Luke 16

[Jackie Lee]

8"The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. 9I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

10"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 11So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 12And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own?

13"No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."

14The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. 15He said to them, "You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God's sight.


I believe this to be interesting, seems most are very materialistic many can buy almost anything with credit cards.
Could this be what Jesus is saying we value our money and what it can buy more than we value God?
Would anything other than needs be considered detestable in God's sight?

[Deborah-Leigh]

Hello Jackie Lee

All the parables are saying the same thing and are referring to the many called and the few chosen.

Paul said that he had learnt how to live in abundance and be satisfied and content and also how to live in scarcity and still be in contentment. I do not think God condemns abundance. He is the provider and He decides who has what. It is our attachments, dependence and trust in our own carnality, our own understanding and our leaning on anything other than God, that I believe the parables are illustrating. The one group of many, are self reliant. The few chosen depend and rely on God for EVERYTHING.

Peace be to you

Arcturus

[Jackie Lee]

Thank you Arcturus, I didn't see that as such.. but thank you I see in a different light now and it makes perfect sense.

[Sorin]

The few chosen depend and rely on God for EVERYTHING.

Very good point, Arcturus. I do rely on God for EVERYTHING. Hence my signature, even.
I believe it is He, and He alone, that can give us what we so desire. For it is He who gave us those desires in the first place.

For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Phil 2:13

So it is God which works in us, even to will...since we know we don't have a free-will...and all we can do is make choices which have a causation and are therefore not free. It's the causation which causes us both to will, and to do of His good pleasure.

People like to think that, it was them themselves, that decided to create a child, and bring it into this world, all on their own, without God having anything to do with it-but we know that God is the Creator of Life, and they only decided to do so, because it was God working in them both to will, and to do of His good pleasure. That Child was foreknown by God, long before the child's parents were even born, so therefore, there was no way that child wasn't going to come into this world, since God already knew it will come into this world.
And they decided to name the child, exactly what God knew the child's name will be.
How's that for sovereignty? He knows the end from the beginning, He is the Alpha and Omega, and nobody can thwart His plans.
Not even Christendom, with their supposed "free-will"..

Just my thoughts,
Sorin