TRUE RICHES
Luke 16:10-11 He that is faithful in that which is the least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
We know this is talking about money. Verse 10 is all about the amount of stuff. If you are faithful in small things, you will be faithful with a lot of things. Somehow, people get the crazy idea that if, suddenly, they had more, they would, suddenly, become faithful. This is not true, and the Lord absolutely knows this and so, a test comes. What will you do with the small stuff He gives you? What will you do about the 10% that He has set, the tithe? What will you do when He asks you to give something to someone, or He tells you a specific amount to give into an offering?
It is clear that money is a test, one of the primary tests of someone’s heart. It is interesting to me how the modern American church has removed one of God’s primary testing mechanisms. Just because no one wants to discuss or teach about money anymore, especially on Sundays, doesn’t remove it from the Word or as one of God’s main tests. It is interesting to look up stories about people who suddenly inherited or won a large sum of money. Most of them, who were not good with money before the great increase, blew right through it. Many ended up in a worse position while others did well, not really changing a lot of their lifestyle. That’s interesting!
Here is why the test. Verse 11 talks to us about money. Money is not good or evil; it is neutral, it is a tool. The love of money is the root of all evil, but money itself is neither good nor bad. Good things can be done with money, and evil things can be done with money. The Lord, however, does care and is watching what you do with your money. Jesus stood at the treasury of the synagogue and made a comment about giving. The woman gave very little, but it was all she had, and Jesus was impressed with her gift. The rich gave from their abundance, which was a bigger amount, but it didn’t impress Him.
Jesus is still the high priest of our giving today; He is after the order of Melchizedek. Jesus, the head of the church, is watching. What is He watching for? Who to give the true riches to. This is not more money. What are true riches? The word is alethinon, and it means true (literally made of truth), real, genuine, or truthful. So, it means made of truth. The Young’s Literal Translation says, “The true who will entrust to you?” Can God entrust us with heavenly wealth, with His ability? Why does He use money to qualify you? It’s something you can see, it’s something easy to measure; and, besides that, He just did, and you can understand it or not but that is just the way it is. You can ignore it or become faithful with money, so God can entrust you with true riches that will change people’s lives. I have decided to obey God with my finances and the church’s finances because I want to see the true riches, and I want those true riches to keep increasing. How about you?