#1075. Be a faithful and wise manager (11/6/24)

This week in our series in Luke, we are reflecting on Luke 12:35-57. Today we see how we are to be faithful whilst waiting for Jesus to come.

Luke 12:35–57

‘Peter asked, “Lord, are you telling this parable to us, or to everyone?” 42 The Lord answered, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time? 43 It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns. 44 Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 45 But suppose the servant says to himself, ‘My master is taking a long time in coming,’ and he then begins to beat the other servants, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk. 46 The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.”’ (Luke 12:41-46)

Luke 12:41–46

Lesson: Each of us is to be a ‘faithful and wise manager’ in the ways that Jesus has called us to serve Him.

To listen to this video, follow the link below:

https://youtu.be/iojNthaubmU

I’m sure that we’ve all experienced people who do a good job and those who cannot be trusted. Some people are always late; they take days off pretending to be sick; they do the bear minimum; they spend their time distracted by their phone rather than working hard… Likewise, Christians can be more or less attentive and active in serving Jesus. In today’s reading, we see that Jesus uses the analogy of a manager to teach us about how we are to wait for His return.

The faithful and wise manager

Firstly, Jesus uses the example of a ‘faithful and wise manager’ to teach us about how we are to wait for His coming:

i. We are to be ‘faithful’(Pistos), which means to be trustworthy, reliable, believing and true hearted. A faithful Christian is one who believes in Christ and lives what they believe - the walk their talk!

ii. We are to be ‘wise’ (Phronimos), which means to be thoughtful, have character and employ right knowledge. A Christian is to seek to do the right things in the right way, which is the essence of wisdom.

ii. We are liked to a ‘manager’ (Oikonomos). This is about being stewards in a household. Those serving the will of the head of the house.

The unfaithful manager

Alternative to this noble picture of the faithful and wise manager, we are given the description of the unfaithful manager. This person get’s tired of waiting for Christ. This person abuses their position and uses people. This person, like the description of the rich fool earlier in the chapter, uses His masters resources for his own selfish ambitions.

Jesus’ judgement

Again, Jesus teaches us that the faithful will be rewarded whilst the unfaithful will be judged. As we see, the unfaithful manager is not ready for his masters return and, likewise, the unfaithful Christian is not ready for Jesus’ coming. They are not, as we saw yesterday, dressed and with lamps burning. Their terrible end is described as: ‘“He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.”’ This is teaching us that, in many cases, those who call themselves Christians reveal themselves to be false believers by their lack of devotion to The Lord. True faith in Christ will always spill over into how we live!

Response

Each of us is to be a ‘faithful and wise manager’ in the ways that Jesus has called us to serve Him. Regardless of the past, today is the day to recommit yourself to faithfulness, to wisdom and to service. Let’s ‘Throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,  fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith…’ (Hebrews 12:1-2)

Hebrews 12:1–2