9.00am and 10.30am Sunday 21 August 2003
Rev Des Botting
Reading: Luke 16:1-13
God has set eternity in the hearts of men.[1] Youll find these amazing words in the New International Version (NIV) of the Bible in Ecclesiastes. Of course, it is using men in the generic sense of including everyone, men, women and children. What an amazing statement? God has set eternity in the hearts of men. If this is right, then it has far-reaching implications.
To make sure I have the correct meaning of a verse, I often look it up in other versions of the Bible to see if they translate it the same way. The King James Version translates this verse, God has set the world in their heart. The Hebrew word can be translated in this way, referring to the desire or pursuit of worldly things. The Contemporary English Version (and the NRSV is very similar) translates the same phrase, he puts questions in our minds about the past and the future. This made me ask, is the NIV accurately capturing what the Bible is meaning here? The Hebrew Lexicon says that the most common use of this word is in reference to time, the beginning or end of which is either uncertain or else not defined, therefore having the sense of eternity or perpetuity. It can refer to both past and future time. This word is used elsewhere in Ecclesiastes. In the first chapter it says, Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever. And again in the last chapter, We each go to our eternal home...[2] The Lexicon says, the true notion of eternity is found in this word in those passages that speak of the immortal nature of God. For example, in Isaiah it says, The LORD is the eternal God, Creator of the earth. He never gets weary or tired[3] This is from the well-known passage that goes on to say, those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.[4] It is also found in Psalm 90 that we read last Sunday, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.[5] I share this with you so that you can see that how the NIV translates what the Bible says here in Ecclesiastes is true. God has set eternity in the hearts of men.
Now you may be asking, what has this to do with what we read in Luke this morning? Remember Jesus words, My disciples, I tell you to use wicked wealth to make friends for yourselves. Then when it is gone, you will be welcomed into an eternal home.[6] Notice that it is exactly the same phrase that we read at the end of Ecclesiastes - We each go to our eternal home. Some time ago I read to you the story of Arthur Mace, the man who became known as Mr Eternity. As a young Christian he had attended an evangelistic meeting where the speaker, John G Ridley, had preached on this theme. The message so gripped Arthur Mace that for 33 years he would rise at 5am in the morning to walk the streets of Sydney and its far-flung suburbs to write with chalk on the pavement in flawless copperplate style just one word, Eternity. Its estimated that he preached this one word sermon to the busy crowds and shoppers over 500,000 times.
This word captures the essence of this mornings message, Looking Out for Oneself.
There isnt time this morning to go into all the details of this story, except to say that it is one of the most difficult of Jesus parables to interpret. The problem with it is that it seems to commend the manager who is blatantly dishonest. What we need to remember is that it is the astuteness, or cleverness, of this manager that is being commended, not his dishonest practices.
Think about this manager for a moment. Many of you can relate to his predicament. You know what its like to have the threat of redundancy, whether imagined or real, hanging over your head. So you can appreciate how this man would have felt. Maybe he was in his fifties when nobody wants to know you. He had a very responsible position. The nearest equivalent would be a Scottish factor. In Otago and Southland, which has the strongest link with Scottish Presbyterianism, they have a Factor in charge of the Churchs Synod for that area. In Jesus story this man would have had a free hand in handling his masters affairs. He would have hired and fired people, assigned to the household members their duties, paid their wages, had possession of the keys to the household stores, and most probably wore the masters signet ring. This is implied in the masters words, Tell me what you have done! You are no longer going to work for me.[7] In other words, give back my signet ring. It was a serious situation.
Moreover, he had committed a serious crime. The Greek word for wasting, is the same one that is used in the previous chapter of the prodigal son of whom we read, he wasted all his money in wild living.[8] The nature of this managers job made it easy for him to be careless or misappropriate funds for his own purposes. It could be likened to embezzlement. When he realises that hes been caught out, and that theres little hope of him finding other work, he quickly summons his masters debtors and writes down their bills. We are only told of two, but one can imagine there were many others. And theyre large accounts. One would have been the equivalent of 4000 litres of olive oil and the wheat would have probably been the yield from 40 hectares. And so writing down a half of one and a fifth of the other were very considerable amounts. The master praises this manager for looking out for himself so well.
At the end of the story Jesus says, The people of this world look out for themselves better than the people who belong to the light.[9] What are we to make of this? How are we to look out for ourselves? Obviously Jesus wants us to do this, as he says that the people of this world do a better job of it than his own people, implying that this should not be so.
Two points: We look out for ourselves
1. When we are faithful with what has been entrusted to our care. Five times in this passage Jesus talks about being trustworthy.
can also be trusted in important matters.
But anyone who is dishonest in little matters
will be dishonest in important matters.
11 If you cannot be trusted with this wicked wealth,
who will trust you with true wealth?
12 And if you cannot be trusted with what belongs to someone else,
who will give you something that will be your own? [10]
There is a very strong connection between who we are as a person, and what we do in our daily lives. Our character shapes our conduct. And so to be trustworthy, we must look out for our character, and nurture it in such ways that we will be able to resist the temptation to do what this dishonest manager did. And it begins with faithfulness in the little things. As it says in verse 10, Anyone who can be trusted in little matters can also be trusted in important matters.
In his book, The Purpose Driven Life,[11] Rick Warren says that life on earth is both a test and a trust. God continually tests peoples character, faith, obedience, love integrity and loyalty. Words like trials, temptations, refining and testing occur more than 200 times in the Bible. Your character is both developed and revealed by tests.
When you understand that life is a test, you realise that nothing is insignificant in your life. Even the smallest incident has significance for your character development. All of them have eternal implications.
Life is also a trust. Our time on earth and our energy, intelligence, opportunities, relationships, and resources are all gifts from God that he has entrusted to our care and management. We are managers of whatever God has gives us. This begins with the recognition that God is the owner of everything and everyone on earth. The Bible says, The earth and everything on it belong to the Lord. The world and its people belong to him.[12] We never really own anything on earth. God only loans it to us while were here. Many of Jesus stories, like the one we read this morning, are along this theme. At the end of your life you will be evaluated and rewarded according to how well you handled what God entrusted to you. That means everything you do, even simple daily chores, has eternal implications.
Money in particular is both a test and a trust from God. God uses finances to teach us to trust him, and for many people, money is the greatest test of all. God watches how we use money to test how trustworthy we are. Jesus said,
If you cannot be trusted with this wicked (worldly) wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? Jesus is saying that there is a direct relationship between how I use my money and the quality of my spiritual life. How I manage my money (worldly wealth) determines how much God can trust me with spiritual blessings. Again as Jesus said, Unless you are faithful in small matters, you wont be faithful in larger ones.[13]
Where can we begin? We begin by becoming a partner with Jesus Christ. The Bible says, God can be trusted, and he chose you to be partners with his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.[14] You become a partner of Jesus Christ by admitting your sin and need of Gods forgiveness, by receiving Jesus as your Saviour and Lord, and by following Him. He will help you to become a completely trustworthy person.
The second way in which we look out for ourselves is through
2. Developing an Eternal perspective. At the Breakfast yesterday morning, Rob Harley shared a number of examples that confirm the truth, that God has set eternity in the hearts of men . Many will not believe that this life is all there is. And neither it is, otherwise Jesus would not have spoken here in Luke of an eternal home.
In Rick Warrens book he stresses this point in the chapter entitled, Life on earth is a Temporary Assignment. He says, Earth is not our final home: we were created for something better. Repeatedly the Bible compares life on earth to temporarily living in a foreign country. One version of 1 Peter 2:11 translates it like this,
Friends, this world is not your home, so dont make yourselves cozy in it. Dont indulge your ego at the expense of your soul. The rich fool that we read about in Luke 12 is an example of this. He made himself cozy with this worlds wealth, and lost his soul.
Having an eternal perspective radically alters your values. C S Lewis observed, All that is not eternal is eternally useless. This is why the Bible says, We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.[15]
It is a fatal mistake to assume that Gods goal for your life is material prosperity or popular success, as the world defines it. The abundant life that Jesus spoke of has nothing to do with material abundance, and faithfulness to God does not guarantee success in a career or even in ministry. The Apostle Paul was faithful, yet he ended up in prison. John the Baptist was faithful, but he was beheaded. Millions of faithful people have died for their faith, have lost everything, or have come to the end of their life with nothing to show for it. But the end of this earthly life isnt the end!
In Gods eyes, the greatest heroes of faith are not those who achieve prosperity, success and power in this life, but those who treat life as a temporary assignment and serve faithfully, expecting their promised reward in eternity.
An old story is often repeated of a retiring missionary coming home to America on the same boat as the president of the United States. Cheering crowds, a military band, a red carpet, banners and the media welcomed the president home, but the missionary slipped off the ship unnoticed. Feeling self-pity and resentment, he began complaining to God. Then God gently reminded him, But my child, youre not home yet.
The most important thing that developing an eternal perspective on life does for us, is that it helps us to discover the things that really matter. In my Foreword in the Annual Reports I have included the quote that is a continual challenge to me - Only one life, will soon be past; only whats done for Christ will last.
God has set eternity in the hearts of men. This world isnt our home. Theres an eternal home where Jesus waits to welcome you. And that will happen when you become a partner with Gods Son, Jesus Christ, and look out for yourself in these two areas, by being faithful on earth with what has been entrusted to your care, and by nurturing and developing an eternal perspective in your life.
[1]Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV
[2] Ecclesiastes 12:5 (All Bible references are from the Contemporary English Version unless otherwise stated.)
[3] Isaiah 40:28
[4] Isaiah 40:31 NRSV
[5] Psalm 90:2 NRSV
[6] Luke 16:9
[7] Luke 16:2
[8] Luke 15:13
[9] Luke 16:8b
[10] Luke 16:10-12
[11] Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan 2002) pp. 41-52
[12] Psalm 24:1
[13] Luke 16:10a NLT
[14] 1 Corinthians 1:9
[15] 2 Corinthians 4:18