Before John Wesley became the founder of the Methodist Church he was a teacher at Oxford University back in the 1700’s. When he began his career he was paid 30 pounds per year - in those days a lot of money. His living expenses were 28 pounds - so he gave 2 pounds away.

The next year his income doubled - but he still managed to live on 28 pounds - so he gave away 32 pounds. The third year he earned 90 pounds - lived on 28 - and gave away 62. The fourth year he earned 120 pounds - lived on 28 - and gave away 92. One year his income was a little over 1,400 pounds - he lived on 30 and gave away nearly all of the 1,400 pounds.

Wesley felt that with increasing income, what should rise is not the Christian’s standard of living but the standard of giving. Increasing our standard of giving. What a great Christian man and what a great lesson he taught us. It is the same lesson found in the parable for today. Let’s take a look. The Pharisees are standing off to the side watching Jesus as was their custom. Jesus’ disciples are listening intently as he tells his story. Probably on this occasion there were more than just the 12. A large number of followers are gathered around. He tells them about a steward who handled the business affairs of a wealthy man. But the steward has squandered his master’s money; he was reckless and wasteful. Notice that this story follows another story about a reckless young man who squandered his father’s wealth, the prodigal son. But in this story the reckless young man does not come to his senses in time and he is fired from his job.

Then he does something so shrewd and so conniving. As he is cleaning out his desk and clearing out his things he calls in his master’s debtors, those who had outstanding accounts, and he cuts those debts in half. You owe 800 gallons of olive oil? Write me a check for 400 and we will call it even. You owe a thousand bushels of wheat? Write me a check for 800 and we’ll call it even. He forgives the debts that are not his to forgive, and he gains friends in the process. Strangely, as a result, his master commends him.

So what is Jesus’ point? Well, there’s not just one point; there are three. Let’s take a look.

I

First he explains the wise use of worldly wealth. Do you know that one of the wisest things you can do with your money is give it away. It’s not the only thing but it’s one of the wisest things. Why? Because, and this may sound a bit strange, gaining friends through generous gifts means you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. In a word, if you give here you’ll be welcomed there.

We always get this wrong in the church. We come up with all these reasons why we should give. We try the business approach. We give because we need 5% more money this year over last year. We try flattery. You have the means; only you can give this amount. We try guilt trips. “You are wealthier than 95% of the worlds population. We try greed. You will get back more than you gave. We try ego. We will name the building after you if you give. We give for every reason except the right reason. Giving because Christ supremely gave. Giving, because, we are not truly human until we become a giver. Giving to keep grace alive within us. Giving because it reflects the nature of a God who gives.

Those are the reasons we should give but Jesus has a very strange way of making this point. The dishonest steward gains friends by cooking the books. His master then commends him. Commends him for his dishonesty? Jesus doesn’t even call it dishonest. He calls it shrewd. Then the story ends and Jesus uses this unethical man to make a religious point: “People of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of light.” Ok, I get the point. People can be pretty ruthless in their business dealings, taking care of their bottom line. But why are we to be that way? After all, we ARE the people of light. We are not the people of this world, the people of darkness.

Are we to take as our model a careless man who is dishonest to the core? The answer is, Yes! But not because he’s a scoundrel. He’s our model because he used his resources. It’s not his actions that Jesus commends. It is simply that he acted. It is not for his selfishness that Jesus commends him; it is for his assertiveness.

We Christians don’t have that same tenacity toward the things of God. I tell you, Jesus said, use worldly wealth to gain earthly friends so that in eternal dwellings you’ll find a heavenly home. The crooked steward acted to ensure his own livelihood. We, on the other hand, are not to increase our standard of living; we are to increase our standard of giving. Why? Because in the end, when all the money is gone, how we have used our resources here will determine our welcome up there.

II

That leads us to Jesus’ second point. Trustworthiness is measured by character. Let me ask you. Who would you trust with your money? I think Jesus speaks for all us when he says that the person who can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much. Watch how someone handles the little things and you’ll know how they handle the big things of life.

The president of a Health Care System (Bernard L. Brown, Jr., Kenneston Health Care System in Georgia) told a story where a patient knocked over a cup of water, which spilled on the floor beside the patient's bed. The patient was afraid he might slip on the water if he got out of the bed, so he asked a nurse's aide to mop it up. The patient didn't know it, but the hospital policy said that small spills were the responsibility of the nurse's aides while large spills were to be mopped up by the hospital's housekeeping staff.

The nurse's aide decided the spill was a large one and she called the housekeeping department. A housekeeper arrived and declared the spill a small one. An argument followed.

"It's not my responsibility," said the nurse's aide, "because it's a large puddle." The housekeeper did not agree. "Well, it's not mine," she said, "the puddle is too small."

The patient listened for a time, finally had had enough, took a pitcher of water from his night table and poured the whole thing on the floor. He then asked, "Is that a big enough puddle now for you two to decide?" It was, and that was the end of the argument.

Faithful in little. Faithful in much. That’s the principle. That’s the acid test for character. All spills are little. All events where honesty is needed are little. All moments where fidelity is required are little. All temptations to take another drink are little. All money you have been entrusted with is little, compared to true riches. Listen now: If you have not been trustworthy with worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? That’s Jesus’ question for you and me. My friends all the resources that have been placed in our care here on earth are but small tests. How we use earthly things tells our Lord how we will use spiritual things, what he calls True Riches.

Now I know that there is a bit of vagueness here. What in the world is “True Riches”? What spiritual things or eternal things is Jesus talking about? I have to tell you I don’t know. But let me tell you what I do know. There is nothing vague about the wife you have, the husband you hold, the children you nurture, the home you keep, the job you work, the money you make, the friends you enjoy, the neighbor you know, the stranger you meet. You have been entrusted with these. You KNOW what these are. Do you have character? Have you been found trustworthy? Will you be responsible with these earthly riches? If so then you will have true riches in heaven, what ever they may be.

Your worldly wealth. Use it graciously, responsibly, with fidelity. Your future, your future true riches depend on it.

III

And that is why, third, our service must be singular. Jesus said it this way: We cannot serve both God and money. The family and friends and resources we have been entrusted with are only temporary. God is eternal. Don’t make the mistake of putting your trust in worldly wealth. I will not be here forever nor will you. Don’t devote yourself to money. There is no anchor in it. It shifts like the sand. It is the carrot before the horse and a noose around the neck. Money:

-Every time you lend money to a friend you damage his memory.

-When the fellow says it's not the money but the principle of the thing, it's the money.

-Before borrowing money from a friend, decide which you need more.

-Money. It doesn’t fill a vacuum it creates one.

-If you want to know what God thinks of money, just look at the people he gave it to.

-You can't get rid of poverty by giving people money.

Billy Graham said it all: “When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost.” Let me tell you a wonderful rabbinic story: One day a certain old, rich man of a miserable disposition visited a rabbi. After a lengthy conversation the rabbi took the rich man by the hand and led him to a window. "Look out there," he said. The rich man looked into the street. "What do you see?" asked the rabbi. "I see men, women, and children," answered the rich man. Again the rabbi took him by the hand and this time led him to a mirror. "Now what do you see?" "Now I see myself," the rich man replied.

Then the rabbi said, "Behold, in the window there is glass, and in the mirror there is glass. But the glass of the mirror is covered with a little silver, and no sooner is the silver added than you cease to see others, and see only yourself."

If I were to sum up this entire parable and the lessons that Jesus is trying to teach us I would put it this way: We live in a temporary world that has eternal consequences. Use wealth wisely, be faithful with the little things, and devoted only to God. Amen.