Seven Habits of Highly Effective Givers

Luke 16:1-13
¹Jesus told this story to his disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a manager handling his affairs. One day a report came that the manager was wasting his employer’s money. ²So the employer called him in and said, ‘What’s this I hear about you? Get your report in order, because you are going to be fired.’ ³The manager thought to himself, ‘Now what? My boss has fired me. I don’t have the strength to dig ditches, and I’m too proud to beg. ⁴Ah, I know how to ensure that I’ll have plenty of friends who will give me a home when I am fired.’ ⁵So he invited each person who owed money to his employer to come and discuss the situation. He asked the first one, ‘How much do you owe him?’ ⁶The man replied, ‘I owe him 800 gallons of olive oil.’ So the manager told him, ‘Take the bill and quickly change it to 400 gallons. ⁷And how much do you owe my employer?’ he asked the next man. ‘I owe him 1,000 bushels of wheat,’ was the reply. ‘Here,’ the manager said, ‘take the bill and change it to 800 bushels.’ ⁸The rich man had to admire the dishonest rascal for being so shrewd. And it is true that the children of this world are more shrewd in dealing with the world around them than are the children of the light. ⁹Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home. ¹⁰If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. ¹¹And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? ¹²And if you are not faithful with other people’s things, why should you be trusted with things of your own? ¹³No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.”

Their money is not their money.

They are accountable for how they use money.

They use money as a tool.

They know how much money to keep.

Luke 16:5-7
⁵“So he invited each person who owed money to his employer to come and discuss the situation. He asked the first one, ‘How much do you owe him?’ ⁶The man replied, ‘I owe him 800 gallons of olive oil.’ So the manager told him, ‘Take the bill and quickly change it to 400 gallons.’ ⁷‘And how much do you owe my employer?’ he asked the next man. ‘I owe him 1,000 bushels of wheat,’ was the reply. ‘Here,’ the manager said, ‘take the bill and change it to 800 bushels.’”

2 Corinthians 9:10-11
¹⁰For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you. ¹¹Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous.

Luke 12:16-21
¹⁶Then he told them a story: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. ¹⁷He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ ¹⁸Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. ¹⁹And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’ ²⁰But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’ ²¹Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”

They manage money with an eternal perspective.

Luke 16:8-9
⁸“The rich man had to admire the dishonest rascal for being so shrewd. And it is true that the children of this world are more shrewd in dealing with the world around them than are more shrewd in dealing with the world around them than are the children of the light. ⁹Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home.

Ephesians 4:28-29
²⁸If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need. ²⁹Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.

The character of a giver is tested in small ways.

Luke 16:10-12
¹⁰“If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. ¹¹And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? ¹²And if you are not faithful with other people’s things, why should you be trusted with things of your own?”

They know that secular stewardship reveals a spiritual state.

Luke 16:13
"No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.”

Luke 19:8
Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!”

Luke 16:1-13
¹Jesus told this story to his disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a manager handling his affairs. One day a report came that the manager was wasting his employer’s money. ²So the employer called him in and said, ‘What’s this I hear about you? Get your report in order, because you are going to be fired.’ ³The manager thought to himself, ‘Now what? My boss has fired me. I don’t have the strength to dig ditches, and I’m too proud to beg. ⁴Ah, I know how to ensure that I’ll have plenty of friends who will give me a home when I am fired.’ ⁵So he invited each person who owed money to his employer to come and discuss the situation. He asked the first one, ‘How much do you owe him?’ ⁶The man replied, ‘I owe him 800 gallons of olive oil.’ So the manager told him, ‘Take the bill and quickly change it to 400 gallons.’ ⁷‘And how much do you owe my employer?’ he asked the next man. ‘I owe him 1,000 bushels of wheat,’ was the reply. ‘Here,’ the manager said, ‘take the bill and change it to 800 bushels.’ ⁸The rich man had to admire the dishonest rascal for being so shrewd. And it is true that the children of this world are more shrewd in dealing with the world around them than are the children of the light. ⁹Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home. ¹⁰If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. ¹¹And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? ¹²And if you are not faithful with other people’s things, why should you be trusted with things of your own? ¹³No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.”

The way you treat money is a physical expression of a spiritual condition.

Their money is not their money.

Luke 16:1a
Jesus told this story to his disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a manager handling his affairs.”

Psalm 24:1
The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.
The world and all its people belong to him.

They are accountable for how they use money.

Luke 16:1b-2
^1b”One day a report came that the manager was wasting his employer’s money. ²So the employer called him in and said, ‘What’s this I hear about you? Get your report in order, because you are going to be fired.’”

Matthew 25:14-15
¹⁴“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone. ¹⁵He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last—dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip.”

2 Corinthians 5:9-11
^9”So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him. ¹⁰For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body. ¹¹Because we understand our fearful responsibility to the Lord, we work hard to persuade others.”

They use money as a tool.

Luke 16:3-4
³“The manager thought to himself, ‘Now what? My boss has fired me. I don’t have the strength to dig ditches, and I’m too proud to beg. ⁴Ah, I know how to ensure that I’ll have plenty of friends who will give me a home when I am fired.’”

Luke 16:9a
“Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends.”

Matthew 25:29
To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.