”LUKE 16:1-13 REFLECTION (part 2) - Dishonest Wealth” Kids Ministry Coffee Break 71: Jesus invites us to repurpose worldly tools for heavenly good. What are the opportunities you have to do so?

"LUKE 16:1-13 REFLECTION (part 2) - Dishonest Wealth" Kids Ministry Coffee Break 71: Jesus invites us to repurpose worldly tools for heavenly good. What are the opportunities you have to do so? https://sundayschool.store/products/true-contentment-lesson

I know…this is unusual.

I couldn’t help but keep reflecting on this passage and the whole idea of “dishonest wealth” or “worldly wealth” or “dishonest mammon” depending on what translation you use.

What did Jesus mean?

Act Cleverly is certainly something we should focus on and put into practice, but this idea of dishonest wealth stuck with me.

We are in ministry, you and I.

We are always trying to think through new ways to do things.

We are often confronted with situations we really have to be prayerful about.

Money is no exception.

It has been said, “We put ‘In God We Trust’ upon the god we trust.”

Is it Christian to be rich?

Can we justify being rich when there are so many people dying of perfectly fixable issues like needing clean water or mosquito nets?

Is Jesus going to have questions for us when we enjoy a life of excesses, like ice-cream and new phones and new clothes…all while people around the world struggle to survive?

These are questions that haunt me.

Should the church be concerned with spending $13,000 on restoring stained-glass windows…9 of them!…when the world needs so much help?

We ALL have a love for money.

And, if you think you don’t, pay attention just how much you are working to protect an image of yourself verses your real self.

Don’t think I’m judging…because I’m not.

This is a struggle for me, too.

But making friends with dishonest wealth is such a beautiful challenge by Jesus.

Take something that is not a heavenly tool…and use it for a heavenly purpose.

The dishonest manager used money for his own gain throughout his career and then used money for his gain once he was being fired.

His actions were all about him and taking care of himself.

We aren’t to emulate that, necessarily, but we are to be clever in how we use this tool called “money” or “mammon.”

We have the opportunity to use this worldly tool in a heavenly way.

We can use it not for its intended purposes…because we belong to a God who uses all things for good. Right?

It’s not just money either.

What kind of worldly tools are at your disposal…that you can use for the Kingdom?

What are ways we can commandeer the tools around us to serve God?

Social media is one that comes to mind.

Maybe a less reputable establishment has opened its doors near your church…

—so then, how can you be clever and seize this opportunity to build the Kingdom?

Jesus invites us to look at everything through a different lens. Even dishonest wealth can become a tool for making friends, he says.

As a minister, you are obviously a creative person. You have to be to do your work.

So expand your vision of creativity. Spend time in prayer with your volunteers and colleagues.

In what ways can you take “dishonest tools” and use them for God?

Let’s keep going with this passage and see where it might take us next.

Have a great weekend, friends.

May your Sunday plans go to perfection as God would define it…even if it doesn’t go to perfection as you would define it. Amen!?