Luke 16:1 And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. 2 And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.
This passage of scripture presents to us the parable of the unfaithful steward who was guilty of wasting his masters goods, to the point where he was now called in for questioning so as to account for his misdeeds. This wanton spending and wasting of resources had apparently been going on for some time, and because the goods were not his own, the unfaithful steward had continued to wreak havoc on his masters belongings, with the vain hope that somehow they would be miraculously replenished, day after day and year by year. But alas! it reached a stage where the master heard complaints from fellow workers, and the day of reckoning drew near, for according to the parable, the master had determined to remove him from being steward, for the reckless way his goods had been mismanaged.
The habit of bailing out nations and individuals time and time again, even after the correct course of action in the management of resources has been made plain, is not productive of good, but of evil, for both sacred and secular history teach us that when nations and persons are not held to account for their deeds, but are forgiven and rescued time and time again, the general tendency is to abuse the Master's kindness, instead of making a u-turn, and instituting the necessary reforms through a stern course of discipline.
This is what has transpired with Greece, and this is the reason why the IMF and the European union are very reluctant to bail out the nation again, for in the past, pledges of reforms had been made but were never enforced, and with the passage of time, the nation sank very much deeper into the mire of debt than was previously the case. This scenario that is playing out before our eyes is what is scheduled to come to our doorsteps, because there comes a time when the lender runs out of funds to lend, and then the cold realities of poverty and social unrest, with all their attendant dangers and perils, must now be faced. This is just a reflection of what is written in the word, and there are both temporal and spiritual lessons to be derived from such experiences. Let's read:.
Proverbs 22:7 The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.
Nehemiah 5:1 And there was a great cry of the people and of their wives".... 2 For there were that said, We, our sons, and our daughters, are many: therefore we take up corn for them, that we may eat, and live. 3 Some also there were that said, We have mortgaged our lands, vineyards, and houses, that we might buy corn, because of the dearth. 4 There were also that said, We have borrowed money for the king's tribute, and that upon our lands and vineyards. 5 "And, lo, we bring into bondage our sons and our daughters to be servants, and some of our daughters are brought unto bondage already: neither is it in our power to redeem them; for other men have our lands and vineyards.
There are also spiritual overtones to this sad scenario, in that we too were brought in bondage into sin, and there was no power within us to redeem ourselves and our children, for "Other men", in this case the devil, had our vineyards and our homes. But God who sits high and looks low, had mercy on us and in His kindness and wisdom worked out a bailout package for us in the form of Jesus Christ, who bled and died to pay our enormous debt, and to give us a new lease on life. Let's read:
Isaiah 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
However, unlike Greece, this was not done so that we could continue in the old reckless ways, but instead it is the will of God that the necessary reforms and changes for the better be now instituted, because according to the scriptures, there ain't no other bail out package that will be coming our way anytime soon. On the contrary, a very serious warning is issued to us with the intent that we carefully avoid getting ourselves back into spiritual indebtedness, for this time we will be called into serious account, very much the same like the unfaithful steward. Let's read:
Hebrews 10:26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, 27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. 28 He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: 29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
In our day, there is the tendency to take on more and more debt, both in the spiritual and temporal sense, and because several bailout packages have been ministered unto us, we have now taken God's grace for granted, and have despised the reforms and institutions He has designed to lift us out of the mire. It is therefore incumbent upon us to make the most of the bail out package instituted at the Cross, so that we do not fall back again into the same old rot that was the reason for our downfall in the first place. We therefore end with a passage of scripture which calls on us to be grateful and faithful, so that when The Lord comes to claim His own, He may receive us with usury. Let's read:
Matthew 25:20 And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. 21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. 29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.
May God add His blessing to the study and practice of His word. "Good night" and God bless!