Can God Trust You With His True Riches?

Luke 16:10-11—“Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much.  If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?”

It has been said that America is consumed with a virulent (think virus) ethic of consumerism.  The more we have, the more we want. In western cultures, wealth is the mark of success, so from a young age we learn to measure our personal worth in terms of how much we have instead of who we are.  In this Scripture, though, Jesus reminds us that integrity is worth far more than money can buy.  He also teaches that anyone who is irresponsible or spiritually immature will not inherit true riches because that person has not been proven trustworthy.  Keep in mind that God’ true riches are not measured in dollar signs—His ways are not our ways.  His measure is love and deep intimate relationship with Him.  But if he can’t trust us with a little bit of earthly wealth, why in the world would he trust us with the true riches of His kingdom?  And if we think about it, His rationale makes complete sense—it is the same way we treat others around us.  We all have someone unreliable in our lives.  Just recently, for example, one of my students requested I place him on a competition team this fall.  This particular student, however, did not fulfill certain responsibilities I placed on him last year. So, when he came to me this year, I had to tell him that because he had been irresponsible in the less prestigious tasks I assigned him, I didn’t feel I could trust him with bigger responsibilities.  God does the same thing with us—from time to time He puts us in a position to do something we might not necessarily enjoy or that seems beneath us.  When we mishandle our earthly resources, we interfere with our ability to be in relationship God.  But if we faithfully follow and serve Him, we will prove ourselves worthy of greater responsibility. 

Today as you pray and meditate on His Word, thank God for blessing and challenging you to be a faithful servant.  Dedicate yourself to being a good steward of the resources He has provided you.  Pray that God would find you faithful in little so that He can entrust you the true riches.