A steward is someone responsible to care for the goods of another. He is accountable to his master for the way that he handles the responsibility. In this parable, a steward was accused of wasting the rich man’s goods. This was such a serious charge that the rich man called for the steward to give an accounting of his stewardship. The Lord expressed a similar truth in another parable found in Luke 19:11-27. In this parable, several servants invested their goods and accrued interest, but one servant simply hid his pound which resulted in no gain. The lord of that servant was so upset with this slothful servant that he took the pound away from him and gave it to one of the others. Remember that it is not up to the steward to choose how to spend that which belongs to the master.
Before leaving home, the prodigal son asked his father for all of his inheritance. He left town with everything that would have been his upon his father’s death. Certainly his father had hoped that he would make wise decisions in the use of this money. Yet, the Bible says that the prodigal “wasted his substance with riotous living” (Luke 15:13). The next verse further confirms the extent of his waste by saying that “he . . . spent all” (Luke 15:14). The prodigal son asked for his inheritance and then compounded his problem by refusing to wisely spend that inheritance. No doubt when he found himself in that pigpen, he reflected on the fact that he could not offer an accounting for his loss. The substance his father had tirelessly laboured to obtain was squandered because of a foolish son’s lust for living unruly.
We have already learned that our joy is to be found in the Lord and this joy is a special gift from above. With this truth foundational to our study, what are some things that we can do as believers that will bring us lasting joy? Far too many people think joy surfaces once the stresses of life cease or at least begin to diminish. Yet, the Bible teaches that joy can be found only in faithfully serving the Lord. Today's verse reveals that the disciples found joy through what God had done in and through them! Considering a few more scriptural examples of joy should help to solidify our mindset concerning this subject. The Bible records great joy as the people of God willingly sacrificed to the Lord (1 Chronicles 29:17). Proverbs 21:15 reveals that “It is joy to the just to do judgment.” The book of Luke tells us that there is joy in heaven when one sinner repents (Luke 15:7). From these and other examples, we know that true joy will be found when we willingly serve the Lord God, but never in the things of this world.
