Management 101

 

He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’"    Luke 16:1-2 (ESV) The Scriptures make it clear that all we have belongs to God, and we are stewards, or managers, of these resources, not owners. If we are managers, then we will one day be held accountable to how we managed. Whether we have much or little will not matter. What matters is how we managed what was entrusted to us. How was what was entrusted to us used to honor the King? God gives us resources for many reasons. He gives us resources to take care of the normal needs of life, to be used to love Him and others, and to be a conduit for His love and provision. I need to act in accordance with the fact that God owns all I have. He does not own just 10%, or even my offering above 10%. He owns it all, and will one day hold me accountable for my management. Learn More at Relate365.com

Contentment

 

But when he came to himself, he said, “‘How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.’” And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” But the father said to his servants, “Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found/” And they began to celebrate.  Luke 15:17-24 (ESV) We often do not appreciate what we have until it is gone. It is easy to dream about life as better if we had no one to answer to, no one to tell us what to do, and no one who would limit our access to the vast world of opportunities around us. It is easy to focus on what we do not have, bringing neglect to what we do have. Yet, if we know God, we know that He knows what is to come, and He can and will prepare us for it if we walk with Him. He has told us to be content with what we have today, while always striving towards what is yet ahead. Contentment and striving work together, whereas discontentment and striving usually yield disasters. Today I must work the plan God has given me, and be thankful for that plan, while I stay submissive to God’s leading towards a better plan. God wants me to enjoy what He has provided, while using what I have to propel me to what will yet be. When I lack contentment, I need to readjust.

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Confession is never easy.

 

But when he came to himself, he said, "How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.’” And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” But the father said to his servants, “Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.” And they began to celebrate.    Luke 15:17-24 (ESV) Confession is always the right “thing” to do. When we make a mistake, we go to those we have wronged and admit our wrong. If those we confess to know what to do with our confession, we will experience forgiveness and freedom. Confession is never easy and is always appropriate. Those who love God should be good confessors and joyful forgivers. Learn More at Relate365.com

God tells us to love, not use, one another.

 And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything."   Luke 15:11-16 (ESV)

When you use people instead of loving people the people become worthless to you when they have nothing to give you anymore. This young man was popular until he ran out of resources. All who live in a world where people are used instead of loved will run out of what people can use and will become unloved.

God tells us to love, not use, one another. Therefore, we should never use our “fortune” to gain influence, power, or authority. Rather, we should always see whatever provision God has given us as something to be managed and used for Kingdom purposes.

This young man set himself up for failure and had many who would use him until he was all used up. We can learn from this by thinking about it and applying it to our lives, or we can learn this principle the hard way, by experiencing it. For now, the choice is ours.

The Compliant Child

 

What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance."    Luke 15:4-7 (ESV) As a compliant child, I often felt as if I was ignored. It seemed that the obnoxious, disobedient kids got all the attention. It was very easy to get lost in the sea of compliance, even forgotten. When I became a teacher, I remembered well the feeling of the compliant student, and I tried to acknowledge their important role in our class. These students were the foundation for anything good that was happening, yet, by necessity, my attention was often in another arena. Those who overtly seek attention and think they need that attention are unhealthy, and they are like a body part that demands resources to the detriment of the others who also need the body’s resources. We would be educationally healthier if we would pay more attention to those who listen, and ignore, or possibly even dismiss, those who are continually disruptive.  Our choices have consequences, and children must learn this from an early age while in a controlled environment or risk learning it later in life when the consequences are far greater.

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God loves the sinner...

 

Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”   Luke 14:34-35 (ESV) When you obtain salt, you do so in order to gain the benefit of salt.  Salt that lacks the qualities of salt is not worth buying. In fact, it would be a waste of your money. Those who have purchased salt and expected it to act like salt only to find out after using it that it was worthless are sorely disappointed. The salt is actually worthless, or, dare I say, worse than worthless because of the expectation for which it set you up. Likewise, those who seek Christians do so for the effect Christians are to have on those around them. To seek Christians, and find them, and then realize that they have no effect on the culture around them, is a waste of time. What good are those who name themselves Christians, and yet who have no effect on the world around them? They have no value to the world and very well could be more harmful than if they rejected the label “Christian.” We do not like passages in the Bible that call people worthless, however, Jesus knows what He is talking about and makes it clear that those who attempt to find their worth outside of Christ will never find it, and those who pretend to be something they are not, are actually worthless. The silver lining is that God loves the worthless, and while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. This speaks volumes about God and His love and faithfulness.

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What Do You Mean?

 

"For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple."    Luke 14:28-33 (ESV) The beginning statement of this passage and the final are where we should focus. If we desire to accomplish something in this life, we need to first sit and assess the cost of such a thing. We then need to arrange our life to meet the cost. The final statement states the obvious cost. It is a cost on which we often do not want to honestly evaluate or be challenged. Somehow, we have figured how to not renounce all, yet live as “good Christians.” Can different cultures have different meanings to “renouncing all,” or does “renouncing all” mean the same in all cultures at all times? This is something that is clear, to which we will someday be held accountable, and it is not a suggestion. It is a statement. What shall we do with it?

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