Be Faithful with Money

"He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much...if you haven't been faithful in the use of unrighteous mammon*, who will entrust the true riches to you? 

Luke 16:10,11

So here's the thing... In this chapter, Jesus tells the story of the dishonest manager and the 'very little thing' Jesus refers to is MONEY. 

This is revolutionary!  Already, Lord,  I suspect that my priorities are not your priorities, because to me money is not a 'very little thing'.  "Well, alright," You might be saying to Yourself,  "Since Jane views money as a big deal thing, she's surely faithful in it.  Right?"  Uh oh, again. 

There's a constant struggle going on in me about money.  I'm not a total slacker  in the financial stewardship realm, and I am faithful in a general sort of way:  tithing, giving, spending carefully, no debt, etc.   Yet, though I'm often openhanded, I'd often rather be tightfisted.  I get nervous - will there be enough?  I go back and forth between freedom and fear. Generosity and greed. Yet  this whole discussion misses the point.  Everything I have is your property  anyway, Heavenly Father, to be used as You direct.

 Holy Spirit fill me so full of confidence in Your provision that I recognize that money truly is 'a very little thing' which can't be compared to 'true riches'. Then I'll be released from the grip of fear and lean toward obedience remembering that  You entrust us with things expecting us  to serve you with them.   

Your real point here seems to be that stewarding money isn't the end-goal. It's a baby step along the way toward becoming a steward of your grace.  So the question I ask is the same as that of the manager, "What shall I do?"  Your answer is, "Better late than never!"  

OK, Lord.  The time to make good use of my material possessions and money in this world is now. And my ambition is that the investment I make now in this physical world for your kingdom will provide me a grand welcome in the heavenly world in the future. Is this line of thought theologically sound, Lord? It almost feels greedy to hope for reward, yet You seem to commend this way of thinking... Hmm.

*mammon = money and material possessions