Make
Hay While the Sun Shines
No servant can serve two masters: for either he will
hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise
the other.
Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Luke 16:13
I received a glossy ad in the mail a couple of weeks ago that you may have
received as well.
It is for a new condo project in the neighborhood with spectacular ocean
views. The photos look great.
But what really struck me was the first page.
On the front are words , "He who lives with the most" superimposed across
a blue water background.
On the inside the phrase is complete with the word, "wins" against a plain
white background.
I was struck by the in-your-face blatant materialism of the ad.
I guess I thought it was also a bit over the top for a mere condominium even
if they did start around $700,000.
If I were going to sell out my soul Faust style, I want more than just a
condominium.
And I hope we are not so gullible.
But neither am I naive, and I know there are folks who do fall for the line.
I just hope that when life is over and they consider the bargain they struck
that there was more to it than bricks and mortar.
Jesus says you cannot serve two masters.
You cannot put Him and the kingdom of heaven in first place and still have
money at the center of your heart.
In making the point, Luke records a parable of Jesus in which he tells a
story about a first century rascal. We don't know much about him except he
is dishonest and that he lives by his wits, but Jesus doesn't tell the story
as if he is a villain of any kind.
It's a tough parable to get inside.
The story is simple and clear enough, but Luke tells it without any context,
which is always the key to understanding a parable.
We don't know what's behind the story. The only clue at all is in verse
14 and 15. We read:
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 men, but God knows your hearts. What is
highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight".
The story that Jesus tells them is about a dishonest business manager.
The fact the man is dishonest upsets lots of folks and I think that is why
Jesus told it.
He gets your attention.
The owner of a farm, perhaps an absentee landowner gets wind that his manager
is dishonest and word gets back that he is coming to fire him. The man realizes
the jig is up and says to himself that manual work is too hard and begging
is too distasteful. He quickly gets out the books and in collusion with the
debtors, has them change the amount owed to a lesser amount. James Barclay
points out that he has included them in the swindle and can possibly blackmail
them if necessary. Presumably it will not be necessary.
The deed is done, he has lost his job, but he now has some businessmen in
his debt, and he will no doubt find ways to cash in his chips.
We are scandalized by the story because it is Jesus telling it.
These kind of figures are well known in literature and drama--the quick witted
trickster.
But what kind of moral example is Jesus giving us?
The point is that it is no kind of moral example at all, any more than the
parable of the prodigal son is an endorsement for riotous living. That's
not the point.
The point is the man realized his predicament and acted.
In a way it is similar to Jacob realizing the value of Esau's blessing, which
Esau himself despised, and going after it.
This is an example of a certain kind of drama--the comedy.
Classic comedies are stories of impending disaster which averted just in
the nick of time.
That's what this is. A man is faced with impending doom and he acts shrewdly
to save his skin.
Jesus says that children of this world have better sense about them than
(in His time), children of the covenant.
Jesus critics sneer at him.
Conventional wisdom of the time said that earthly blessings were the sign
of God's favor.
The pharisees, in this case who Luke says loved money, would have attached
to their money, a sign of their moral superiority.
And so the use of a totally immoral figure shows that money is not necessarily
a sign of anything but a fat wallet. It's what you do with it that counts.
Jesus is telling them in a round about way to remember that God will also
ask an accounting of them and us.
Will they be as smart as this rascal and do what they need to do in order
to avoid disaster?
They would know there is no way to falsify God's books.
Apparently the context of the parable is about money and status, so use their
money to gain them some favor where it counts.
It is almost exactly the same as what Jesus tells the rich young man..."One
thing you lack. Sell what you have and give it to the poor."
The rabbis had a saying, "The rich help the
poor in this world, but the poor help the rich in the world to come."
Ambrose, a bishop in the early years of the faith commenting on the rich
fool who built bigger barns to store his goods, said, "the bosoms of the
poor, the houses of the widows, the mouths of children are barns that will
last forever."1
Is Jesus saying you can buy your way into heaven?
Not precisely, no.
But one of the signs of a converted heart is a converted check book.
And he also says, "where your treasure is, there also is your heart".
And conversely, a heart that is chained to its possessions will go down with
that ship.
Almost everyone
bemoans how easily we accumulate stuff. But that tendency nearly killed Patrice
Moore, a 43-year-old man living in the Bronx, New York. Moore lived a reclusive
life in a ten by ten foot room where he compulsively saved newspapers, magazines,
books, catalogs, and junk mail.
On December 27,
2003, it all came crashing down on him—literally. An avalanche of Moore's
stuff trapped him, standing up, in his room for two days before neighbors
heard him moaning and called the fire department. Neighbors and firefighters
hauled out 50 garbage bags of paper for an hour just to reach him.2
Talk about an extreme example of how your stuff can entrap you!
Jesus is saying that if you have stuff, use it to free yourself, not enslave
yourself.
And yes, God does honor compassionate hearts who use their material wealth
to honor Him, particularly to help the needy.
But what this parable is teaching us is to make hay while the sun shines.
A crisis is coming, Jesus will return or we will die and stand before Him,
so do what you need to, in order to be prepared.
Like the thief on the cross, its never too late, but you have to act.
The rascal in our story knew what he had to do and he did it.
The thief on the cross acted just in the nick of time.
Jesus says his coming will be like a thief at midnight.
Are you ready?
If you are not, I am going to offer an opportunity for you to get prepared.
I am going to pray a simple prayer of repentence for our misguided priorities.
I am also going to offer a prayer that I am willing to have God come and
help me change my priorities.
I am also going to ask God for forgiveness and His salvation.
I know that I have salvation, but you may not, so if this is where you think
you stand, pray it quietly with me.
Let's pray.
Lord, I know that much of my life has been occupied with things that are
not really worthy of my life or of your purpose for me.
I ask your forgiveness for being so blind.
I am not sure entirely what you may want of me in the future, but at this
moment I am offering you control over my choices.
I am sinful and I know I am going to need lots of help.
I am asking you to come into my life and to guide me day by day as you wish.
I know the only reason I can ask this is because Jesus died to forgive me.
I ask this in His name.
Amen.
Preached Sept. 23, 2007
Dr. Harold McNabb
West Shore Presbyterian Church
Victoria, British Columbia
Notes
1. William Barclay, The
Gospel of Luke, The Daily Study Bible, St. Andrews Press, 1964, p.
216
2. Lee Eclov, cited in Preaching Today.com
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