Be Smart
Luke 16:8b-9
‘The sons of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. So I tell you make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into eternal dwellings.’
I don’t know whether I’m allowed to say this on a set of church devotionals, but I love poker. I play 1p and 2p stakes, just for fun. The key to poker is to keep your cool and know the maths. You need to know the exact probability of hitting a winning card so you know when to bet and how much to bet. People think that poker is gambling but the truth is that it’s mostly a game of skill with a little luck thrown in. The best poker players are masters of maths and know exactly how to use their money to make money. Many of them go and work for hedge funds once they get bored of poker!
We’re looking at the parable of the Dishonest Manager this week. And we’ve made it to verse 8b. Jesus has told this story about a manager who uses his master’s wealth to make friends so that when he’s fired they’ll look after him. And here’s the plot twist - Jesus commends him for his shrewdness! Note here that Jesus isn’t commending his morality; the guy was a dishonest cheat. But he notes that there’s a lesson to be learnt from his shrewdness. Jesus says ‘the sons of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. So I tell you make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into eternal dwellings’.
What point is Jesus making here? He’s saying that the poker players and the hedge fund managers know the maths. They’re smart with their resources. They know how to invest their wealth now to get a bigger return in the future. We need to be smart like them. Jesus tells us how everything will turn out. Earthly wealth will fail. Heavenly wealth lasts forever. Be smart. Invest it in things that last into eternity. Bet all your chips on Jesus. You can’t lose.
Prayer – Jesus, I’m betting my life on you. Please help me to let go of the things that don’t matter and focus on you.