Luke 16:8-9
"Now here's a surprise: The master praised the crooked manager! And why? Because he knew how to look after himself. Streetwise people are smarter in this regard than law-abiding citizens. They are on constant alert, looking for angles, surviving by their wits. I want you to be smart in the same way—but for what is right—using every adversity to stimulate you to creative survival, to concentrate your attention on the bare essentials, so you'll live, really live, and not complacently just get by on good behavior."
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
There is a new television show on one of the cable networks called “Extreme Couponing.” People across America have become obsessed with clipping coupons. They combine them with store sales, store discount cards, and other special offers to purchase hundreds-to-thousands of dollars in merchandise for as little as pennies. Some have even done so well that the store paid them to carry home enough products to fill multiple shopping carts.
I’ve always been a coupon clipper. I almost always have coupons for paper towels, toilet paper, laundry detergent and dish-washing liquid. I hardly ever pay full price for toothpaste, cereal, or diapers. But “extreme couponers” will buy more than a hundred bottles of hot sauce because they have coupons that can be coupled with store sales to get these items “for free.” Their storage rooms are filled with items that nobody in their family uses. The single woman with a shelf unit full of diapers… the couple with a wall lined with dog food and no dog… the man who has closet shelf full of vitamins and more pain reliever than he could ever possibly use… all have truly taken couponing to the “extreme!”
Don’t get me wrong… I’m all for people saving money on their grocery bill… and if these folks want to spend their lives clipping and filing coupons, researching store sales and trying to score dozens of products for free… that’s their business. But stockpiling items you will never need or use, just because you can, doesn’t seem quite right to me. However, there are several “extreme couponers” who are sharing the wealth. They are using the hundreds of tubes of toothpaste, bars of soap and bottles of shampoo to create “toiletries kits” for soldiers and the homeless. One mom is feeding her extended family, her neighbors, and the teenage friends of her children with the products she amasses. Another young woman is providing her elderly grandmother with “free” groceries and household goods from her stock closet.
My point is that God wants us to look at the “street-wise” behavior of those who may be focusing on themselves and their own agendas and see where we can take some of those same tactics and use them in the right manner. He is not encouraging us to lie, cheat, or steal… but rather to “make lemons out of lemonade.” He is telling us that our focus is not to be on what we can get for ourselves, but what we can do for others. So instead of concentrating on how to cut corners, “play the system,” and get something for nothing… we should be using our wits to figure out how to genuinely accomplish more for God’s Kingdom, serve others in His name, and meet the needs of people wherever they are.
We all know people who say they are doing things “in the name of Jesus” – all the while hiding behind our LORD in order to make themselves look good… and to get ahead. This is exactly what Jesus is warning against. He wants us to be smart… but in a way that glorifies Him. Instead of stockpiling toothpaste, soap and toilet paper “because we can,” He wants us to use our ability to amass these products to share with those who can’t afford to buy them. The same energy some of us spend applying for loans, grants and public assistance, and "get-rich-quick schemes" to help us pay bills and put food on the table could be spent on getting a job with benefits and earning our own way.
Are we smart with the gifts God has given us… and are we using them to serve Him and those around us… or ourselves? Isn’t it time we stopped focusing inward and started looking around to see where and how we can truly live… and serve… in Jesus name? Just how “street smart” for Jesus are you these days?
©2011 Debbie Robus
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