(The Parable of the Shrewd Manager part 4)
Dear Friend,
As I was preparing to write this post, Holy Spirit highlighted a mystery, and I'm excited to share it with you here. But first, take a look at Luke 16:3-4
3 “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— 4 I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’
The mystery Holy Spirit revealed was the mystery of how we go from being the head to the tail, and beneath instead of above (Deut 28:13). Essentially, how we give up our rightful place as sons and daughters, or in this context, managers, and shift to commoners and beggars.
The answer lies in stewardship. Remember, stewardship means "the management, oversight, administration, of other's property." To be a steward or a manager, you must be entrusted with something. Not only are you entrusted with things, but you gain access to proximity.
In the parable of the unjust manager, we see that the manager has direct access to the rich man, which means he's been granted proximity. Due to his proximity, he is elevated over others in the text. Essentially, he is seated in a superior position to rule and manage the rich man's affairs. However, due to his inability to steward not only his master's affairs but also his position correctly, he is lowered to a lesser position.
To add insult to injury, instead of repenting and attempting to course correct, he makes plans to settle among the lower workers- or those who owed debts- instead of returning to his rightful place.
This is what God revealed to me.
His children were created heirs and managers of His estate on earth. By the very nature of us being born again, we were elevated to a superior position with heavenly proximity. However, many of us fail because we haven't mastered stewardship.
Whatever you don't manage, you'll lose.
Whatever you don't manage, you'll lose.
Whatever you don't manage, you'll lose.
And this goes for everything.
So how are we lowered to a subordinate position? We fail the stewardship test over and over again.
This extends to stewardship of your time, which is God's.
Stewardship of you money, which is God's.
Stewardship of your body, which is God's.
Stewardship of your gifts and talents, which are God's.
I hope you're starting to realize that when we fail to steward over what God has given us, we fall to lows that were never meant for us.
Decide now to not let this happen to you in 2024. Learn from the Kingdom parable Jesus shared.
The righteous can stop lagging behind this year!