Jesus talked about money 16 out of 38 parables; 1 out of 10 verses in the Gospels. The Bible devotes 500 verses on prayer; less than 500 verses on faith; but over 2,000 verses on money and possessions.

The parable before us is one of the most unusual teachings of Jesus every recorded. This parable has tied commentators into knots and puzzled ordinary Christians for centuries. In fact, we could almost title this parable "The Little Rascals." The owner was a rascal because of permitting his manager to go so long being dishonest and the manager was a rascal for the way he handled the debts and preserved a future for himself.

Yet, in this parable, it contains tremendous significance for the understanding of stewardship.

The parable itself is simple enough. A wealthy man discovers that his steward or business manager has been mishandling his funds and promptly fires him. But before his termination becomes final, the steward devises an ingenious plan to ensure his future. He calls in his employer’s debtors, and one by one he writes off 20 to 50 percent of their debts. These people will thus be so indebted to him that when he is out of a job they will feel obliged to help him out. Some commentators believe what this man did was cut out his personal hefty commission, but this is only a guess.

The plan is obviously clever and just as obviously dishonest. When the master finds out what his steward has done, rather than throw him into prison as we might expect, he is so impressed by the man’s ingenuity that he commends him on his prudence.

One reason we find this passage difficult is that Jesus uses what is clearly a dishonest act to teach an important spiritual truth. However, Christ never commends the steward’s dishonesty. Rather, he highlights his shrewdness in preparing for his own future.

Nothing truly belongs to us; everything actually belongs to God.

Let me tell you about the owner, God:

Psalm 24: 1 "The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness. The world and those who dwell therein."

James 1: 17 "Every good and perfect gift comes from the Father above."

I Chronicles 29:11-12 "For all that is in heaven and earth is yours, O Lord."

"Both riches and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things."

Verse 14: "For all things come from You."

Deuteronomy 8:18 "But you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth,…"

Stewardship is all about being faithful and trusting.

You trust God to believe His word about giving.

Then God can trust you.

A steward has been given trust to look over the belongings of the owner. It does not matter how much it is, the trust is what is important.

Let me ask you? If you are the owner who has $10,000 and that is all you have, is it important to you to find someone you can trust to look after your $10,000?

If you have $1 million dollars and that is all you have, is it important to you to find someone you can trust to look after your million?

What is the same in both illustrations? Its not the amount of money, but the trust that is needed in the manager by the owner.

Luke 16: 10-12 "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. So if you have been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?"

The greater your dependability the greater your blessing.

There is only one thing that God put equal with Him and that was money. Luke 16: 13 "No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."

I Corinthians 4:2 "Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful."

This parable speaks very clearly of the necessity to plan for the future. Yet, we would think the best way to do that is to put our tithe and offerings into retirement, but you see we live on a plane longer than retirement. Its called eternity.

Matthew 6:20-21 "But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

You see, there is not a conspiracy on the part of pastors and finance committee to come up with schemes to get your money. What is happening is you are investing in your own future and eternity.

The Message translation of this passage refers to this steward as being "street wise." He knew how to watch after himself with shrewdness and ingenious means.

Are we "street wise?" And I’m referring to golden streets? Are we laying up our treasures for the future? An investment in heaven guarantees far greater security – neither moth, rust, thieves, nor any other thing can get to it.

It is often said, "You can’t take it with you." But Jesus is saying that if we know what we are doing that we can take it with us after all. How do we invest in heaven? Since people are going to be in heaven, then investing in people is the best possible investment. This means more than money but it includes money plus our time, talents.

Faithfulness as a Christian steward relates to the management of money, but also a great deal more. The "portfolio" for which we are responsible includes a wide range of components, and God’s expectation is that we make the most of each one.

Think of all the "assets" you have under management: your money, your time, your possessions, your opportunities, your influence, your relationships and much more. Then spiritually, we add the gospel of Christ, the mystery of godliness, the secret things of God.

We will be accountable for what we have.

What you do with little is what you will do with much. It will not change.

People say, "When I have more time." You will never have more time than you have now.

"When I have more money." You will do more of what you are doing now when you have more money. If you are not tithing now, you won’t be tithing then.

Coming into increase will not change your values, it will only magnify them.

We will be held accountable for our giving of our resources.

" A religion that does not look out, reach out, lift out and help out is washed out. This is stewardship."

Warning: Deuteronomy 8: 10-14 "When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. ¹¹Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. ¹²Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, ¹³and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, ¹⁴then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

I began this message with a pop quiz, I finish getting you ready for the final exam.