Sunday, November 06, 2016
Luke 12:41-48
National polls indicate the race for the Presidency is tightening, with suspense, drama, anxiety and fatigue for all. While the Election Day hoopla plays out, Christians have another election to consider. Christ reminds His followers in Luke of their election to be stewards in God’s Kingdom. All Christians are elected by God’s grace to be stewards of God’s resources. Stewardship is a noble position of responsibility to manage the wealth of someone else. Today, we honor those with the titles of Chief Financial Officer, Fund Manager, Executor or Financial Deputy. While we are to be congratulated on our election, we must take care to be responsible because there will be an evaluation of our performance. Where there is grace, there is also the possibility of disgrace.
In the parable, Christ illustrated the judgment of the master upon the wicked servant, who abused the position of stewardship by selfishly misusing the resources entrusted to him and mistreating those under him. This drunken, gluttonous steward was guilty of four sins:
- Misappropriation – Rather than distributing the food and drink resources responsibly to the other servants, he consumed them himself.
- Misconduct – The wicked steward was verbally and physically abusive to the servants he supervised. His temperament was awful, berating and intimidating those he was to responsibly lead in the service of his master.
- Miscalculation – The unfaithful steward had convinced himself that since his master was delayed in coming back, there was no sense of urgency to make things right before the master’s return.
- Misrepresentation – The conduct of the unfaithful steward was not that of his master, but rather the opposite. He not only was not executing his responsibilities of management, but also did not perform his role as the master’s representative.
Malachi charged the Israelites with being thieves of God’s resources since they failed to provide the required tithes and offerings. A practical question for Christians to consider as stewards of God’s resources: is our performance record in a state of grace or disgrace? Will our contribution sheet read like a testimony or a crime sheet?
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