The Way of Eternal Investment

We’re all going to die and once we’ve died our wealth will be of no use to us. Living in light of this reality affects the way we use our money. Jesus uses a story about a man who behaved shrewdly (mark that word) in light of a future reality. The man is told: “Turn in your accounts for you can no longer be manager of my estate.” and so he responds by trying to ensure that once he finds himself unemployed he’ll have some people around who may be willing to help him out in return. The point of the parable isn’t that it’s a good idea to behave dishonestly (so long as you get away with it!), but rather it’s this: use your wealth with eternity in mind.

“The children of this age are more shrewd… than the children of light.” Jesus isn’t insulting the ‘children of light’ (his followers), rather he’s saying “the people who live only for this age, who believe this world is all there is, know how to live wisely (note: shrewdly) with regards to growing their wealth and keeping themselves safe. By contrast, Jesus says that his followers, when it comes to this age and its wealth will often appear to be behaving recklessly and irresponsibly, seemingly throwing away their lives in his service and for his kingdom.

The man in the story faced a ‘solid stop’ in the future (unemployment) and it motivated him to act wisely with his wealth in the present. Jesus’ point is that all of us, whether we admit it or not, face the ‘solid stop’ of death. Death is coming and it’s unavoidable, and this fact should motivate us with regard to how we treat our stuff: our money and possessions.

Viewing your life and your wealth with the perspective of eternity is the truly wise way to live. In Matthew 6 Jesus tells the story of the wise and foolish builder. The wise man (the same word translated as ‘shrewd’ in our story) hears Jesus words and obeys them and thus builds his life on a secure and solid foundation.