Grow! Pray! Study! from The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection's Daily Guide "Faithful to God, with little or much"
Daily Scripture: Luke 16:10 He who is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much. He who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. 11 If therefore you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12 If you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? 13 No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. You aren’t able to serve God and Mammon.”[a]
14 The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they scoffed at him. 15 He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts. For that which is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.
Footnotes:
a. Luke 16:13 “Mammon” refers to riches or a false god of wealth.
Reflection Questions:
Jesus began Luke 16 with a challenging parable about the use of money. Then he told his disciples, and the listening Pharisees, that those who are faithful with a little are also faithful with much. The human heart, he said, can only have one ultimate master. Jesus' message wasn't popular with the Pharisees, who were "money-lovers," and they "sneered" at his teaching.
- Jesus principle that "whoever is faithful with little is also faithful with much" applies to athletes, teachers, business people, pastors, stay-at-home parents, any other activity —and your spiritual life. If you are not faithful in little things with no one else depending on you, how can you expect to be faithful when the pressure is on and the stakes are high? What are some small things you can trust God with today? Big things?
- God is not opposed to wealth; God is opposed to putting wealth above him in your life's priorities. Our hearts have room for only one true master. Who or what is your ultimate master, your top priority? Can you recall a time when you put more energy and money into what others think of you versus what God thinks of you? Do you ever find yourself trying to justify your attachment to material goods?
Today's Prayer:
Heavenly Father, sometimes my priorities get out of order, both in little things and big things. I give myself to you anew as my true master. Help me prioritize you above all else in my life. Amen.
Insight from Jeanna Repass
Jeanna Repass serves as the Kansas City Missions Program Director at The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection.
Read and Reflect:
(Head)
In 2008, millions of Americans lost their jobs in an economic crisis that resulted in long-term unemployment for many. I was one of them. With the exception of a six-month stint with a company that was not a good fit, I remained out of work for a total of 18 months. This threw my family into financial crisis.
We were forced to make drastic lifestyle changes. We were not buying new clothes, eating out or going to movies. We conserved everything from gas to milk. It just wasn’t enough. So we made the decision to change our buying habits for even the basic necessities. We started buying generic whenever possible, with one notable exception. I refused to buy any type of bathroom tissue that was not name brand.
One day, my husband did the shopping and came home with the store brand of tissues. I was devastated. I sat on the floor in front of the linen closet crying as I was putting away generic tissue. I cried out in despair as to how God could let us get so desperate. Didn’t God care for us anymore? Then God spoke to me through the voice of my husband, who asked me if I believed that God was bigger than bathroom tissue. He challenged me to trust God, even with this.
He was right, and that moment I recommitted myself to trusting God with the smallest details of my life. “ Whoever is faithful in little is faithful in much…” Luke 16:10(a). When I trusted God with the minutia, I regained my sense of being God’s beloved child full of worth, and my heart opened to receive the fullness of God’s riches. “If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous (material goods), who will entrust to you the true riches?” (verse 11).
God not only restored me to employment, but blessed me with fulfillment and joy in my work. God also relieved me of my name brand insecurities. It doesn’t matter to God what brands we buy, but as an act of faith, we buy what is most affordable. We trust God with the littlest details knowing with confidence that God is faithful with all that is important in our lives, little or much!
Prayer and Meditation
(Heart)
God of all details, I give myself to you this day.
Today I offer you every part of myself: mind, body and spirit.
Please receive all that I have for it is all from you. Help me to make the most out of today trusting it all to you.
When I forget to focus on you and I begin to focus on what I want or want to control, please forgive me and work in my heart to turn it all over to you.
You are in every fiber of every piece of creation and knowing that you are there makes me secure and able to focus on doing your will for your glory.
Thank you for being a God of the small and big. Create in me a big faith born out of faith in the littlest details. Amen.
Be, Do & Go
(Hands)
Do an inventory of the things in your home that you replace on a regular basis whether it is clothing, household goods or food.
Make a commitment to exchange one brand-name item for its generic equivalent.
Take the difference in price, however big or small, and commit to use it generously to help someone in need.
When you make that donation, reflect on how God will multiply your giving both in material ways for the recipient, but also in your own life.
Every time you use the item you’ve purchased, take a moment to thank God for being a God of all provision, small and big.
For Discussion:
Use this section to help prompt discussion with your spouse, children, small group, etc.
1. The Pharisees resented Jesus for calling them out on their love of money and material things. Do you ever try to justify your own attachment to material goods?
2. We can all get caught trying to “keep up with the Joneses.” Can you think of a time when you’ve put more energy into what others think of you versus what God thinks of you?
3. What are some small things that you can trust to God today? What are some big struggles that you need to turn over to God in faith? Do you trust God with both?
4. What dreams and visions for the church do you have? How can your trusting God with the little things in your life make an impact on your hopes and dreams for the church?
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