09/22 – Luke 16:1-15 – Did Jesus Really Say “Profit Through Sin”?

Old Testament: Amos 8:4-7

Listen to this, those who trample on the needy and ruin those who are oppressed in the world. You say to yourselves, “When will the New Moon Festival be over so that we can sell more grain? When will the Sabbath day of rest be over so that we can sell more wheat? We can shrink the size of the bushel baskets, increase the cost, and cheat with dishonest scales. We can buy the poor with money and the needy for a pair of sandals. We can sell the husks mixed in with the wheat.”

The Lord has sworn an oath by Jacob’s pride: “I will never forget anything that they have done.”

Epistle Reading: 1 Timothy 6:3-14

Whoever teaches false doctrine and doesn’t agree with the accurate words of our Lord Jesus Christ and godly teachings is a conceited person. He shows that he does not understand anything. Rather, he has an unhealthy desire to argue and quarrel about words. This produces jealousy, rivalry, cursing, suspicion and conflict between people whose corrupt minds have been robbed of the truth. They think that a godly life is a way to make a profit.

A godly life brings huge profits to people who are content with what they have. We didn’t bring anything into the world and we cannot take anything out of it. As long as we have food and clothes we should be satisfied, but people who want to get rich keep falling into temptation. They are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires which drown them in destruction and ruin.

Certainly, the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some people who have set their hearts on getting rich have wandered away from the Christian faith and have caused themselves much grief, but you, man of God, must avoid these things. Pursue that which God approves: a godly life, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight for the Christian faith. Take hold of everlasting life to which you were called and about which you made a good testimony in front of many witnesses.

In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and in the sight of Christ Jesus, who gave a good testimony in front of Pontius Pilate, I insist that until our Lord Jesus Christ appears you obey this command completely. Then you cannot be blamed for doing anything wrong.

Gospel Reading: Luke 16:1-15

Jesus said to his disciples, “A rich man had a business manager. The manager was accused of wasting the rich man’s property. So the rich man called for his manager and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Let me examine your accounting books. It is obvious that you can’t manage my property any longer.’

The manager thought, ‘What should I do? My master is taking my job away from me. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg. I know what I’ll do, so that people will welcome me into their homes when I’ve lost my job.’

So the manager called for each one of his master’s debtors. He said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’

The debtor replied, ‘Eight hundred gallons of olive oil.’

The manager told him, ‘Take my master’s ledger. Quick! Sit down, and write “four hundred!”’

Then he asked another debtor, ‘How much do you owe?’

The debtor replied, ‘A thousand bushels of wheat.’

The manager told him, ‘Take the ledger, and write “eight hundred!”’

The master praised the dishonest manager for being so clever. Worldly people are more clever than spiritually-minded people when it comes to dealing with others.”

Jesus continued, “I’m telling you, that although wealth is often used in dishonest ways, you should use it to make friends for yourselves. When life is over you will be welcomed into an eternal home. Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with a lot. Whoever is dishonest with very little is dishonest with a lot. Therefore, if you cannot be trusted with wealth that is often used dishonestly, who will trust you with wealth that is real? If you cannot be trusted with someone else’s wealth, who will give you your own? A servant cannot serve two masters. He will hate the first master and love the second, or he will be devoted to the first and despise the second. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

The Pharisees, who love money, heard all this and were making sarcastic remarks about him. So Jesus said to them, “You try to justify your actions in front of people, but God knows what is in your hearts. What is important to humans is disgusting to God.