Week 5: Stewarding What We Cannot Keep

Lessons from Luke 16 on Time, Resources, and Eternal Return

If you’ve ever read Luke 16 and walked away scratching your head, you’re not alone.

Jesus tells the story of a dishonest manager who, when faced with being fired, quickly reduces the debts of his master’s borrowers so he can find favor with them later. And somehow—Jesus commends him?

It’s one of those parables that makes you tilt your head and say, “Wait… what?”

But what Jesus is highlighting isn’t the manager’s dishonesty—it’s his urgency, his strategy, and his awareness that time and opportunity are limited. He knew he had a small window to act, and he made the most of it.

“The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.” (Luke 16:8)

That hit me hard.

Because if I’m being honest, how often do I act with that kind of intentionality when it comes to my time and resources? Do I move with purpose, knowing my time is short? Do I invest our resources in ways that yield eternal returns?

Jesus goes on to say,

“Use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.” (Luke 16:9)

In other words: steward what you’ve been given in a way that reflects heaven’s priorities. Use your temporary tools (like time, money, possessions, influence) to sow eternal seeds.

Stewarding Time: The Currency of Your Calling

Time is one of the most precious resources we have. Once it’s gone, we can’t get it back. And yet, it’s the thing we often squander the most. Social scrolls. Half-finished to-do lists. Hustling for things that don’t feed our soul.

This parable challenges me to look at my time not just as something I spend—but as something I invest.

How can I better align my daily rhythms with God’s eternal purpose for my life?

How can I protect space for the things that really matter—prayer, presence, people?

Because the truth is: our schedules reveal our priorities. If I say God is first, but He never gets my best time… am I really stewarding well?

Stewarding Resources: What’s in Your Hands?

Sometimes we think stewardship is about how much we have. But Luke 16 reminds us:

“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much…” (Luke 16:10)

It’s not about how much. It’s about how faithful.

Whether it’s five dollars or five thousand, your car or your couch, your platform or your pantry—what matters is how you use what you’ve been given.

Are you generous with what you have?

Are you wise in how you manage it?

Are you thinking long-term—eternal—returns?

A Closing Thought

Jesus closes the parable with a hard but freeing truth:

“No one can serve two masters… You cannot serve both God and money.” (Luke 16:13)

So I’m asking myself: Who’s calling the shots in my life—God or the clock? Faith or fear? Eternal purpose or temporary pressure?

Stewardship isn’t just about money. It’s about attention. Intention. Obedience.

And Luke 16 isn’t just a weird parable—it’s a wake-up call.

Time is short. Resources are limited. But the return on investment? Eternal.

Let’s be found faithful.

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A Prayer for Stewardship

Lord,

Teach me to number my days,

To see time not as a burden, but a gift.

To treasure each moment and treat it as sacred.

To show up with intention,

Even in the ordinary.

Help me hold my resources loosely and use them wisely.

May I never confuse abundance with ownership.

May I never cling to what was only meant to pass through my hands.

Make me a faithful steward—not just of what I have,

But of who I am becoming.

And when the world tells me to chase more,

Remind me that eternity is the greatest return.

I want to live for You,

With open hands and a willing heart.

Amen.

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