PRINCIPLES OF TRUSTWORTHINESS

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“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. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?”

Luke 16:10-12

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

I interview people a lot in my line of work. A lot.

One of the questions I ask is in regard to qualities they look for in a friend and almost across the board, one word seems to come up consistently.

Trustworthiness.

As a people, we really put a premium on being able to rely on people and know they will be true to us. No one likes to be let down or, even worse, be deceived by someone they believed they had placed their confidence in.

Well, as we see in today’s scripture passage, we as a people aren’t the only ones who put trustworthiness at the top of the list when it comes to qualities we want to see in someone we confide in. For God’s word, and in particular, the words of Jesus show us that the matter is also important through the scriptures. As we look at today’s passage, we find principles of trustworthiness being laid out by our Savior. Look again at these words here:

“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. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?”  Luke 16:10-12

  

Here, we find the Lord showing us there is no gray area in the matter of trustworthiness. One can either be trusted or they can’t. They are either honest or they aren’t and this applies to any volume of trust that might be given to them.

Someone who is honest in regard to small things should remain honest if more trust is placed on them. It’s a principle of direct proportion.

The same applies to the matter of dishonesty. If someone can’t be trusted with something small, you definitely can expect they will be just as dishonest if relied on more.

Now, you might be saying, Okay, but so what? What does this have to do with anything about how we are to live our lives, outside of the obvious, that the Lord expects for us to be trustworthy?

We turn back to the words of Jesus for the answers:

“So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?”

Here Jesus is providing us with the spiritual application of his teaching, a teaching that as usual transcends worldly interpretation.

Note the comparison and contrast he uses in discussing the matter of riches.

“If you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?  

To better understand what Jesus is getting at here, let’s go back to what He said during His Sermon on the Mount:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21

Putting these two together, we see where the true riches are not found anywhere here on earth but rather in heaven. Further, if the Lord, who sees everything we do, observes that we are dishonest with the things of the earth, why would He ever entrust us with anything of a higher, spiritual value? Why would He trust someone who is deceitful and sinful with anything righteous or holy?

The same principle of trustworthiness applies to property as well. Back to the words of Jesus:

“If you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?”

Let’s say you are someone of the world who has rejected Jesus as Savior. You are happy doing your job through which people have entrusted you with managing and handling their property. Little do they know that you are not being trustworthy in what you are doing, no better than the shrewd manager we looked at in yesterday’s devotion. Maybe you think you’re getting away with your sinful, wicked behavior but the truth of the matter is that you never get away with things. There’s always a price to be paid and in this instance, that price involves the evil, dishonest transgressor missing out on being entrusted with a piece of eternal property with their Creator, Master, and Savior.

Yes, there is that much at stake when it comes to the matter of trustworthiness and believe me, Satan would like nothing more than to lead everyone away from heaven and into hell, somehow making the world more enticing than the promise of a better life to come.

If you’re reading this, I pray you haven’t believed the lie that there is anything decent and good about being untrustworthy. Rather, I hope you have allowed the Lord to be your guide, following the lead of His Spirit which will always bring you to a place that is honest and true, a place where the Lord will feel comfortable trusting you with even more, a place where you are living in a way that is pleasing in His sight and garnering His favor.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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