Luke : Day 30

Read Luke 16

400 years ago a philosopher called Francis Bacon said, “Money is a good servant but a bad master”. We can use money to do good and necessary things. But if money dictates a person's life, it won’t bring them anything good.

1600 years before Francis Bacon, Jesus taught this lesson to his disciples. The story about the manager can be confusing at first – it might seem as though Jesus was telling them to be dishonest! But His point was simply that people are often clever with money, using it to gain friends. But followers of Jesus (‘children of the light’ in verse 8) don’t always think so carefully about how they use the resources God has given them to serve Him. The money we have has been entrusted to us by God. Christians should use money wisely for God and others, remembering that God will reward them in eternity.

The Pharisees loved being rich so they sneered at Jesus’ teaching. But Jesus told them about a rich man who enjoyed luxury all his life, and ended up being tormented. It wasn’t because of his money, but because he made money his master rather than God. He had not paid attention to God’s word in life (the books of Moses and the prophets), nor had he repented – and his five brothers were following in his steps (verses 27-31).

It was the poor, hungry beggar who found rest and peace after death. It’s shocking to consider the fate of the rich man, but again, Jesus is a Saviour, not a salesman. He actually talked about hell more than heaven – because He wanted people to be prepared. If there is no hell, Jesus’ mission to die on the cross would be pointless. But Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem to take the judgement our sins earned – so that we would not have to.

“God knows your hearts”

Luke 16:14