Tag Archives: trustworthy

How well can you be trusted? (Luke 16:10-12), July 1, 2017

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Today’s Podcast


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  1. Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.
  2. Trust cannot be underrated at home, in business, or with God. Jesus tells us about it in Luke.
  3. Scripture
    1. Luke 16:10-12
    2. “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 not 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?
  4. Devotional
    1. I know a lot of people who want more
      1. Money
      2. Property
      3. Time
      4. Friends
    2. I don’t know very many people who want the things that go with ownership of those things
      1. Responsibility
      2. Maintenance
      3. Worry
      4. Additional workload
    3. But Solomon gave us the proverbs about financial security a long time ago and Jesus reiterates it in these parables.
      1. He just talked to those around Him about the shrewd dealings of the world and the way they use their assets judiciously to better their situation
      2. Jesus then talks about this principle of trustworthiness
      3. Why would anyone entrust you with their assets if you were not trustworthy?
      4. They would be foolish
    4. The government goes through pretty elaborate processes to grant security clearances to individuals
      1. Background checks into criminal records, finances, friends and family
      2. They look at business associates and foreign travel
      3. They look at your parents’ and siblings histories and anything that might cause you to be untrustworthy with the nation’s secrets
      4. If you’re not trustworthy in little things they don’t expect you to be trustworthy with big things
    5. And so it goes
      1. Do you return extra change you get from a cashier’s mistake?
      2. Do you claim questionable things on your taxes?
      3. Do you take supplies from your employer?
      4. Do you work the time you say you work or spend it on Facebook or other personal activities?
      5. Are you trustworthy in the little things of life?
    6. Before God can entrust you with the important things of His kingdom, He needs to trust you with the mundane things here. The stuff around us won’t last. If we can’t take of it in a responsible way, how can God trust us with the things that last forever?
    7. Check your trustworthiness against His standard and see where you need to improve. Ask Him and He promises He will help.
  5. If you want to learn more about my church, you can find us at SAF.church. If you like the devotional, share it with someone. If you don’t, tell me. I hope you’ll join me again tomorrow for “A Little Walk with God.”
  6. Bible Reading Plan – Luke 15-16

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved. In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Living with the Master should be enough (Matthew 24:45-47) June 10, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

Subscribe in: iTunes|Download

Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Ezekiel 1-6

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 24:45-47
Jesus: The trustworthy servant is the one whom the master puts in charge of all the servants of his household; it is the trustworthy servant who not only oversees all the work, but also ensures the servants are properly fed and cared for. And it is, of course, crucial that a servant who is given such responsibility performs his responsibility to his master’s standards—so when the master returns he finds his trust has been rewarded. For then the master will put that good servant in charge of all his possessions.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

In our culture we don’t relate well to Jesus’ metaphor of the trustworthy servant. We do so much to forget about that chapter in our history when men owned other men and for good reason. Slavery has so many bad things about it. But in Jesus’ day and throughout most of man’s history, slaves have been a part of life. The wealthy had slaves and the poor were slaves. The concept of hourly wages for a regular job in not a very old concept.

There were day laborers in Jesus’ day as indicated by the story of the workers in the vineyard, but not many businesses hired people full time on regular salaries. You were part of a family and the family ran the business and you enjoyed the profits of that business, or you were hired on a very temporary basis for a specific task such as harvesting a crop or cutting lumber. Few people had full time jobs unless as slaves. In which case, you became part of the family, and the families profit and loss determined how well you were kept.

Slavery, good or bad, was part of His culture and He understood it the way all of His listeners understood it. Good servants, good slaves took care of his masters’ property. The master didn’t worry about his things when in the hands of his servants because the good servant knew the welfare of not just the master and his family, but his own welfare depended on taking good care of the family business. So the good servant took great pains to help the master prosper. And the good servant didn’t despair or feel bad about giving the profits to the master any more than we should feel bad about giving the profits we make for our employer over to her. It’s her money as risk. She is the one who provides all the necessary up front funds, equipment, business design, and so forth to all us to earn our salary and make a living.

The good servant did what the master wanted done whether or not the master was present. The servant’s outcome didn’t depend on the master’s presence, but on how well he didn his job caring for the master’s business affairs. We sometimes get that so mixed up and messed up in our current culture that thinks the government or our business or God owes us something. When you really stop and think it through, none of those owe us anything. It is by their design there is a job available in the first place. We should give thanks if we have one.

In cultures in which there is no such thing as social welfare or retirement funds or government assistance, people have a much better handle on what Jesus talked about in this short metaphor about the role of the servant in taking care of the master’s household. In those cultures, the only thing you can rely on is the work you perform. If you do well, the owner of the property will take good care of you. If you don’t perform well, you are put off the property and get to figure out how to make it on your own in a world where there are only masters and slaves and you just lost your only reference.

But when you are a trustworthy servant, it’s like being that employee the boss can count on for anything. The promotions come fast because the boss knows you will do what you say and will get the job done efficiently and effectively every time. You’ll take care of all the other employees in the process. You’ll satisfy the customers, you’ll make sure profits come in and the boss can go on vacation knowing everything will run smoothly when he puts you in charge.

That’s kind of what God has done with those who believe in Him. I’m not sure why He would entrust sinful man with the story of redemption but He did. Now He expects us to carry out His work until He returns. He’s like that master that went away and left his faithful servant in charge. He trusts us to do the work He left us to do. He expects us to do it to His standard without expecting anything in return, just knowing we are doing His work. Just like the faithful servant of the master in the story He told.

When we do, we will reap the benefits in the end. There is the reward of a job well done and the benefits of living in the master’s home with Him forever. That should be enough.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.