Even Small Things Make a Difference

21 September 2025  Luke 16:10-13

“The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones.” Luke 16:10

Just because something is in the Bible does not guarantee that it is good writing. Some of the biblical writers clearly needed an editor.

The Parable of the Dishonest Steward is a very awkward moral tale. It seems to commend theft and deception. There is no mention of repentance, and the dishonest steward is just as dishonest at the end of the story as at the beginning. It is no use trying to “get behind” this story to recover what the “real story” was. There is no reliable backstory here. There is just the story as written, and it seems to suggest that it is possible to cheat your way into heaven, to get in on a technicality. What happened to, “Repent and be baptized” (Acts 2:38)?

A good editor could have tidied up this story a lot.

But there was no editor on hand, and all we have is the story as written.

Perhaps, however, it is worth acknowledging a certain kinship we all have with the Dishonest Steward. Many of us could live with less, but we don’t, and we seldom remember to repent of that. There are many small favors and kindnesses that we could do every day, but we don’t, and we seldom remember to repent of that either. Often it is days or months, years or decades, before we even remember the opportunities for kindness and witness that we have passed by. The Parable is clear that those missed opportunities are the ones that we have squandered, the ones that we have to give an account for.

At heaven’s gate, only a very great fool would dare to say, “Give me what I deserve,” for the Lamb’s Book of Life has not missed any entries, and has recorded in dismaying detail all the opportunities we have diligently remembered to forget about. The wise arrivals at heaven’s gate utter only a single word: “Mercy.” That was clearly on the Dishonest Steward’s mind.

Yes, many biblical writers needed a good editor, but they didn’t have one, and we have only the stories as written. So perhaps the takeaway here is a suggestion from Fred Craddock. Very few of us are going to write a book this week, or negotiate a peace treaty, or convert a nation, or be burned at the stake. It is much more likely that we will have little opportunity to do more than write a note of compassion or encouragement, to tell a child a story, to stay up to date with a pledge to the church building fund, or to offer a cup of cold water to someone proclaiming Jesus. We walk by a lot of small opportunities to bear witness to Jesus. Perhaps we could resolve each day to walk by one fewer. Perhaps we could decide each day that before 10 a.m. we will do one thing to love, honor, and celebrate Jesus that we didn’t do the day before, and then pray that that one thing will bear much fruit.Habits of mercy incline the heart toward Jesus, and make us less afraid of the conversation at heaven’s gate.

“The person who is trustworthy in small matters is also trustworthy in great ones.” At heaven’s gate we will all be asked what we did with what we had. We will still need mercy, lots of it. The Dishonest Steward got to the party late, but at least he showed the mercy that he could. Wise disciples should go and do likewise.