Give All You Can: The Strange Story That Makes Sense of Generosity

Two weeks ago we started with Wesley's first rule, gain all you can. Last week we drew the line of enough with his second rule, save all you can. This week we arrive at the reason for the first two: give all you can.

And Jesus picked a strange story to take us there.

In Luke 16, a manager is caught wasting his boss's property. About to be fired, he calls in everyone who owes his master money and starts slashing their bills. A hundred jugs of oil? Make it fifty. And then the master finds out and... praises him?

Jesus, are you sure about this one?

We'll wrestle with that on Sunday. For now, look at one word. The Greek word for this manager is oikonomos, built from oikos, meaning house, and nomos, meaning rule. A steward doesn't own the house. He runs it for someone who does.

That idea runs through the whole Bible. On page one, God places the humans in the garden "to till it and keep it" (Genesis 2:15). Not owners. Managers. Later, Joseph is put in charge of Potiphar's house and then all of Egypt, and through his faithful management a world is fed. So, when Jesus tells a story about a manager, it isn't just about one shady employee. It's about us.

In Matthew 6, Jesus warns about treasure on earth, "where moth and rust consume." Here in Michigan, we understand rust. We've all watched a truck dissolve in the driveway thanks to road salt.

Then Jesus says, "If your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light." In Hebrew thinking, a "good eye" meant a generous heart, and an "evil eye" meant a stingy one (Proverbs 22:9, Deuteronomy 15:9). Jesus isn't talking about eyesight. He's talking about generosity.

Both passages land on the same line: "You cannot serve God and wealth." Money makes a wonderful tool and a terrible master.

So, who is the faithful steward the Bible has been waiting for? Hebrews tells us Jesus was faithful over God's house as a Son (Hebrews 3:6). And "though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor" (2 Corinthians 8:9). Like the manager in the parable, Jesus spent everything on people who owed a debt they could never pay. Only He didn't cancel half the bill. He canceled all of it.

This week, look at your bank statement, your calendar, and your gifts, and ask one question: Where is my eye? Is it generous or tight? Don't grade yourself. Just notice.
Then come Sunday, and let's figure out why Jesus seems to be cheering for a crook. And mark your calendar for September 27, Consecration Sunday, when we offer our whole lives back to the God who gave everything for us. Despite our brokenness, God's grace restores the divine image within us, and that image looks a lot like open hands.

Here are some words from this week's scripture and what they mean.

Steward (oikonomos): A household manager who runs the house on behalf of the owner.

Shrewdly (phronimōs): Acting with practical, forward-thinking wisdom.

Mammon (wealth): An Aramaic word for money and possessions, which Jesus treats like a rival master.

Serve (douleuō): To belong completely to a master, as a servant or slave.

Store up (thēsaurizō): To gather and stockpile treasure. The root of our word thesaurus.

Healthy eye (haplous): Single, simple, undivided. In Hebrew thinking, a generous heart.