"Tell me a Story” is a simple and shorter way to reference Jesus' use of parables. A parable is a relatable way to share a moral or spiritual lesson.
Like the story an old friend shared about lending money to family or extended family. I was a new business owner and a relative came to me to ask for a “loan” because they were in a jam. I was a little distraught because I wanted to help but times were tough. We were a new business who needed every penny of cash to thrive. As I pondered the request, I sat eating lunch with an older employee. I remember sharing my quandary with him. He told me of “loaning” money to a relative who promised to pay him back right away but month after month there was another excuse. Family parties were uncomfortable now. Conversations were strained. He said he couldn’t even feel happy for the young person in their success. My friend said after a while the whole situation began to make him bitter. He went to a therapist who told him he needed to change his perspective by “letting go” of the idea that it was a loan. He needed to reframe the entire transaction and decide it was a gift. My friend for over a year, every time he thought of the loan, he reminded himself it was a gift. The strategy worked but it took almost two years to once again cheer for his nephew's success.
The moral of the story is simple - use money as an opportunity to further relationships, not hinder them
Storytelling forges connections among people, between people and ideas, and they convey the culture, history, and values. You just have to love a well thought out short story. Jesus told 36 different short stories in the gospels.
Today, I’d like to tell you a story you can find in Luke 16. Jesus was hanging out with the disciples and there were others listening in when he told this story.
“There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. 2 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 a manager any longer.’
3 “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— 4 I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’
5 “So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 “‘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.’
7 “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.’
8 “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.
This parable always gets my sense of justice tweaked because the servant and the customers have stolen from the rich man. The entire situation gets even wilder when the rich man shrugs his shoulders and agrees that it's a shrewd strategy on the manager’s part. It’s still dishonest, but a good strategy if the aim is to make friends and influence people.
Like Dale Carnegie said,
Don't criticize, condemn, or complain. Human nature does not like to admit fault. When people are criticized or humiliated, they rarely respond well and become defensive and resent the critic.
Give honest and sincere appreciation. Appreciation is one of the most powerful tools in the world. People will rarely work at their maximum potential under criticism, but honest appreciation brings out their best.
Arouse in the other person an eager want. To get what we want from another person, we must forget our own perspective and begin to see things from the point of view of others. When we can combine our desires with their wants, they become eager to work with us and we can mutually achieve our objectives.
The shrewd manager made sure to get what he needed for himself but Jesus now redirects the life lesson for those who believe in Him and the coming of His kingdom.
9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.
Jesus is communicating the first of at least three lessons. First, we are to use the opportunities he places before us wisely. Money creates opportunities. It is portable power to be used in making friends for the Lord. Money is a means to an end. The secular world knows this. The manager knew this. His actions would help get him a job. Imagine how much more you will be rewarded for using your resources to bring others into a relationship with Jesus. Imagine entering into heaven and being greeted by hundreds or thousands of people you never personally met but who came to a relationship with Jesus because you used your portable power to help them come to know our loving Lord.
10 “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 12 And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?
Jesus offers a second point in this story that we are to remain faithful in the way you use our material wealth. It is a strong indicator of your heart. It shares your intent and motivation.
There was a story from 20 years ago about Michael Jordan when he was in his prime. He had signed a six year deal. Many reporters asked if he was going to hold out for more money about half way through the contract because he was Mr. Basketball at that time. He said no. When they finally inquired why not? He answered. “What kind of man would I be to my kids? What would I be teaching my kids if after I gave my word, I went back on it for money. Integrity is a more important lesson.”
Money will always come and go. If it becomes your life, you will always be on a roller coaster of emotions and suspicions. Christians understand God provides enough. It is only a lack of faith that says more is better. It is also the beginning thought that corrupts.
And it corrupts quickly. As Henry Fielding, an 18th century English novelist and dramatist who was known for his earthy humor and satire said, “Make money your god, and it will plague you like the devil!”
Peter? If you want to cover this I am ok
13 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
Jesus’ third lesson from the story is our devotion and singular focus when it comes to our relationship with God. Jesus is demanding integrity in our devotion to God. He must be first in everything. As he stated in the Sermon on the Mount,
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matt 6:33
Money can be a problem for us. The scriptures talk about money or possessions in over 800 verses. It is talked about more than mercy, prayer or healing. Jesus mentions it in 11 of the 36 parables. The sheer volume of scriptures tell us God is concerned with money and its influence on us. Money is portable power. We must be cognizant and on guard that a person's sense of morality tends to lessen as his or her power increases. The statement made by Lord John Acton, a British historian of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries is still true today. "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
The story today reminds us the best investments we can make are not in our 401k or our homes but in our friends and in God’s plan to expand his kingdom prior to His return.
