Wasted Goods

Give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest no longer be a steward.

Luke 16:2

The word stewardship is rarely used today. As human beings we yearn to possess or have something, and money is always at the heart of every situation in today’s living. We cannot survive without it, but can we get it unjustly, or without working for it? Maybe we should consider Mark Knopfler song “Money for Nothing.”

That ain’t workin’ that’s the way you do it

Money for nothin’ and chicks for free.

From lyrics of song titled “Money for Nothing” by Dire Straits

You would be surprised how many people are out “to make money by doing basically nothing. “ “Making lots of money for doing basically nothing.” Not everybody on this planet is fortunate to get money for nothing,” stated an article from Hosbeg.com. Today we have many scams artist who are out to get money for doing basically nothing. Millions of dollars are being spent just to curb fraud, so it is big business these days especially during Covid-19. Even the federal stimulus money has been hacked and not everyone is receiving the money that they were entitled to this past year. People now want money for doing basically nothing like the delivery man to which this song refers to. What is the mind set of gaining money from doing hardly nothing? Where does stewardship enter the picture. Yet, Jesus talks about it in this parable of the unjust steward in Luke chapter 16.

The steward was cunning in his action when giving the account of stewardship. Maybe we should take a step back and investigate the meaning of stewardship. The Strong’s Greek translation for stewardship is administration. This means management of your household affairs or the affairs of others. It means you are overseeing the management of something like a business. You might say this relates to the job you are doing for someone. You get paid for the services you provide to your employer. The work you put in is of value and therefore you are compensated. I learned this at an early age when I worked in an office at the age of 16. I had responsibility to perform and complete my duties what the job required. I got paid for the service I provided. I could account for what I did because the business continued since I was doing the billing for the business. One must manage themselves to become a good steward.

The steward in Chapter 16 of Luke became worried about what he would do when he no longer would be a steward/manager. He said, “to beg he would be ashamed,” [see Luke 16:3]. Changing jobs or having to train for a new job is not always easy. But there is more to the story here and it is not always easy to understand the full meaning of what Jesus was trying to convey here. Jesus commented that the unjust steward had done wisely and then he states that those of this age are wiser than the sons of light. Jesus further says go ahead and make friends for yourself by means of unjust wealth [see Luke 16:9]. What Jesus is saying is to go ahead and carry on with your behavior, but who is going to trust you with the true riches in the future. Remember the saying, “what you reap is what you sow.” Let us think twice about deceiving our brother and sister in the Lord when we are given the responsibility of overseeing them. Let us think twice about deceiving our employer as well.

Why think twice, because what you put your hands to ends up as wasted goods in the end due to unjust wealth you have gained. Jesus said it is money of unrighteousness. Money of unrighteousness is a part of coveting, and no servant can serve two masters. The heart of the matter is that you are serving money and not God. God who is all knowing and all seeing is looking for good stewards or mangers in the Kingdom of God. God is looking for faithful servants to rule over His household. I urge you all to read Luke chapter 12 and compare it with Luke chapter 16.

And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season?

Luke 12:42

The Lord is expecting that those who belong to him are faithful and wise stewards over their own household and to bless them in due season. How so many have fallen from trusting God to provide a way and end up following their own way of getting wealth instead of learning to manage their own household. Be thankful for what you do have even when it is nothing. I was so thankful for housing when the manager of the apartment gave us room for no down payment when we were homeless, but we had to trust God to provide us with a job to pay for that housing. That meant looking for work. God provided the job to pay for the housing. One does not go about abusing the situation when God answers prayer for housing as was in our case. We had to be faithful stewards in managing ourselves to be faithful in what God has given and look for a job. That was the agreement made with the manager. That is being a good and wise steward. That is doing the right thing and doing it fairly and not defrauding anyone. Having the right attitude goes a long way when we as people are wise stewards for the Lord and this also includes how we manage our money. May our money not become as wasted goods. May our heart be in the right place.