Determining Future Results
Luke 16:10-13 NKJV
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. 11 Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what 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 be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”
Jesus outlines a short but powerful truth. It’s the small things principle. And it basically boils down to how you handle the small things, will be how you handle big things.
Jesus said if you were faithful in what is least, then you would be faithful in the much. The word faithful is not a word we typically use in everyday speech. When was the last time you referred to someone as faithful? But it’s a big word. Faithful means worthy of trust or confidence. So, a faithful person with what is least, is the person who takes care of little things well.
This is the person you know will handle the tasks without you having to ride them to get it done. And the bigger overall lesson is that if they handle the little things well, you can trust them in the bigger things.
Jesus indicates that if someone does not handle money well, unrighteous mammon, who will trust them with spiritual things and spiritual authority? Jesus places greater importance on the true riches being things of God. He was in a constant battle with the Pharisees because of how they handled money. He laid into them with the thirteenth verse when He declared, you can’t serve two masters. Someone can’t serve God and serve money. The key words here are love and serve. Jesus did not say you can’t have money. He simply said you can’t serve money and serve God at the same time.
Jesus also mentions being faithful, worthy of trust, in what belongs to someone else. If you can’t do that, why should someone give you your own? We don’t always talk about this, but how someone handles these seemingly little things will be a good indicator of how they will handle something bigger.
Application
This is a great way to determine who to promote and who not to promote. If someone has not done a good job with what they currently are tasked with, why would you promote them to greater responsibility? That’s a great question that I had to learn the hard way. I realize that people may be placed in positions where they do not have the skills or experience to handle their assignments. That would be a different story. I worked for my father for a season at a job I was not qualified for or competent in. So, I can empathize. But when a person has what it takes to do a job, and they have not gained your confidence, then do not promote them to greater responsibility. I have done that, thinking the person would rise to the greater occasion. I was wrong. We must take Jesus at His word. Faithful in little, faithful in much.