Daily Devotions
“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much.” Luke 16:10
In His parable of a shrewd manager as recorded in Luke 16, Jesus is not advocating clever business practices bordering on dishonesty. He is discussing Christian life as faithful stewardship. He points to a certain amount of consistency in human behavior. He who has a reliable character will be honest regardless of his line of work and the amount of responsibility entrusted to him. He will run true to form no matter where he lives, whether in New York, Kansas, or California.
The same consistent pattern of conduct is evident whether the person in question administers temporal or spiritual treasures – whether it be money (“the unrighteous mammon”) or things of intangible value such as knowledge, personal talents, gifts of the Spirit, God-given opportunities, and even the gift of salvation. Jesus declares, “If you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?” (Luke 16:11).
The question of ownership, whether the goods belong to others or to ourselves, doesn’t really matter. If we are good stewards of another’s property, we will be good stewards of our own, and God, knowing this, will bless us and may increase what is ours. On the other hand, says Jesus, “If you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?” (Luke 16:12).
What makes for faithful stewardship? Daily renewal in the likeness of Jesus Christ, who was faithful to all His commitments in that He was obedient to death, even death on the cross for our salvation. Follow Him by faith!
PRAYER: Dear Lord Jesus, give me the wisdom and strength to follow faithfully in Your footsteps as a wise steward. Amen.
(Devotions from “With Jesus Every Day” copyright 1997, CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time emailing of this link to a friend. For information on other devotional material, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit CPH at www.cph.org.)