The Opportunity of Money

Luke 16:1-9 Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. 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.

An Odd Story

It’s an odd story isn’t it – a man rips of his boss – gets fired – devises a scheme to rip off his boss some more – succeeds – and gets commended for it. And then Jesus says Christians should be like the man! It comes as a bit of a shock all things considered.

What’s a modern example of the shrewd manager? What about ex president of the USA Bill Clinton – last hours in the oval office he apparently provided pardons to a couple of allegedly criminal businessmen – in return for favours. You can bet, and the reports at the time indicated as well, that he didn’t do it out of the goodness of his heart – he wanted to be remembered financially and materially once he was out of the oval office. He was surely expecting a return on his investment – just like the shrewd manager.

Money and property! Money makes the world go round? The stats tell us that almost 90% of money and wealth in the world is possessed by 10% of the world’s population – which is a frightening sort of statistic. Though as I look at my own life I wonder whether I’m meant to fit into the 10% or the 90% – or maybe I’m somewhere in the middle.

• A reporter with the Getaway program was asked in by Money magazine (Australia) to finish this sentence: “Money makes…?” and she said: “money makes life easier – ultimately it can offer you choices – even though it can bring out the foulest qualities in some people.”

She’s right – on so many levels. Money is opportunity – for good or for evil. It gives you choices. And – it certainly can make people turn foul. Take 9/11 – money and religion = the worst terrorist activity – the destruction of thousands and 10’s of thousands of lives, pain that will linger for years, the changes to international travel, loyalties, revenge that has been meted out, ongoing hatred it has caused – not simply due to religion but due to money. Without money it would not have been possible. The Muslim terrorist was a multi-billionaire – money can bring out the foulest qualities in some people. I realise this is a pretty extreme example but that doesn’t mean it ain’t true!

The story Jesus tells of the Shrewd manager is a story about the opportunity of money. It’s a story about a man who sees his world with a startling sense of reality.

The Manager

Here is a man caught out – he’s stuffed up big time and someone’s dobbed him in. He’s been foolish with his masters money – he’s meant to manage his masters affairs with sense and integrity – honesty and transparency – but instead he wastes his master’s possessions. Obviously we are not talking small scale – the sorts of sums involved are big business. And his world starts to crumble. He’s not going to be able to get another job in the same position once people find out about his mismanagement. There’s no social security, there’s no other avenues for employment – what’s he to do?

Luke 16:4 “I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.”

He calls in the people he normally deals with – they haven’t heard that he’s had the chop – think ‘window of opportunity’. And he carves up their bills – “take off 50%”, “take off 20%” – just examples probably of the many debts that changed in size that day. What is he expecting to get by ripping off his master?

He’s ensuring that he has rich friends who will put him up – maybe not forever but for a while – maybe give him time to sort out his life in comfort rather than on the streets. It’s a very smart move.

Luke 16:8 “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly.”

Why does the master commend the manager? If someone in your employ ripped you off… and then did it again you would hardly say “well done”. Well he’s probably not saying thankyou to his manager – he’s not offering him his old job back – but when the circumstances were against him he found a way to keep himself out of the gutter – he saw his situation for what it really was, he found a way to make it work to his advantage and he acted. Smart guy!

The Punch Line

Now here’s the kicker. Jesus says…

Luke 16:8b-9 “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.”

What Jesus is saying is use worldly wealth to make friends for the kingdom of God – so that when this world passes away and God’s kingdom comes we will be standing there with many, many people – eternal friends. Instead of using money for things that can only pass away use it for eternal rewards. Jesus words are almost a plea for seeing and acting according to the truth – people in this world can act shrewdly – can act wisely and sensibly according to the reality they see – if only God’s people would see this world for what it truly is and act accordingly.

Jesus is talking to the Jews – but it applies even more to Christians. The Jews were meant to be God’s people living God’s way in God’s world – which is also a description of Christians. If anyone should understand the true situation of the world it should have been them – and us. If only we who know the truth about Jesus, who know the coming judgement to be real, who know the wonder of God’s love in Christ – who see the real problems in trying to serve both God and money – if only we would act according to the reality of the world from God’s point of view and use what God has given us to further the cause of the kingdom of God. See the world with God’s eyes – act in the world according to God’s plans.

The thing is we are good at spending money on ourselves – we even dress it up as wisdom and sensible stewardship. We buy and sell with the best of the world – we are entrepreneurs when it comes to using money and worldly goods – we scrimp and save, we take on debt burdens, we lock ourselves into wage structures, we spend up big on our kids or our spouse, we provide the best we can get for our families. We know all about using money to mould our world around us, to fill in the gaps and make life as comfortable as we can make it. Just like the Pharisees – perfect according to the law and yet lovers of money – in fact as Jesus declares not only do they love money but money has become their master. Instead of money being an opportunity we have become slaves to the love of money and what money can do.

Making Friends for Life

What is the opportunity of money? Jesus says simply that the opportunity is to use money to make friends for the kingdom of God.

Here’s a question. Why do we have what we have?

• We live in a rich society and in comparison to many people in the world we are well off. Why?

As we read in Corinthians riches are to enable generosity – in Christians in any case.

2 Corinthians 9:11 “You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.”

The end result of generosity is thanksgiving to God. That is – what we sow with what God has given us will produce a harvest. If we sow our money and life into worldly pursuits then we will harvest a worldly crop. We may well have everything this world says we should have – education, home, cars, holidays, shares, big superannuation, lifestyle etc – but that is all we will gain – and we may not gain that because as we know this is a dangerous world. One minute you can be a multimillionaire and the next a terrorist can park a plane in your office. God says to us store up riches in heaven.

Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

If we sow what God gives us with an eye to eternity then what we will reap is God’s riches for ourselves – and thanksgiving to God. When we arrive on heavens doorstep there will be all those we invested in there giving thanks to God. As Paul says to the Thessalonian church;

1 Thessalonians 2:19-20 “For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy.”

The opportunity of money is you can take it with you – if we spend what God gives us on heavenly treasures, if we put it to work for the kingdom then the harvest will be those who join us for eternity – the friends we make for God.

How?

How can we spend money for an eternal harvest? Well we can take the example of the shrewd manager – he used worldly goods to make friends – he saw his situation and the reality of his world and he acted accordingly. Jesus says to us that we need to be like that – not dishonest but using what we have to make friends for God.

How do we make friends by using money? Well I can think of a couple of possibilities. We could pay people to come to church. Hmmm? Better still we could use our homes and hospitality to build relationships – having non-Christian friends for meals, spending money and time to build those relationships so that we can be witnesses for Christ. When you buy presents for people buy Christian books or give people a Bible and offer to help them read it.

We can give to the poor and the needy through various Christian agencies who intentionally seek to address people’s spiritual as well as physical needs. Sponsor a child in the third world – $40/month through a group like World Vision – they feed and educate and address spiritual needs. Even more – the child’s family probably praises God for the help they receive. Imagine if every Christian family in Australia sponsored just one child each – $1 a day… it’s not a lot of money but it’s an amazing opportunity.

We can learn to be generous towards each other so that people give thanks to God for what they receive from us. Christians praise God when they receive help from God’s people. What we do even in small way can bring praises to God.

Our world is moving towards a day of judgement – that is the reality that we have learnt from Jesus. Our world is in the grip of two enemies – sin and death – that is the reality we have learnt from Jesus. And we know the solution – the opportunity of money is that we can use it to sow a crop that will be harvested in eternity – if only we will see the world and our situation with the same clarity that the shrewd manager saw his situation; if only we will use what God has so generously given us to make friends that will stand for all eternity.

Thinking about Marriage and Divorce

Marriage Vows

Do you recognise these words?

We have come together in the sight of God, and in the presence of this congregation, to join together this man and this woman in holy matrimony; which is an honourable state of life, instituted from the beginning by God himself, signifying to us the spiritual union that is between Christ and his Church. Christ adorned and beautified matrimony with his presence, and with the first sign by which he revealed his glory; at the marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the Holy Scriptures command that all should hold it in honour.

It is therefore not to be entered upon unadvisedly, lightly, or merely to satisfy physical desires; but prayerfully, with careful thought, and with reverence for God, duly considering the purposes for which it was ordained.

• It was ordained for the procreation of children and that they might be brought up in the nurture and instruction of the Lord, to the praise of his holy name.
• It was ordained so that those to whom God has granted the gift of marriage might live a chaste and holy life, as befits members of Christ’s body.
• And it was ordained for the mutual companionship, help, and comfort that the one ought to have of the other, both in prosperity and adversity.

Into this holy manner of life these two have come now to be joined. Therefore if anyone can show any just cause why they may not lawfully be joined together, let them speak now, or hereafter remain silent.

Most of us will have heard those words – or something similar – and many of us will have been on the receiving end, standing before the minister. It’s surely one of the biggest decisions we can make – right up there near giving our lives to Jesus.

But in our world marriage has become disposable, unnecessary and costly – you can always get a new one. We went to a 50^th wedding anniversary recently – my wife and I have been married 21 years – 50 still seems a way off – and it’s unusual to get an invite to a 50^th.

In 1976 Australia streamlined divorce proceedings making the only possible divorce a ‘no-fault’ divorce. Stay apart for a year, make the necessary application and fill out the forms and the marriage is history. There was an immediate spike in the divorce rate which took about 3 years to run its course and then things settled down. By 2000 the divorce rate was around 46% of all marriages. By 2007 this had dropped to about 40%. So for every 100 couples that get married, 40 get divorced. There’s a pile of other stats you can find – there is some evidence but little in the way of hard stats as yet that the 40% is actually a skewed number because a much higher percentage of 2^nd, 3^rd and so-one marriages fail – some analysts suggest as much as 65-75% of second marriages end in divorce.

http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/0/947114F16DC7D980CA25773700169C64?opendocument

That’s what the world says about marriage!

What does the Bible says about marriage and divorce? What is God’s view?

God’s view of marriage

One flesh

Genesis 2:24 “…a man will leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife, and they will become one flesh.”

In a nutshell this is God’s plan and summary of marriage – and at no point does the Bible move from this picture – both Jesus (Matthew 19:5) and Paul (Ephesians 5:31) use this verse as their authority for teaching on marriage – it would be fair to say this verse is normative for every marriage relationship regardless of time, country, Jew or gentile – this is God’s plan.

God’s view of marriage starts with one fact – that he designed it – just as he designed the world and us for his purposes. It’s not man-made – or woman-made institution which is what some blokes think – it really was ordained by God – and is designed for our good.

Marriage comes into the picture of Genesis when God sees that man is alone.

Genesis 2:18 “The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.””

Now let’s be clear – I’m only going to touch on the Bible’s teachings and I will leave some things out. Don’t take what’s said as a judgment against you or your choices – it may be that God is and you’ll have to deal with that – but I’m not.

For example – Genesis 2:18 is not saying that singles somehow don’t measure up to God’s plan. God loves and saves us as individuals – our value is due to his saving grace rather than our relationships. So don’t hear a condemnation of single-hood or even an elevation of marriage over being single. But I do want to think about marriage and divorce.

Marriage is God’s design. And the key to it is the “one flesh” idea – God’s design is an exclusive relationship on all levels – physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual – and the physical oneness, which may be the most obvious part of a relationship, points us to the complete unity of two people of the opposite sex.

Contract

The one flesh relationship is in all senses a contract – in God’s eyes a legally binding contract. I know that’s not very romantic – “would you agree to a life-long contractual relationship that is legally binding on both parties with a mutual benefit clause” – doesn’t really cut it against “will you marry me?”! But it might help us see the truth. This contract – we sign the papers, there are witnesses, promises and consequences for a broken contract – this contract is not just an agreement between two parties with a mutual benefit clause but a contract of ownership.

1 Corinthians 7:4 “The wife’s body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband’s body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife.”

We have to be careful here. If you’re a bloke and you’re thinking this gives you permission to beat or abuse your wife – pull your head in. Abuse is not on – if you have abused then it’s time to repent and confess your sin, and don’t just confess in private, or just to your wife – abuse is a crime – so go to the police and admit what you’ve done! Any pastor or minister worth his salt will support you through that process – and mate if your wife is able to forgive you, you may end up with an amazing marriage – totally worth the price of admission.

But – getting back to 1 Corinthians – God is declaring and defending the exclusivity of marriage – there is no place for infidelity or adultery, and we can’t withdraw from our spouse. They say the wedding ring is a tourniquet – it stops circulation – that’s the point. I gave myself to my wife. We have this joke – what’s hers is hers and what’s mine is hers – when we were first married we’d go to McDonald’s and she wouldn’t order fries – but then she’d happily eat mine – I learnt to order two lots. But – truly – it’s no joke. I belong to her – I’m no longer free to give myself in any way to another woman. She is no longer free to give herself to another man.

Exclusive

We have to think of this more broadly than just sex. For some people marriage has proven not to be everything they hoped for.

• A wife might find a man that seems to really understand her – she gives herself to him – not sexually because she’s a Christian, but they talk, laugh and share like she never could with her husband.
• A Christian guy has a secretary who finds him attractive – they flirt – but nothing further.

Is it wrong? Where’s the line that guards the exclusivity of marriage? This is where Malachi’s helpful – it brings into the equation the idea of faithfulness. Israel has been the subject of God’s judgment and they were wondering why?

Malachi 2:14-15 “You ask, “Why?” It is because the LORD is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant. Has not the LORD made them one? In flesh and spirit they are his. And why one? Because he was seeking godly offspring. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth.”

It’s not just sexuality – though that’s a bit of a dead give-away of unfaithfulness. Breaking faith is bringing into an exclusive relationship something that doesn’t belong – anything, not just sexual, but anything that damages or has the potential to damage the marriage bond. Bring it back to our relationship with God, which is the model for marriage. If we Christians were to chat up other gods – so to speak – if we flirted with worshipping them, never quite actively praising them or offering ourselves to them, but skirting the edges, putting ourselves in temptations way – would we be being faithful to God?

Exodus 20:2-3 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me.”

You wouldn’t say to God “I’m yours but when I’m at work I like to spend a little time with Buddha – he understands my situation better – knew you’d understand.” Keeping faith means doing whatever it takes to actively protect marriage, for better or worse, in sickness and health, richer or poorer, until you get bored and give in? No – until death! So Paul says to the Corinthians…

1 Corinthians 7:3-5 “The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. The wife’s body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband’s body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife. Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.”

Don’t deprive each other – this is one area that constantly surprises me – the number of couples who have given up sex. Sometimes it happens through illness for example and that has to be dealt with. But if you are depriving each other of sex – and yes I realize how bluntly I’m speaking – you are breaking your marriage vows – God’s plan and command is that your marriage is an exclusive, life long, contract of one flesh, one mind, and one family, under him.

God’s view of divorce

So what about divorce? We can have all the excuses in the world, and I hear them every other day – incompatibility is the big one – we no longer love each other, we should never have been married, we don’t find each other attractive, we never have sex anymore, he’s not a Christian!

Let’s be blunt! An exclusive marriage contract between two people for life is an exclusive marriage contract between two people for life! Until death do we part! With blokes I often end up wanting to thump them when they come to me about divorce – what is it about the word “promise” we don’t understand?

This is what God say about divorce!

Malachi 2:16 “I hate divorce,” says the LORD God of Israel, … says the LORD Almighty. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith.”

We have managed, even in the church to get away from the directness and the bluntness of God’s view of divorce – “I hate divorce”. How do you read that any other way? Divorce goes directly against the good plans God has for us – the exclusive relationship – one flesh! In our world you can get divorced for no reason at all – and Christians have picked this up. As far as God is concerned – from the Bible – marriage in all circumstances is meant to be life-long.

Matthew 19:3-6 “Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?” “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”

It’s not a free for all – get divorced for any and every reason. It is… “what God has joined together, man must not break apart.” Jesus gives one concession – and it is a concession.

Matthew 19:9 “I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery.”

Concession

You may be the innocent party – where the other person has broken the marriage vows and severed the exclusive contract! And you find that you cannot live in that relationship anymore – then, and only then is divorce and remarriage permitted – not encouraged or commanded. In all other circumstances adultery and remarriage is sin. Now – we humans, we like rules, we want specifics – yes! We can get divorced if our spouse has had an affair. What about brutality, abuse, verbal abuse – what about being a bad father – being an alcoholic – what about “he’s an obnoxious ‘prat’ and I can’t imagine why I ever married him?”

Like the Pharisees we want our excuses to be given Gods’ approval. Christians will talk to their minister to get the minister to say “yes – I’m sure God approves!” But the mistake, surely, is looking for an excuse. God’s plan for our marriages is that we do everything and anything under God to preserve our marriage – and that we divorce only in the most drastic circumstances, where the other person has broken the one flesh nature of the marriage beyond repair. If we’re ferreting around for an excuse then that hasn’t happened – and our promise as Christians is “until death we do part.”

Two Facts

This is a huge topic and the Bible has a pile of stuff to say that would be beneficial. It’s also a very painful subject for many people – which is why we should stick to what God says. If you’ve been affected by divorce please understand I don’t want to make it worse, or judge you. And frankly I would say that the church has really dropped the ball when it comes to accepting and caring for divorced people – we either ignore it and God’s will, or we make it impossible to have fellowship. Madness!

But I also know this is an area Christians need to fix. Not a week goes by that I don’t spend hours dealing with people’s marriage problems, divorce and the pain – it takes up the largest part of my time, next to preaching. I keep coming back to the two facts of marriage as being the most important.

1. God hates divorce – full stop!

We must, as Christians, become extraordinarily slow in approving divorce and remarriage – if not then we will go beyond the provisions made by God for the breakdown of relationships and we might be approving people in their sinfulness. Yes – that does sound hard – but I would challenge you to think on Jesus’ words – how far does he go in allowing divorce?

2. God’s wonderful plan for us is that men and women will form “one flesh” relationships that last a lifetime – and they are worth every effort and any amount of pain to preserve and grow them.

Note:

• In the Old Testament the word divorce is related to the word for cutting down trees – divorce cannot happen without a huge amount of damage, without amputation of the one flesh.
• The word adultery means, “to break the one flesh”.