Luke 16:1-13 Parable of the shrewd manager

It is interesting to note that although the manager was dishonest in his dealing with his Master’s accounts, he was commended for his “shrewdness.” He was commended for his forward looking and planning for his future. He was NOT commended for his dishonesty.

Although God gives us our daily bread, I believe he expects us to look to the future and plan for the days ahead, not with fear but with wisdom. He tells us that if we can be trusted with little, we can be trusted with much. If we are caring about other people’s possession, then we can be trusted with possessions of our own.

If we do not budget our money wisely, making sure that the provision we receive are used properly, we should not expect God to pour more into our pockets. Consider these:

Do you pay your bills on time?

Do you choose your activities according to your budget? (night at the movies or TV with homemade popcorn?)

What kinds of priorities do you keep as far as money is concerned?

Do you think dinner at a 5 star restaurant is more important than paying your rent on time?

Do you pay your rent late with lots of excuses attached when you could pay on time if your curbed your spending?

Do you give expensive gifts that out of your range?

Are you paying more in credit card interest than you are in immediate expenditures?

Do you have a savings account for emergencies?

God is practical as well as spiritual. If you have been financially irresponsible at any time in the past—writing bad checks, lying about what you can afford, returning goods after you have used them, etc.—Repent and change your ways.

How do you take care of your car? Do you keep it clean?

Are you careful in how you treat someone else’s car?

How do you take care of things others lend you—telephone, CD’s, books, clothing? How do you take care of what you use in a restaurant, public bathrooms, hotels, parking lots, banks, etc?

If you cannot be careful with what belongs to others, how can you be trusted with better things of your own.
  Don’t throw trash on the ground.
  Keep the restrooms clean.
  Don’t carve your initials in the wall.

If you treat property of others badly, repent today, and begin to be more respectful.

You get the idea

Your heavenly Father sees you and will reward you accordingly. Notice, he watches so he can know how to reward you not condemn you. Any condemnation comes from the Enemy or yourself. Use behavior that brings on rewards.