Wednesday, October 5, 2011
What Jesus Said about Your Money, Part 14 of 31
TEXT: "For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light” (Luke 16:8b).
IDEA: The children of this age are wiser toward their own generation than are the children of light.
PURPOSE: To demonstrate that Christians can learn from the people of this age provided they learn the right lessons.
Listen to this observation of Jesus in Luke 16:8b:
"The sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of light."
I. It is interesting that it is Jesus who divides humanity into just two groups: “the sons of this age” and “the Sons of light.”
It is Jesus who seems to give higher marks to the former than to the latter.
He doesn’t mean that all the children of this age are equally worldly.
He doesn’t mean that all the children of light are equally brilliant.
What does He mean?
It is the ultimate allegiance of our hearts.
This is Jesus speaking:
It sounds like the criticism from an enemy of Christianity.
It sounds like the verdict of someone enamored with the world and upset with Christians.
We’re surprised that this is JESUS speaking. He is telling us that we can learn from those who are relatives of the world.
II. What exactly is Jesus singling out for special mention?
He is not commending everything they do. There are some things in which the Sons of this age do not show wisdom. They make foolish choices.
The one thing that Jesus singles out for special mention is that the people of this age demonstrate shrewd common sense when it comes to sizing up their situation and doing something about it.
To demonstrate that, Jesus told the parable of a brazen rascal who was a clever crook. Even his boss who suffered loss at his hands couldn’t withhold his admiration. We see this in Luke 16:1-8:
“There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods. So he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.’ Then the steward said within himself, ‘What shall I do? For my master is taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg. I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.’ So he called every one of his master’s debtors to him, and said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ And he said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ So he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ So he said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.”
There are many crooks today who show a shrewdness in violating the law that would carry them far if they applied it to business. We can condemn their morals, but admire their shrewdness:
Elaborate swindlers that get people’s money. They know how to get next to people to win their confidence.
Pickpockets know human nature.
A shrewd lawyer knows how to present his case to win the jury.
We can learn from all kinds of people. We must be sure that we learn the right lessons.
III. When you eat at the devil’s table, be sure to use a long spoon.
