Stewards Planning for Eternity

A Sermon by Dr. Neil Chadwick


As we watch the athletes of the world compete in the Olympics, it becomes quickly obvious - the spotlight of the world is on the young.

For example, Anthony Ervin who shared the Gold Medal for the 50 meter freestyle swimming race, making him one of the fastest swimmers in the world, will not turn 20 years old until next spring.

The gymnast, Jamie Dantzscher is even younger. It was in 1997, at age 15, that Jamie finished sixth in the all-around at the US Gymnastics Championships - this year she finished third as she qualified herself at the Olympic trials. (To her credit, Dantzscher is looking for more than the dazzle of the gold. She hopes that her talents can provide her with a scholarship to college. She plans to study education, and her ambition is to someday become a teacher.)

At age 18, Jamie and teammate Elise Ray seem to be the senior citizens of Gymnastics; the Europeans are even younger. From the Gold Medal team from Romania, both Andreea Isarescu (Is-a-RES-cu) and Andreea Raducan (RA-do-CAN) are 16, as is Olga Roschupkina (roh-SHOOP-kee-nah) from Ukraine.

However these are not the youngest Olympians. That award goes to Dimitros Loundras who competed in Greece in 1896; his age was 10 years and 218 days!

But in the news this week is another young person who took the front page headlines.

    His name is Jonathan G. Lebed, and he lives with his family in Cedar Grove, NJ. This week Jonathan paid the Securities and Exchange $285,000 which he had wrongfully obtained by trading on the Stock Market. He had bought obscure penny stocks, hyped them in a barrage of false E-mail messages to various Web bulletin boards that made the choices seem hot, and then sold his own shares as soon as the price rose.

    His interest in the Market started while he was in the eighth grade when Jonathan and two classmates entered a stock trading competition, and won. Jonathan said at the time that he would get up at 5 a.m. daily to watch CNBC for stock tips. He had all the markings of a bright, ambitious young man. And he has won the praise of his classmates. Jared, who works with Jonathan on an Internet business said, "I would say he is not a bad kid at all; he did not want to do anything mean to anybody." Then he added that he hoped his partner's notoriety would help build their business.

    The fact that disseminating false information about stocks is illegal did not seem to be a concern at all!

    Another 16 year old junior, Alessandra Vitale, said, "A lot of people were impressed with it. If a 15-year-old kid can make $273,000, anything is possible."

    But what is also alarming is that Jonathan's father, when asked whether he would ground Jonathan, merely replied, "I'm proud of my son," as he stepped away from his Mercedes sport utility vehicle. He evidently had allowed his son to use his name to set up his stock accounts, and no doubt was profiting from Jonathan's wizardry.

This contemporary story reminds me of another story, an ancient one told by Jesus in Luke chapter 16. Allow me to tell it like it could be told today.

    A Chief Financial Officer who was caught embezzling, was called into the office of the CEO.

    "There have been rumors that your dealings have cost this company a lot of money. It's probably going to mean your job - I want your final report on my desk by Friday morning."

    The CFO said to himself, "What am I going to do now? No one will hire me now - I'm too old to do manual labor, and I certainly don't want to go on welfare. So he came up with a plan. None of the people who owed money to the company were aware of his problem, so he negotiated reductions of their accounts payable, some by 20%, some by as much as 50%. This was a kind of political move; the CFO believed that the friends he helped in these financial dealings would be there to help him during the difficult days that lie ahead.

After Jesus told this story, He explained the lessons He was trying to teach.

One lesson notes that people who deal with money handle it with greater skill than those who handle the more important spiritual matters like preaching the Gospel (verse 8). Of course there may be good reason for that - money and material things can be seen. Spiritual results of Gospel efforts are more difficult to count.

The main lesson, however, has to do with stewardship - the person who can be trusted with small matters, like money, can be trusted with greater things, like spiritual matters. (verses 10,11). This removes any question about Jesus applauding the ways of the manager. And even more fundamentally, the steward understands that it's not his money that he is managing, it belongs to his boss, or the company. This is an important lesson for all disciples to learn. Everything we hold in our hands is something which belongs to God, and we are accountable for its use. It is in this context that Jesus makes the statement about not serving two masters. The point is, we are to serve God, and use money in that service, rather than serve money and use God in that service (the prosperity Gospel message notwithstanding).

To make it clear that this is about money, or rather, about greed for money, the writer adds the comment about the Pharisees, "The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus." (verse 14) Why were they sneering? Obviously they were sure that this poor country preacher didn't get it. They would echo our own mantra, "It's the economy, stupid."

But the lesson we want to finish with is found in verse 9, where Jesus says, "I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings."

It's always been of interest to me that Jesus talks more about money than He does about heaven. This is one verse where both are addressed. It reminds us of what Jesus said in Matthew 6:20,21 "Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

The meaning is similar, the way we utilize the possessions entrusted to us have an impact on the eternal home. Jesus is saying, "Use your money in such a way that when it runs out, you will be received into heaven." Does that mean that money can provide a ticket into heaven? Of course not. But the way we spend God's money, often indicates our values. Money may be used as an investment in the kingdom by promoting the spread of the Gospel, or by ministering to those who are in need. When we use the money God has entrusted to us in that way, we demonstrate that we truly understand and operate according to His priorities.

The great Bible Commentator, Albert Barnes, when commenting on Luke 16:9 writes:

    "This may be done by using our riches as we should do; that is, by not suffering them to entangle us in cares and perplexities dangerous to the soul, engrossing the time, and stealing away the affections; by employing them in works of mercy and benevolence, aiding the poor, contributing to the advance of the gospel, bestowing them where they will do good, and in such a manner that God will approve the deed, and will bless us for it. Commonly riches are a hindrance to piety. To many they are snares; and, instead of positively benefiting the possessor, they are an injury, as they engross the time and the affections, and do not contribute at all to the eternal welfare of the soul. Everything may, by a proper use, be made to contribute to our welfare in heaven."

However, it's important again to point out that Jesus does not applaud the unrighteousness of the manager's methods; He does commend the wisdom of his goals.

Let's look at, and learn from what the steward did.

    1. The steward took stock of his position. His was a kind of reality check of his resources, his abilities. He was honest about his limitations and his feelings.

    2. He developed a plan, a fine example of the importance of long term planning. (Another Biblical example is that of Joseph who came to understand the need to prepare for the lean years by storing up during the years of plenty.)

    3. The steward executed the plan. No, we are not to be like the shrewd manager who secured his future by unrighteous means, but we should be willing to utilize present resources to secure the future.

    This may not be the right time of year to talk about this, but let me give you the example of the family vacation. I remember one mother and father who told me the story about their disastrous family vacation - at a Christian Bible Camp, no less. Everyone seemed unhappy, the fighting was almost incessant, and they said that if this is the way vacations are to be, they would rather not take another one, ever. So I asked them a simple question, what planning had they done prior to the vacation? They looked at me blankly for a long moment, and then admitted they had done none. I guess they thought that when they took their family to a Christian Camp, everything would be just wonderful. But they took some advice, and started the planning process long before the next vacation was scheduled. And, surprise surprise, they had a wonderful vacation!

This is why Jesus said that the materialists are smart, they work hard to secure their future comfort by doing good planning and execution. We should be no less smart.

When I first read this passage, I became curious as to who the friends are who will welcome us "into eternal dwellings."

Many people seem to think it's Saint Peter. It's amazing how many jokes picture him as the one to welcome people as they approach the "pearly gates." One of my favorites is the one about the three American Presidents who died and went to heaven.

    When Saint Peter met Jimmy Carter at the gate, he explained that because of all of his good deeds done on earth, he would be given a Mercedes for his heavenly transportation.

    "It could have been a Rolls Royce", Peter commented. "But due to 18% interest rates and your handling of the hostage crisis, this is the best we can do for you."

    A while later, Ronald Reagan died, and also appeared before Peter. Due to his habit of falling asleep during Cabinet meetings, he didn't fare quite so well, but was given a Ford Explorer to drive. Although he accepted this graciously, inwardly he was upset, especially when he saw the Democrat Carter driving around heaven in his silver gray Mercedes.

    Then one day, as Reagan rounded a corner, he saw that Jimmy Carter had had a terrible accident. His Mercedes had crashed into a tree, and it appeared to be totally wrecked. And then he noticed that President Carter was outside his car, and was laughing uncontrollably. So Reagan pulled his Ford Explorer to the curb, and jumped out to inquire what had happened.

    "What's going on?" he asked. "Why are you standing here laughing when you just smashed up your car?"

    "Because," said Carter between gasps for air, "I lost control and drove my car into this tree when I saw Bill Clinton go by on roller blades."

But seriously, who is Jesus referring to when He talks about friends welcoming us in our eternal home? Could it be angels? Writers for "Touched by an Angel" would want us to believe it is a baby faced angel named Andrew. We do know that angels rejoice when a sinner repents, but nowhere does Scripture indicate that there is an angelic welcoming committee at heaven's gate.

Perhaps Jesus meant other people who have died and gone to heaven before us, like the "cloud of witnesses" identified by the writer of the Hebrews. Well, they will be there, but I don't believe that's what Jesus had in mind. "When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be." Why? Because we will be received and welcomed by none other than Jesus Christ.

Do you remember the story of Stephen in Acts 7? Verses 55 and 56 tell the story:

    "But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 'Look,' he said, 'I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.'"

Have you ever wondered why it says that Jesus was "standing"? After all doesn't the Scripture indicate elsewhere that Jesus "sits at the right hand of the Father"? It seems obvious - Jesus is standing to be ready to welcome His faithful servant, Stephen.

The most important lesson is this - take care to prepare for your eternal home. I'm afraid we have too often misused the idea of eternal. We say things like "friends forever", or refer to "eternal vigilance', or make a pilgrimage to see the "eternal flame" by the grave site of a slain president. But none of these are truly eternal. When I was a youngster, someone tried to explain to me just how long "eternity" is. They said that if the world we live on were made of hardened steel, and a small house fly were to walk on its surface, circling the globe until the entire sphere would be worn down to nothing, then eternity would have just begun.

The question we are left with is, "are we preparing now for what is certain to come."

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