In Luke 16:1-16, Jesus shared the Parable of the Shrewd Manager. In this story, there was a manager who got fired by his master because he was accused of wasting his master’s possessions. Jesus asked those who were listening to him, “If you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?”

If you are to ask this question to yourself, I wonder what your answer will be.

Many times, we wonder why we can’t just get a break and get that promotion at work. Maybe there are times we are confused why we can’t get out of debt. If you feel that people don’t take you seriously anymore, maybe it’s time you need to take an honest look at how you’ve been handling the things that have been entrusted to you.

Can You Be Trusted?

If you’re an employee, the company has entrusted you with its resources and has agreed to compensate you for every hour you work for them. Are you coming to work on time, or are you always late? Are you doing your best to hit your company’s goals, or do you often roam around the office and just pretend to be busy?

If you’re a student, perhaps your parents have sent you to school believing that you are studying hard and valuing the opportunity to get a degree. Are you making the most out of your education, or are you just playing around and telling yourself that you’re still young and you just need to have fun at this stage of your life?

You see when it comes to TRUST, it may not always have to be about the big issues. It is also about the little stuff. Sometimes, small issues that we think do not matter at all.

For example, have you ever borrowed something from someone just to return it damaged or worse you have misplaced it?

Have you ever asked a friend to lend you money but were not able to pay them back?

Are you doing somethings with other people’s belongings that you would never do on your own?

The House Builder’s Story

There was a story of a man who worked as a house builder for a wealthy contractor. The contractor found that the man was planning to retire soon so he gave him his last project. He told him to build him the most beautiful house he could build in a year.

The house builder was shocked and complained about the additional work he just received from his boss. Without much enthusiasm, he agreed to build his final masterpiece. During the building process, the house builder made a lot of shortcuts. He used poor quality concrete and cheap steel thinking he would take the money he saved and use it for his retirement. Instead of using upscale finishings, he used inexpensive ones. Instead of elaborate architecture, he chose to follow the easiest design.

The time came for the house builder to complete the project. His boss was so excited to see the house. When the contractor met the man, he said to him, “I know you’ve worked so hard for me for the past years building me beautiful houses. Now that you are retiring, I’d like to give you the keys to this house. The last mansion you built is my parting gift to you as a sign of gratitude for your service”. Needless to say, the house builder was shocked and realised he just made the biggest mistake of his life.

The lesson of this story is that we need to know how to appreciate, to recognise and to take care of the property and work of other people, as well as our own. We also need to be faithful and trustworthy with other people’s property at all times. As it says in the Bible, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.”