MUCH WILL BE REQUIRED

Luke 12:48 …For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.

This verse is quoted often, usually as a response to someone’s wealth, with the motive of shaming them into sharing their wealth with those less fortunate.  Of course the person doing the shaming rarely offers any of their own wealth and ignores the fact that those with plenty have usually earned it with hard work, but that is a subject for a different blog.  When we read the entire Luke 12 parable containing this partial verse, we see it is not about money at all.

This parable is regarding faithfulness and handling the responsibilities you have been called to, with great care, wisdom and reverence.  The Servant or Steward that fulfilled the responsibility given to him by the Master was rewarded by being entrusted with all that belonged to the Master.  But then there was the Steward that became a little to enamored with his lofty position.  He looked with disdain on the very ones that had been entrusted to him to watch over and began to beat and abuse them.  He then began to fulfill his own selfish desires in consuming and drunkenness, partaking of the Master’s storehouse, all the while neglecting to care for the things and people dear to the Master’s heart.  The Master returned before the expected time and to put it mildly was very displeased.  Punishment was meted out to the Unfaithful Steward and we come to the latter part of the oft quoted verse, Luke 12:48.  With that understanding, I ask, “What has been entrusted to me?”  “What gifts and talents have I been given stewardship over and am I being a Faithful Steward?” 

It is easy to look around at our humble surroundings, balance our meager checking account and get our eyes on those that have been successful by the world’s standards and make excuses.  Excuses are not new to God.  Hebrews 3 calls Moses “faithful in all his house,” yet we find in Exodus 4, Moses making excuses.  Before God could get Moses to Hebrews 3, He had to get him past Exodus 4.  God had given Moses the stewardship over all the Israelites and the assignment of leading them out of Egypt.  One of the first tasks, Moses would undertake was to appear before Pharaoh. Moses began to roll out the excuses. “What if they don’t believe me or listen to me?”  “What if they say, “The Lord has not appeared to you.”  God didn’t argue with Moses but answered in Exodus 4:2 “What is that in your hand?”  When God calls you to Stewardship, He calls you to be a Steward over those things “He has placed in YOUR hand.”

WHAT HAS GOD PLACED IN YOUR HAND?

The gifts and talents that God has placed in your hand and the Stewardship God requires from you will be totally different than the Stewardship over gifts and talents God requires from your brother or sister.  “What has God placed in your hand?”  Perhaps God has placed you in a situation that provides you with a lot of SPARE TIME.  Is all of the extra time spent on selfish pursuits or are you a Faithful Steward, using it to bless others?  Maybe God has blessed you with a DEEP UNDERSTANDING OF HIS WORD.  Has your insight and revelation become a source of pride or are you a Good Steward of “what God has placed in your hand?”  Could it be that God has placed a SPIRIT OF COMPASSION AND MERCY deep inside your heart?  Don’t waste such a wonderful gift; find the hurting, those that have been cast aside, they are begging you to be a Good Steward.  Whether it is WISDOM, LOVE, ENCOURAGEMENT, UNIQUE EXPERIENCES and yes, even MONEY that has been placed in your hands, God is calling you to be a FAITHFUL STEWARD.

Faithfulness to the Call of God is never without reward…Luke 12:43-44 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 44 Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has. It isn’t about the riches we have amassed or the empires we have built, the Master requires you to be a Faithful Steward over all that HE has provided. 

Luke 12:48 …For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.