BE CREATIVE FOR GOD!

(Preached on Sunday, September 23, 2007)

I want you to be smart in the same way - but for what is right - using every adversity to stimulate you to creative survival, to concentrate your attention on the bare essentials, so you=ll live, really live, and not complacently just get by on good behavior.                                                                 -Luke 16:9

 

This story seems like it is one which could be ripped out of our own newspapers.  Dishonest managers try to gain friends by cooking the books.  It sounds like Enron, or WorldCom, or some of the housing scandals in Miami-Dade County and the City of Miami.  The story is as old as the hills and actually doesn=t even surprise us anymore.  We just shake our heads at another scandal.

 

But there are two surprising twists in this story.  First, the response of the rich owner to the actions of the dishonest manager.  When the owner hears of the wheeling and dealing of the fired manager he doesn=t grow angrier at the manager, or throw him into jail.  No, it seems that the more he thinks about it, the more he shakes his head in amazement, admiring the shrewdness of this guy.  The story actually says he praised the manager.

 

Even more surprising Jesus seems to agree with the rich owner=s praise.  That fact has always bothered the Church.  In the writings of church leaders for the first four centuries of Christianity you find no use of this story.  On the surface it appears Jesus is praising dishonesty, and we don=t know what to do with that idea.

 

Perhaps the key to this story rests in verse 8.  In that verse Jesus comments on the rich owner=s praise of the dishonest manager, saying: AAnd why?  Because he knew how to look after himself.  Streetwise people are smarter in this regard than law-abiding citizens.  They are on constant alert, looking for angles, surviving by their wits.@  In other words, the followers of Christ have a lot to learn from the secular world about things like commitment, doing whatever it takes.  Dishonest persons will do anything to survive.  We honest folks are restrained in our behavior by law, by decency, by honor, and integrity.  But the crooked are totally committed to saving their lives.

 

Jesus is not praising the dishonesty of the manager.  Jesus is praising his shrewdness, his ingenuity, and his total commitment, his willingness to do whatever it took.  That is what he says to us in the very next sentence: AI want you to be smart in the same way - but for what is right - using every adversity to stimulate you to creative survival, to concentrate your attention on the bare essentials, so you=ll live, really live, and not complacently just get by on good behavior.@

 

What would happen if we as a church and as church members were that shrewd?  How different would our lives be if we displayed such a singleness of purpose as did this shrewd manager?  How different the life of our church would be, and the impact upon the world our church would make if we, as members, would display that same zeal as the dishonest manager?

 

Look at another, slightly more positive example, from the world around us, of total devotion and dedication.  I have been listening to sports talk radio lately and it has reminded me of the true devotion and zeal of football fans for their teams.  Look at what a true football fan does: beyond just watching their team play football, they buy the team gear; they read about football; they talk about football; I believe the most truly devoted fan must actually think about football all day and then dream about football at night.  Examine their lives and listen to their conversations and it becomes clear it is THEIR team C they have a tremendous sense of ownership.  They delight in their team and they are ready, at the drop of a hat, to tell anyone what is great about their team, what is wrong with their team, and what needs to be done to make them greater. Then they will share their hope of how their team will reach the promised land of the playoffs.

 

Now for us to think about reaching the same level of devotion and zeal about God, Jesus and the church is very frightening.  We worry about being viewed as fanatics (from which the word FAN descends), members of a cult.  Yet this story from Jesus empowers us not only to ask important questions about our faith and our life, but invites us to go beyond our own comfort zone and take risks.

 

There=s no question about it.  What the man in the story did was blatantly dishonest.  Jesus does not commend that to us.  What Jesus does hold before us is the shrewdness and the ingenuity of the dishonest man.  He wants us to learn from him to be as resourceful and to use our ingenuity.  He wants us to be creative for God.  Far too often when it comes to sharing our faith, and what God is doing for us in our lives, with others, we put our brains and ingenuity on hold.  Jesus wants us to be creative, devoted, fanatical, about sharing our Church with others.  A pastor I know once said to me: AWe Christians are pussy-footers when it comes to selling our faith.  We are so >soft sell= that we seldom sell anything!@  Is he right?

 

He doesn=t have to be right.  I sense a growing excitement in this church.  I sense God is truly doing great things among us, in us, and through us.  But, like any good salespeople, we need to prepare to make our Asales pitch.@  We need to think about our Aproduct@ and about what we will say to that Acustomer@ when they walk through our door or when we encounter them in the world.  In your worship folder there is a little booklet entitled AAre You Ready to Talk About Your Church?@  Take that out and look at it briefly with me.  Look at the first page.  It asks, AWhat do you say when the subject of Achurch@ comes up?@  Turning the page you see it presents a simple quiz.  A new family moves onto your street and you=re having a conversation.  Choose from among these answer the one you think is best.  Turning the page you see a possible statement from your new neighbor.  AThanks so much for all your help.  It=s so exhausting to move.  There=s so much to do.  I have to find a new dry cleaner; a new grocery store.  Why, we=ll even have to find a new church.@  Then three answers are offered.  Which one comes closest to your first impulse for an answer?

A. AYeah, moving stinks.@

B. AYes, I know how hard that is.  I=d be glad to steer you toward a few places.  And we attend a wonderful church that really helped us get settled when we moved here ourselves.  I=d be glad to tell you about it.@

C. AI can recommend an outstanding dry cleaner.@

The next page continues the conversation.  AReally, what=s your church like?@  Again, how would you respond?

A. AWell, just like any other, I guess.  We have our share of problems.@

B. AReally welcoming, and full of all kinds of great people.  I leave worship ready and inspired for the week.@

C. AWell, to be honest, I don=t get there all that often, so it=s hard to say.@

You get the idea how this is going.  Skip the next three pages with me and go to the last yellow balloon that says: AWell, I think I would like to visit your church sometime.@  How would you respond?

A. AYou=re kidding!@

B. ATerrific.  Perhaps this Sunday, you could ride with us because parking can be a little tight, and then we could take you all out for some pancakes afterwards.@

C. AWell, good for you.  Personally, I was thinking of sleeping in.@

 

Turn the page with me.  If you answered AB@ to all these questions, you are ready to invite your neighbor to church.  If you answered AA@ or AC@ God loves you anyway.   But remember, we have to be ready to tell our story whenever the opportunity arises.  Jesus wants us to be creative for God, to use all our ingenuity and our devotion to share God=s love with others.  That includes sharing the good news about the Church where we experience God=s love.

 

It has been said that there are three kinds of people in the world: