The Embezzler

Recently, an attorney at Debt Masters, a local collection agency, found out that one of his managers was cheating the business. Of course, the manager was fired, but he was given to the end of the day when he would be given his final check.

The manager considered quickly, recognizing that he would soon be without a job and homeless, because it would be difficult for him to find another job. He refused to live on the streets, so he quickly came up with a plan.

He looked up all his clients who were living in Portland and gave them a call. His conversation went like this:

"Hi! This is Jed from Debt Masters and I have good news! The company is cutting your debt in half! The only requirement is this: The company may ask you to house a clean, polite man for a week sometime in the future. If you agree to this we can take thousands off of our debt!"

Although some hesitated, most leaped at the opportunity to reduce their bill. The attorney who supervised him found out about his scheme and he couldn't help but shake his head in admiration at the manager's ingenuity, so he gave him a job in his law office instead.

"Even so," said Jesus at the end of his story, "have ingenuity like this manager. If you have resources or money, give them to people who act mercifully to the poor so they will reserve a room for you in heaven. Some of you will never get there otherwise."

-Luke 16:1-9 (SKV) (really, if you know your Bible, look it up, that's what he said!)

Jesus on Posessions

Matthew 13:44-46

The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

Luke 14:31-33

What king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.

Luke 12:13-15

Someone in the crowd said to Him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me."  He said to him, "Man, who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?" Then He said to them, "Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions."

Mark 10:17-30

He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and asked Him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments, 'DO NOT MURDER, DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, DO NOT STEAL, DO NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS, Do not defraud, HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER.'" And he said to Him, "Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up." Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, "One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." But at these words he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property. And Jesus, looking around, said to His disciples, "How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!" The disciples were amazed at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." They were even more astonished and said to Him, "Then who can be saved?" Looking at them, Jesus said, "With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God." Peter began to say to Him, "Behold, we have left everything and followed You." Jesus said, "Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel's sake, but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life.

Luke 12:32-34

"Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Luke 16:1-13

"There was a rich man who had a manager, and this manager was reported to him as squandering his possessions. And he called him and said to him, 'What is this I hear about you? Give an accounting of your management, for you can no longer be manager.' The manager said to himself, 'What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig; I am ashamed to beg. I know what I shall do, so that when I am removed from the management people will welcome me into their homes.' And he summoned each one of his master's debtors, and he began saying to the first, 'How much do you owe my master?' And he said, 'A hundred measures of oil.' And he said to him, 'Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.' Then he said to another, 'And how much do you owe?' And he said, 'A hundred measures of wheat.' He said to him, 'Take your bill, and write eighty.' And his master praised the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of light. And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they will receive you into the eternal dwellings. He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you? And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth."

Matthew 25:31-40
When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

 For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.' Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'”

What Jesus Said About Stuff

Matthew 13:44-46

The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

Luke 14:31-33

What king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.

Luke 12:13-15

Someone in the crowd said to Him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me."  He said to him, "Man, who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?" Then He said to them, "Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions."

Mark 10:17-30

He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and asked Him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments, 'DO NOT MURDER, DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, DO NOT STEAL, DO NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS, Do not defraud, HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER.'" And he said to Him, "Teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up." Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, "One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." But at these words he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property. And Jesus, looking around, said to His disciples, "How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!" The disciples were amazed at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." They were even more astonished and said to Him, "Then who can be saved?" Looking at them, Jesus said, "With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God." Peter began to say to Him, "Behold, we have left everything and followed You." Jesus said, "Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel's sake, but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life.

Luke 12:32-34

"Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Luke 16:1-13

"There was a rich man who had a manager, and this manager was reported to him as squandering his possessions. And he called him and said to him, 'What is this I hear about you? Give an accounting of your management, for you can no longer be manager.' The manager said to himself, 'What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig; I am ashamed to beg. I know what I shall do, so that when I am removed from the management people will welcome me into their homes.' And he summoned each one of his master's debtors, and he began saying to the first, 'How much do you owe my master?' And he said, 'A hundred measures of oil.' And he said to him, 'Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.' Then he said to another, 'And how much do you owe?' And he said, 'A hundred measures of wheat.' He said to him, 'Take your bill, and write eighty.' And his master praised the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of light. And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they will receive you into the eternal dwellings. He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you? And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth."

Matthew 25:31-40
When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.' Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'”

Blessing for the Giver

Agrapha 1: Acts 20:35—“It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

Although this is a passage of Jesus not found in the gospels, it is as famous as many of his other sayings, although most people do not know it is referenced to Jesus.  Scholastically, it is a doubtful saying: the writer of Acts is quoting Paul in one of his frequently rewritten lectures, and this lecture is quoting Jesus.  On the other hand, this saying fits Jesus’ other teachings about giving and humility.

What is important to know is that in the context of Jesus’ teachings, it doesn’t have the meaning we usually use it.  Let’s say it’s Christmas day and parents are both giving and receiving presents.  They take such joy in watching their children open the presents they have carefully selected and wrapped.  But when it comes to their presents—a tie, or perhaps a sculpture of one of their kid’s hands quickly produced at school—let’s just say there isn’t as much joy.  So they look at each other and knowingly say, “It is better to give than to receive.”

Yeah, that.  That’s not what Jesus meant.

We need to think about the reason why Jesus would say it is better to give.  Not because there is simply more joy in giving—although that can be true.  But rather because of the eschatological reversal.

Ecscatawhozawhat?

Jesus taught that whatever we gave to ourselves or from others on earth, we would receive the opposite from God on the final day.  This is why he said “Blessed are you who are poor”, because God would give them great wealth in the end.  “Those who humble themselves will be exalted” because God would grant the humble the opposite of humility in the kingdom.  And, on the converse, “Those who exalt themselves will be humbled” because God, on the final day, will reduce the great to nothing.

So Jesus is simply applying this principle to giving.  The one who gives no longer owns what they surrender.  And that act of giving humbles them.  And the humbled—the poor, the meek, the persecuted—will be granted great things by God on the final day.  Even so, the giver will BE the receiver—eventually.  And what they receive will be greater than what they give.

This is stated more explicitly by Jesus in other sayings: “ Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure-- pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your measure it will be measured to you in return." (Luk 6:38)  And also, “Sell your possessions and give to the poor; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys.” (Luk 12:33).  In other words, whatever you give, you will obtain what you gave and more from the Lord.

This is in agreement with the book of Proverbs, which says, “One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the LORD, And He will repay him for his good deed.” (Proverbs 19:17) and with Psalms which says, “How blessed is he who considers the helpless; The LORD will deliver him in a day of trouble. The LORD will protect him and keep him alive, And he shall be called blessed upon the earth; And do not give him over to the desire of his enemies. The LORD will sustain him upon his sickbed; In his illness, You restore him to health.” (Psalm 41:1-3)

The only caveat to all of this evidence of the giver’s blessing is that it must be to someone in need that we give.  Someone must be poor or in humble circumstances or in great need—if we give to them, then the Lord will give to us, in abundance, on the day we need it.

So give!  Give to the third world, give to the homeless, give to those who have nothing to give.  And God will not forget you, even if it is only a cup of cold water. 

Giving Like Jesus

Jesus’ Life

John 12:1-8; John 13:26-29
"Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?"
Jesus and his disciples had a treasury, out of which they gave to the poor regularly, which these passages show. The normal pattern, which the disciples never even gave a thought about, was to give to the poor. Judas, who was appointed over the treasury, was the one who would take the money and give. When Jesus rebuked Judas’ attitude about Mary’s anointing him, he was not saying that there was no use giving to the poor. Rather, he was reflecting the attitude of Deuteronomy 15, saying that there will always be poor to give to, and so there will always be an opportunity to do that good work. But this is the only opportunity Mary had to anoint Jesus, which is also an honor to God.

Luke 7:11-15
When the Lord saw her, He felt compassion for her, and said to her, "Do not weep." And He came up and touched the coffin; and the bearers came to a halt. And He said, "Young man, I say to you, arise!" The dead man sat up and began to speak. And Jesus gave him back to his mother.
Jesus also gave to the poor by healing. He resurrected this man from the dead because of his compassion for his mother, who was a widow. Having lost both her husband and her son, she would be lost in Jewish society in the first century, having no adult male to care for her. But Jesus’ concern for this poor woman allowed her to continue to live.

Mark 8:1-9
"I feel compassion for the people because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come from a great distance."
Jesus also had compassion on the crowds who followed him to listen to his teaching. They may not have been poor all the time, but they were at a loss there in the wilderness. So Jesus provided them food that came from the Father. This too was giving to the poor.

Our Lives

Acts 4:32-37
The congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them....For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales and lay them at the apostles' feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need.
The early church had a regular practice of giving to the poor. They would give money to the apostles and the apostles would distribute it to the poor, as the poor had need. Later, the apostles would appoint deacons to administrate the work among the poor for them (Acts 6), but it was an essential part of the church to regularly provide for the needy among them and also outside.

Luke 12:15-34
"Your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom. Freely sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
Jesus is saying there are two opposites—greed and giving to the poor. To give to the poor is actually to put that treasure in heaven—as a retirement account, so to speak—and thus the Father will provide for you in the kingdom even as you cared for the poor in this life. In this respect, Jesus said, don’t worry about your life. The Father will care for your needs now, if you would just focus your wealth and resources on the poor now.

Luke 16:9-13
"Make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they will receive you into the eternal dwellings."
Jesus makes a clearer statement here—use your wealth for the sake of the needy who will welcome you into the kingdom of God. In other words, take your resources and use it for those doing God’s will now and then a place will also be made for you in the kingdom of God. And Jesus makes a clear antithesis—either you will serve money, or you will serve God, you can’t do both. If we are faithful in the little thing of giving our money away, then we will be given more. But if we can’t obey God in this little thing—the giving away of our unrighteous money—then God will not grant us a place in the kingdom.

Matthew 6:2-4
"When you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you."
When we give, we need to do it focused on God, not to impress other people. If we give to the poor to be rewarded by men, we will not be rewarded by God.


Examples

George Mueller was a minister in England who determined that he needed to assist the poor, and so he focused on the orphans of Bristol. Over his lifetime he received and gave over 7 million dollars for the orphans, not using any for his own security. He assisted more than ten thousand orphans begin their lives.

Francis of Assisi was determined to help the poor. He would associate with lepers, even though they were personally repugnant to him. And if he had anything, he would provide it for others. If he received a coat, he would give it to one who had none, even if that meant that he was to shiver in cold himself.


Living It Out

Give to those who have need
God commands us to provide for those who have need. That doesn’t mean we must provide things that are not needs, but if we see anyone in a desperate situation and we have the resources to help them, we must do so.

Give sacrificially
We must be also open to giving in a way that hurts, even if we ourselves lack because of it. In our society, we are often too concerned with our health insurance, retirement or maintaining a certain lifestyle (such as eating at restaurants) to really be able to give to the poor. Often we must sacrifice what we might need to provide for what others really need. Food for the hungry and providing the gospel to the ignorant is more important than our desires and lifestyles.

Give for God’s reward, not men’s
Jesus commands us to give to the poor so that we can receive from God. We need to focus on the Father’s reward and not on other people’s in order to gain God’s reward. Let us not give for the sake of a tax break or for the praise of other people, but instead do what we can for the sake of others’ for God’s sake alone. In this way, we will gain the kingdom of God.

Don’t look at the poverty of your resources, but at the need and God’s supply
Often we don’t see that we have enough to give, but we are often looking at the wrong resources. Jesus didn’t have any money or food to give to people, but he was able to provide food for them anyway, through God’s power. Even so, we need to seek God’s provision for others and depend on God to provide for both them and us.

Give toward the need, out of love
When we give, let us give in love. We shouldn’t give out of our own need—to relive guilt, or to get some poor person off our backs. We must look at the persons’ need and give to that. And if it takes time to do it right, out of love, then we should do it. To give out of love, we need to listen to the person and we need to give to the need, not necessarily their desire. Be shrewd in your love, and be known as a person who really cares.