager had done he "commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly." The thing that confuses people is that a crook would be praised, but if you look carefully at the story it is not the manager’s dishonesty that is commended, rather it is his shrewdness, i.e. his prudency and wisdom in planning for his future well-being.

Some people just cannot accept that Jesus would use such an unscrupulous character to teach a spiritual lesson, but keep in mind that Jesus used the story of an unjust judge and an uncaring friend to teach the disciples about the value of persistent prayer in the parable of the "Friend at Midnight" and the parable of the "Persistent Widow." After telling the parable, Jesus then exhorts his disciples, who are called "people of the Light ", to be just as shrewd or wise in using money for eternal benefits as the "people of the world" are in using money for temporal benefits. This is the main point of the parable. Christians should use the money they have now wisely, in a way that will honor God and benefit themselves

First, to use money wisely we need to recognize that we are managers and not the owners of money.

This mindset or attitude will change our behavior and handling of money. It will result in a more careful and appropriate use of the money that we have received from God. We tend to be wiser and more cautious in using those things that do not belong to us. If I borrow someone else’s car, I tend to drive more carefully and work harder to keep it clean because it does not belong to me and I know that I will be held accountable for how I use it. It is the same with money. When we recognize that money does not belong to us and that will be held accountable for its use, will be less inclined to use it selfishly or carelessly. When we understand that we are managers of God’s money and not owners of money we will not ask ourselves, "How much money can I afford to spend on myself?" But rather "How much money do I dare spend on myself?" Does this mean that a Christian cannot spend any money on himself or herself? No. A manager in New Testament times was entitled to use some of the master’s money to meet his and his family’s needs and to use some for leisurely pursuits, but the manager’s first priority was to furthering the owner’s purposes with the money. If the manager were using the money primarily to indulge his wants then he was not being a good steward and was in danger of judgment as we see in the parable. So we need ask ourselves, "After my family’s basic needs are met, what do I usually do with most of the extra? Is it primarily used for satisfying my own wants? Or is it primarily used for furthering God’s purposes?" Are you acting as if you were the owner of money or are you acting wisely, knowing that you are a manager of God’s money?

To Be Continued...

"4 Thing to Remember in an Economic Crisis"

Listen to a Topical Message given by Pastor Larry on 4 Things to Remember in a Economic Crisis

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God You Are Confusing Me

Elisabeth Elliot, whose first husband, Jim Elliot, was one of the five missionaries killed by the Auca Indians in 1956, and whose second husband died of cancer, tells of visiting a shepherd in the mountains of North Wales. One by one, he would grab the rams by their horns and fling them into a tank of antiseptic. They would struggle to climb out, but the sheep dog would snarl in their faces to force them back in. Just as they were about to climb up the ramp, the shepherd would catch them by the horns with a wooden implement, spin them around, and force them under again, holding them completely under for a few seconds. The sheep didn’t have a clue about what was happening

Mrs. Elliot observes, "I’ve had some experiences in my life that have made me feel very sympathetic to those poor rams--I couldn’t figure out any reason for the treatment I was getting from the Shepherd I trusted. And He didn’t give me a hint of explanation."

She found out something that all of us have learned by experience. The Christian life of faith and obedience to God is not always or even usually easy. There are several reasons for this. For one thing, doubt and unbelief get into our hearts when we wait and wait for the promises of God to be fulfilled, but we fail to see results. We pray consistently and we believe to the best of our abilities but trusting God becomes a real challenge because of the long delays in experiencing the fulfillment of God’s promises.Another reason it is sometimes difficult to maintain a life of faith and obedience is because God often directs our lives in ways that make no sense to us. He may tell us to do things that seem detrimental to our own lives and through His sovereignty he often chooses to guide our lives in mysterious ways. Even though we are often confused and ask "Why?” God rarely decides to explain to us what he is doing or why he is directing us the way he is.

You should trust and obey God because He is faithful to His word, even though He often works in unexpected in unexplainable ways

In other words you should trust and obey God in every type of circumstance even though you may not understand what God is doing or why he is doing it or even when he will fulfill his promises to you.

Sometimes in your faith walk you, like all the saints, are going to experience the same kind of confusing divine postponement as you pray and look for the fulfillment of God promises. It may be a long delay in the salvation of a loved one. It may be your prayer for the healing of your body that goes unanswered despite your faith and obedience. It may be in seeking God’s provision for your needs but seeing no answers on the horizons, or it may be in some other area of your life. There will come a time when God does not work when or how you expect him to. God does not explain himself to us and he does not work on our timetable. Yet you can be sure of this, God’s word is reliable and he will accomplish his promises. It may not be immediately but will be ultimately

There may the long times of confusing delay as you wait on God’s divine intervention in your life, but when he does act he brings joy to your life and praise to himself as we see in these two verses. Think back to when Abraham and Sarah did not wait on God but chose to intervene themselves and help God out by impregnating Hagar. Sarah got what she thought she wanted when Hagar conceived but she experienced sorrow rather than joy, trouble rather than triumph. This is a word of exhortation to all those who may be tempted to grow inpatient and through distrust not wait on God to act. For example in trying to get a lost husband saved you may resort to pressure instead of waiting on God. Or in your need for financial provision or blessing you may resort to human methods. Maybe you desire to grow your ministry and therefore resort to worldly methods. In all these examples you may get what you want and which you never had

Are You Trusting God...Even when it seems He's not working?

Interview with the cast of FIREPROOF the movie

If God Is Good, Why Is Life So Unfair?" (Part 2)

A Human Perspective On Life Will Lead To Questioning God’s Goodness Because We will See The Peace of The Wicked

Continuing our discussion from Psalm 73, Asaph is disturbed because from his perspective the wicked due not get their just due. In fact it is often the opposite. The wicked are "free from the burdens that are common to man." Rather that experience the turmoil of family problems, sorrowful times, fears, anxiety and trouble, etc., they experience peace. Of course no one’s life is totally trouble free, but Asaph is using hyperbole to express a point. The point being that from what he can see the wicked often have easier lives than the righteous. As Charles Spurgeon said, "Those who deserve the hottest hell often have the warmest nest." Why is it that the wicked are always "carefree" and at peace? Sometimes we will hear or read a biography of some notoriously wicked person and they don’t talk about how empty their life is, but rather everything we see and everything they say indicates that they live quite contented and peaceful lives. This could be very disconcerting to me as a pastor because I see the hardships that the righteous often go through. Something seems backwards and unfair here. "If God Is Good, Why Is Life So Unfair?" This is the question that comes to mind when we are viewing things from a human perspective. So far we’ve seen two reasons why people doubt God’s goodness

The very people who are often the most prosperous and live the most peaceful lives are also those who are the most prideful and arrogant. They think very highly of themselves and very little of others. They don’t use their position in life to bless others but rather to oppress them. They pridefully "scoff" at those who do their best to obey God. These prideful people even speak against God. Their boasting and scoffing has a powerful impact on others. How can these prideful, ungrateful people be the very ones who are "always carefree and increasing in wealth."

Instead of being struck by lightning or leprosy for their pride and boasting they seem to get away with it. It just seems that those that deserve the worst in life get the best, while those who deserve the best in life experience the worst. How can God be good and fair when the wicked are rewarded and the sinful are successful? If God Is Good, Why Is Life So Unfair? Are you beginning to understand why Asaph almost slipped from trusting in God’s goodness and fairness? Can you understand why people do struggle with doubts? Looking at life only from a human perspective will lead us to wavering in our faith and commitment to God. Life will seem unfair because we will have an incomplete picture, only seeing the prosperity, peace and pride of the wicked. In such a situation we will begin to wonder weather it is even worth it to follow God with our whole hearts. This is the conclusion Asaph was beginning to reach

At the San Diego Padres baseball games, between innings once in a while, they put a little puzzle on the score board. They have the outline of a baseball player and a trivia question; you try to guess who the player is. They start off by filling in one piece of the puzzle, and it’s usually the bill of a ball cap. Nobody can figure out who it is; everybody’s trying to figure out who it is. As the pieces come together people start to talk. An excitement begins to mount. Why? They begin to see a face, and they’re beginning to hone in on who that baseball player is. I’m here to tell you that we usually get one piece of the puzzle. In God’s sovereignty and God’s timing, many of the things that happen to you and many of the things that happen to me make us just shake our heads and say, "I don’t understand. I don’t understand this in my life."

A heavenly perspective leads to faith in God’s goodness and fairness because we will see the ruin of the wicked

Asaph had started this Psalm envying the wicked because they seemed to have it all, but now when he entered the sanctuary of God, when he had a heavenly perspective his envy disappeared. Why? He says it was then that he understood their final destiny. This is a clear reference to the final and eternal judgment. There are many roads to hell for the wicked. Some of the wicked experience hell on earth and hell in eternity, while others may live prosperous peaceful lives here on Earth but still arrive at the same destination. It is the final destination that makes the difference no matter how one may have gotten there. Their final destination shows us that life is fair when all is said and done. As Jesus said "what good will it be for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul" Matthew 16:26. Eternity is what matters!

Are We Looking at the World through Their Eyes or God's?