Welcome to this Come to Jesus Daily Devotional as we continue in our Luke, Exploring Who Jesus is series. Today, from Luke 16:1-8, we reflect on how the worst people can be our best teachers because the worst people are often more skilful and focussed on getting what they want than are God’s children and this should not be!
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We can learn lessons from evil and bad people. Jesus, here, is using a shrewd but dishonest person to challenge us and teach us.
‘Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. 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 manager any longer.’ “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— I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’ “So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ “‘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.’ “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.’ “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.”’ (Luke 16:1-8)
i. The worst people can be our best teachers
You would have thought that we would learn only through good examples, but this is far from the truth. Even Jesus, as in The Parable of the Shrewd Manager shows, uses a bad person, who is shrewd in the wrong way, to provoke and teach us. The worst people can be our best teachers - because shrewdness for what is wrong can teach us shrewdness regarding what is right.
This man is worthy of our disdain, however, if we are humble, we can see some enviable traits that we are often missing:
Firstly, he knows his strengths and weaknesses. He says of himself, ‘My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg…’ Knowing our strengths and limitations is a part of being shrewd.
Secondly, He makes a plan and carries it through. He has a vision for his own future and works toward it. He gets practical and organised. Too often Christians fail to have vision and, if they do, they can fail to put things into practice. Having vision, a plan and getting organised is a part of being shrewd.
ii. Christians must learn to be shrewd or wise
Jesus ends this section by saying challenging us:
‘“For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.”’
The worst people can be our best teachers. May this man, and people that we often dislike in this world, provoke us to, like them, be shrewd. But, unlike them, shrewd - wise - for the right things and the glory of God.
The worst people can be our best teachers because the worst people are often more skilful and focussed on getting what they want than are God’s children and this should not be!
Let’s pray together
“Lord Jesus, you want to teach me to be shrewd. You promise that if I lack wisdom and ask for it, you will give it. Please fill me with the wisdom that gets things done for your glory. Amen.”
Community Group Notes
This week is SIV week (Serve, Invest and InVite week) for us at CCP. Therefore, please try to spend a good amount of time reflecting and praying about this.
1. Notices
It might be good to begin with notices. Please share from this week’s Church News.
2. Icebreaker
How has God been speaking to you from His Word this week, and how has this helped you?
3. Worship together
Let’s begin our time together by lifting our eyes and hearts to worship our great God. Perhaps you have readings and songs that you would like to use together. Let’s be open to the gifts that the Spirit wants to give in order to encourage one another.
4. Study and pray together
This week is SIV week (Serve, Invest and InVite week) for us at CCP, and so our study will focus on this theme.
On Sunday our message from Luke 16:1-15 was entitled: ‘The Law of the Little’ - How using the little that God gives is a vital law of success.
Please read Luke Luke 16:1-15 and discuss:
Here, from the use of this Parable of the Shrewd Manager, we learn that sometimes the worst people can be our best teachers because sometimes the worst people are better and more ’shrewd’ at getting what they want than are ‘the children of light’ - Christians. If we want to help to bring our community to Jesus, what things do we learn from this manager in order to effectively do this?
Regarding, principally money, we are told to faithfully steward the, maybe little, that God gives to us (And thank you for your generous giving at the recent gift days!). In regard to ’SIV’, how can we make the most of the little things in order to help to bring people to Jesus?
We are told to be careful not to allow money to become our master. How will idolising money make us ineffective at sharing the gospel and distracted from Serving, Investing and Inviting?
SIV - Do we have any stories of how we have ‘Served, Invested, and inVited’ recently?
SIV - Spend some time together talking and praying about who and how you are seeking to bring your community to Jesus.
Let’s pray together: Pray for one another out of our study together and for anything else for which people would like prayer.
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