Today’s devotion is from Luke 16:10-11 (TPT)
“The one who manages the little he has been given (What is least) with faithfulness and integrity will be promoted and trusted with greater responsibilities. But those who cheat with the little they have been given will not be considered trustworthy to receive more. If you have not handled the riches of this world with integrity, why should you be trusted with the eternal treasures of the spiritual world?"
Jesus calls money, or financial wealth ‘what is least’, compared to true riches, which are spiritual treasures that include the gifts of the Spirit. Jesus goes on to say, “If you have not handled the riches of this world with integrity, why should you be trusted with the eternal treasures of the spiritual world?” I find that very interesting… Jesus tells us that He entrusts ‘spiritual riches’ to those who are good stewards with their money. So, according to Jesus, the level of a person’s anointing, how many gifts of the Spirit they have, how strongly the gifts of the Spirit operate through them, whether or not a believer is entrusted with an five fold office of leadership, and how much spiritual authority a believer has, all have to do ‘in part’ with how they handle the money they have.
To say the least, in the New Covenant, how we handle our finances is majorly important…
How we prioritize the money we have, budgeting, buying, lending, borrowing, selling and overall financial stewardship, including giving and tithing all demonstrate how we would handle ‘true riches’.
A good financial steward is led by the Spirit in all financial transactions. A good financial steward handles his or her money by faith… in other words, a good financial steward is not focused on circumstances, how much you have, how much you don’t have, what you can afford, or what you cannot afford… a good steward is focused on what the Word says and what the Spirit is leading you to do… by faith! We do what we do by faith with no consideration of natural circumstances.
(And not being weak in faith, Abraham did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb.)
If a believer does not have enough faith to tithe, or to give generously over and above his tithe… if a believer does not have enough faith to sow financial seeds, or to prioritize the kingdom over their own needs… if a believer will take a promotion over the place that God has called them to… if a believer will lie about financial things and cheat and deceive… if a believer will not take care of a need when it is in their power to do it, then that believer will also not be able to operate by faith when it come to true SPIRITUAL riches. That kind of a believer would try to operate spiritual riches according to wordily logic instead of operating by faith.
It is interesting to note that Jesus was found and the offering bucket in the temple… out of all the places that He could have been, He chose to be at the offering bucket to see how the people gave. The person that impressed Jesus the most was not the one who sang the loudest, or the one who was the most ‘spiritual’, or the one who prayed the most beautiful prayer, what impressed Jesus the most was the one who gave ALL that she had in the offering with ALL of her heart.
How we handle our money certainly is not the only thing that Jesus looks at when it comes to spiritual promotion, but it is definitely a VERY important thing that Jesus does look at. I want to challenge each of you to give some thought to your financial stewardship in the light of the New Covenant… take some time to let the Holy Spirit speak to you. Deal with your fears, your insecurities, your unscriptural attitudes, your focus on your circumstances, your spending habits, your willingness to make debt and anything else that the Holy Spirit convicts you about. Now ask the Holy Spirit to help you to be transformed into a New Covenant steward who operates by faith, according to the Word and according to the leading of the Spirit in every area of your life… looking to Jesus and living by the power of the Spirit - Selah
