Live and Give Like No One Else | Margin KC | Randy Frazee
The Parable of the Shrewd Manager
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?’
‘Nine hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied.
The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.’
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.
Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much. (Luke 16:1-10)
900 Gallons of Olive Oil = 3 Years Salary
50,000 x 3 = $150,000
50% Discount $75,000
1000 Bushels of Wheat = 9 Years Salary
$50,000 x 9 = $450,000
20% Discount$ 90,000
The Point #1
People of the world use owner’s resources shrewdly to serve themselves
People of the light use God’s resources shrewdly to serve God and people.
Webster’s Definition of “Shrewdness”
“Marked by clever discerning awareness and hardheaded acumen”
“Given to artful ways of dealing”
What makes it immoral is our motive. What makes it appropriate as a Christian virtue is our motive. As people of the light, we are to use God’s resources shrewdly to serve God and others.
Point #2
One of the primary reasons some of us as Christians don’t have more, is because we haven’t been faithful with what we have.
Discussion Questions:
1. Rate yourself on a scale of 1-10 on how you are doing in aligning your finances to God’s plan.
Having an Emergency Fund ________
Tackling the Debt Snowball ________
Creating a monthly budget ________
Giving the first 10% to God ________
2. What is holding you back from moving forward with the above items?
3. As you envision creating more margin in your life, both time and money, what are some “shrewd” ideas you have to serve God and others?
4. What’s the one thing you are going to do as a result of this message?