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The Little Things from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.

Jesus told His disciples a parable about an unjust steward who squandered his master's possessions. The master demanded to see the books to determine what he had done with the wealth entrusted to him. Then he promptly fired the steward.

The steward was too weak to dig and too ashamed to beg, so he came up with a cunning plan. He would begin to use his wealth to help others. In Israel during those times, it was against Moses's law to charge interest to a fellow Jew (Exodus 22:25; Leviticus 25:36; Deuteronomy 23:19). So as a greedy workaround, they factored their profit into the price of what they were selling. Sometimes it would be a 100% markup.

The steward called a man who owed his master 100 measures of olive oil and told him to mark his bill down to 50 measures. He was able to do this because the additional 50 was his commission on the sale. Basically, the steward removed his dishonest markup from the master's goods. In doing so, he made friends for himself. And when you fall on hard times like he was about to, it is good to have a few friends.

The master commended the actions of the unjust steward. Perhaps because the steward had an epiphany, a wake-up call. The steward owned up to his actions and said, "I am the man. I will make this right." Then Jesus said this:

(Luke 16:10–14 NASB)  "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." Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and were scoffing at Him.

Now, it should be evident to you that Jesus is speaking about what we do with the money He has entrusted to each of us. If the hairs on your neck are beginning to stand up and you begin to feel offended, slow down and read that last verse again. "The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and were scoffing at Him." As Jesus said, no one can serve two masters, for the love of money will cause you to despise God. He will force an election where you have to choose. The Lord does it to every one of us. He did it to me, and I promise, He will do it to you.

Here is an example of what it may look like: One of my seminary teachers was pretty well off. He was a pharmacist, and he earned a good living. When he was saved, baptized, and began attending church, the Lord began to go after his wallet. At first, it was upsetting to him. He would go to church, and the Holy Spirit would speak to him unmistakably and say, "Give that person there $1,000." He would pray about it, try to shrug it off, but it kept coming back, and the Lord would not speak about anything else until he had surrendered and given them the money.

Then the Lord had him start giving a 20% tithe to the church instead of the usual ten. Things like this happened to him repeatedly over a couple of years until it no longer bothered him. As long as he gave grudgingly, the tests just kept on coming. Eventually, when the Lord told him to give someone $1,000, he felt joy that the Lord had chosen him to work through. As soon as his heart and his wallet were submitted to God, the giving tests stopped coming, and the Lord greatly prospered him over the next 40 years. He became an anointed teacher who clearly heard the voice of the Lord, for he could be trusted. He who can be trusted with a little can also be trusted with a lot. Later, when he became deathly sick with stomach cancer, the Lord healed him. His wealth was multiplied many times over, and he never missed those thousands he had to give away.

It's merely a matter of trust. God doesn't need your money. He invented gold, and it all belongs to Him. Consider this: we have a new puppy here named Jasmine. One of the things we have to teach her is to not be aggressive about food. We give her a bone, then take it away and pet her, then we give it back. For her own protection, if there is something harmful within her reach, I want to be able to take it away. I don't actually want Jasmine's bone, for I am the one who gave it to her in the first place. I just want her to surrender it when I ask her to. There are a lot more bones where that one came from. That is pretty much my view about handling money.

Also, the amount of money you have is irrelevant. The widow who gave two mites, a penny, into the temple treasury, had given a larger percentage than all the rest.

(Mark 12:41–44 NKJV)  Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood."

Notice that Jesus sat and watched how they gave, and then He commented to His disciples about the giving of the poor widow. Imagine that. Her tiny offering of one penny caught the attention of the Lord Jesus Christ. So, how much you give is irrelevant, as long as it is what He instructs you to.

The love of money is "a" root of all types of evil, greed, deceit, envy, just to name a few. Yet, it is not having an amount of money that matters or causes it. I know rich people who are free from the love of money, as my seminary teacher. And I know some poor people who are some of the greediest on Earth and would rob you blind. They would not only steal tithes from God, but they would also steal yours. Money is merely a tool and has the same morals as a brick. You could use a brick to build a hospital or throw it through your neighbor's window. That is what money should be like to us, merely a tool the Lord has entrusted to us.

The part of Jesus' teaching that scares me the most is that when He forces the choice, those who choose to hold onto their money will never see the true riches He has in store. They will never see their destiny unfold. "if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you?"

If He tells you to give something away, don't try and reason and figure it out in your mind. Give it immediately. Treat it like it is contaminated, put it as far away from you as possible, and as quickly as you can. "Here, the Lord told me to give this to you! It's yours, take it! Get it out of my house!" You have no idea why He asked you to do this, and He will not tell you until after you have obeyed. If you want to see God begin to move in new ways in your life over this coming year, don't take this message lightly. And remember, how you react to this message will reveal the state of your heart to you:

(Luke 16:14 NASB) Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and were scoffing at Him.

You can pray this with me if you like:

Prayer: Heavenly Father, please set me free from the love of money and help me find the true riches You have in store for me. I want to see Your plans, Your purpose, and Your true riches in my life. Speak to me and let me hear Your voice in a way that I understand and I will obey. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!