When You Have a Fifth Place Car

On a recent NASCAR television broadcast, Kyle Petty, a former driver and now a television race commentator, was talking about one driver who was unable to pull any closer to the lead than fifth place in the race no matter how hard or well he drove his automobile.  Petty said, “Sometimes you just have a fifth place car.”

Then, Petty added this, “When that happens, your responsibility is to come in fifth.”  Do not make excuses.  Do your best with what has been given to you. You are responsible for your use of what you have been given.

Christians call this stewardship.   To be a steward is to manage the property or affairs of another person.  Christians are expected to use their God-given gifts to further the work of the Lord.

What? You say that you do not seem to have any “gifts?”  All Christians have at least one gift, the unearned and unearnable free grace of God who spent the most valuable thing in the universe, the life of Jesus Christ, to provide for our salvation.  He spent this resource for me and for you, as a gift to us, as if each of us was the only one.  The sacrifice of Jesus did restore order to the entire universe, but it also was made for each of us … individually.  A gift.

No Christian should think to use their lack of ability as an excuse for not performing a task which God has clearly assigned to them.  He gives us whatever time or resources we need to do whatever He asks because nothing and no one can stand in His way or prevent Him from achieving His purposes.  “For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?” Isaiah 14:27

    

As members of the ἐκκλησία we each have been given specific gifts so that we may perform specific functions.  “And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.” Genesis 2:15

All the gifts are needed and none of the gifts are more important than any of the others for the proper function of God’s plan.  Some can teach, some can comfort, some can do manual chores, some can provide financial resources, some can preach, some can pray, some can nurture faith in others, some can care for the sick, some can cook, some have a special connection with children, some are judges, some are peacemakers.  All the gifts are exercised under the leadership of the Holy Spirit..

“For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.”  1 Corinthians 12:12

“For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:” Romans 12:4

“As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” 1 Peter 4:10

“For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;” Romans 12:4-6

James, the brother of Jesus, gave us the other side of this, a warning. “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” James 4:17

A Possible Interpretation of the Parable of the Unjust Steward

Jesus strikes me as having been pleasant and calming rather than strident and militant.  He was willing and able to express anger, but probably more often than not made his disciples smile or laugh.

I recently posted about the hard to understand Parable of the Unjust Steward.  What I said in the first paragraph may hold a key to understanding the parable.  Jesus seems to be praising the Unjust Steward.  I think He was.  He was using the Aramaic/Hebrew form of humor expressed as sarcasm or irony.  I believe that the parable probably struck His disciples as humorous in a wry sort of way.

If you are going to serve money, do it as well as you can.  If you are going to serve God, do it as well as you can.  You cannot serve two masters.  If you try, you will serve neither well.  God despises lukewarmness.

“So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.”  Revelation 3:16  

The Parable of the Unrighteous Steward

OK, I understand verses 13 and 14.  I have to admit that the rest of this parable eludes me.  Can anyone explain how verses 1 - 12 lead to verses 13 and 14?

"The Parable of the Unrighteous Steward

1And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. 2And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward. 3Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. 4I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. 5So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? 6And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. 7Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore. 8And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. 9And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.

10He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. 11If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own? 13No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." Luke 16:1-14

Book Comment: The Money Answer Book

The Money Answer Book (2010) by Dave Ramsey, is a collection of questions and answers about money and personal finance from a Christian perspective.  There is nothing of the heretical Prosperity Gospel here.  Ramsey does not teach that you can have a person “key to God’s bank.”

Several of the principles taught by Ramsey include:

1.     Be responsible to God and your family in your use of money.

2.     Discuss all money decisions with your spouse.

3.     Do not borrow money.

4.     Get rid of debt.

5.     Do not let your emotions be manipulated into buying  things.  You do not need more things. 

6.     Tithe.

An example Ramsey gives:

“The average monthly car payment is $378.  If you only have one car payment you’re shelling out almost $5000 in one year.  Investing $378 per month in a good growth stock market fund from age 25 to age 65 will be worth more than $4.4 million !”

In the book, Ramsey discusses:

1.     401K and IRA retirement saving accounts

2.     Saving and Investment

3.     Retirement

4.     Insurance

5.     Real Estate

6.     Student Loans

The book is interspersed with biblical quotations with illuminate the points being made.

Wanting to Be a Millionaire

"It is absolutely okay for a Christian to want to be a millionaire, because as Christians we know that no matter how much we have, we own nothing.  We are simply managers of the resources God has given us.  If we can manage God's Money, whether $100 or $1 million, we are okay."  Dave Ramsey

Dave Ramsey is a Christian financial expert who advocates living debt-free on a strictly cash basis.  His advice is biblically based and does not seem to be associated with the heretical Prosperity Gospel.  His basic message is work hard, don't spend more than you have, and don't borrow money on credit.

God Expects Us to Work

“God gives every bird its food, but He does not throw it into the nest.” J. G. Holland

Josiah Gilbert Holland (1819-1881) was an American novelist, poet, magazine editor, physician, and Methodist hymn lyricist.

God expects us to work.

““Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them.  To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey.  The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more.  So also, the one with the two talents gained two more.  But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

   “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.  The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’

  His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

 “The man with the two talents also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.’

       “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

  “Then the man who had received the one talent came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed.   So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

“His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed?  Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

    “‘Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents.  For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.  And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’” Matthew 25:14-30

” Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.”  1 Corinthians 4:2