Faithful in Much

United States Representative Jim Jordan was recently quoted in a news article saying, "One thing I've learned: people who mislead folks on small things mislead them on big things."  This is an astute observation of what Jesus taught long ago in Luke 16:10:  "He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much."  Jesus taught what some see as a "little thing" is actually a big deal.  A person who will lie over a small matter among friends will also lie before a judge in court.  One who will not respond with humble contrition after being pulled aside by friends for doing wrong demonstrates a heart that can be hardened towards God Himself.

Jesus gave this teaching about being faithful in what is least and much following the Parable of the Unjust Steward.  In the parable, a steward who worked for a rich man was discovered to be wasting his master's goods.  He was called before his boss and told to settle all accounts with creditors because he was going to be fired.  The steward was wasteful and selfish, but he was also shrewd to advance his own interests.  He called one who owed a debt to his boss and asked how much he owed (apparently attention to detail was not his strong suit).  When told the man owed 100 measures of oil, as a favour he told him to quickly reduce the sum by half.  That's a huge reduction of debt, a favour the steward hoped his new "friend" would not forget when he was out of work.

Luke 16:7-8 says, "Then he said to another, 'And how much do you owe?' So he said, 'A hundred measures of wheat.' And he said to him, 'Take your bill, and write eighty.' ⁸ So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light."  The steward who knew he soon would be out of a job used his current position to do favours for others who could hire him in the future.  The master commended or praised the servant for his shrewd dealing to benefit his job prospects (though at his master's expense!) because in settling accounts he leveraged opportunity to secure his future.  The master would not have recommended his wasteful steward because he was wasteful; being fired would not change him or his way of thinking.  The man who was unfaithful in little would be unfaithful in much, and thus the master was pleased to see the back of that steward as he went off to pursue new employment.

The principle Jesus taught that applied to the steward applies to our lives as well.  It is profitable for us to be circumspect and determine if we have integrity in the little things:  do we keep our word?  Are we hypocritical, demanding from others what we do not hold ourselves accountable to do?  The wonderful thing is the unjust steward was not doomed to continue in his crooked, self-serving ways:  by repentance of sin and faith in Christ this man and all other unjust people have the opportunity to be made righteous by God's grace, no longer enslaved to and defined by our faults and failings.  In Christ we have more than the offer of a "change of scenery" but a change of heart and the Holy Spirit dwells within us Who helps, comforts and teaches us.  A wake-up call does not mean a person will rise to the occasion, but we can hope in Jesus Christ who is risen.  With God's help we can be faithful in what is least and thus faithful in much.