Reading your Bible for Today January 7

January 7: Luke 16:1-13

KJV Key Verse: Luke 16:8
8 And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.

Devotion:
Have you ever thought how many seemingly intelligent people never get to church? Have you ever wondered why there are so many intelligent people who simply cannot see that Jesus Christ is Lord? We can come up with all sorts of excuses for this, but the last verse in this passage sums it up nicely “No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” We either serve God or we serve ourselves, we cannot follow God's rules as well as our own – many intelligent people choose to serve themselves because they can see a short-term gain, something they can aim for, rather than looking at or seeking eternity.

There are many reasons why we should take note of people like this, not for the fact they are ignoring God, but for the fact that they can achieve so much through diligent work. They separate themselves from everyone else because they are more conscientious than those around them and are more willing to go that extra mile to complete their work. If only Christians would take note of such attitudes and loyalties and be willing to go that extra mile to do God's work!

Jesus tried to show this with this example of a dishonest steward. The steward was commended for the fact he completed the accounts thoroughly before being sacked. The steward set about reducing the debtors debts, which was dishonest but seemingly humane – that is the way man gets through life, by bending the rules to suit himself so he can make friends and influence people! As Christians, we are given God's Word and we are given instructions to go out and tell the world. We need to do that as diligently as the steward did, but by still keeping to God's Word, giving people an example to look up to and to follow. They will see what we do!

Points to Ponder:
Do people see you as a leader or a follower?

Are you ready to show people what God does in your life?