For this week’s meditation, we’ll be looking at the parable of the wise and faithful manager. Because basically, “mama” means manager, right?!
Recently, after leaving a restaurant and strapping my son into his car seat, I handed him three out of the six toy monster trucks he’d brought with him from home. About a mile down the road, he says, “Mama, where’s my other monster trucks?”
“Oh Finn, I left them in the door. I forgot to give them to you.”
He considered my response and finally said, “It’s okay, but next time, will you obey?”
My husband and I couldn’t help but crack up laughing as I tried to figure out how to respond. Sometimes I wonder who’s really the “manager” around here! This verse struck a chord with me when I read it recently and made me think about my role as a mom.
“Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns. Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But suppose the servant says to himself, ‘My master is taking a long time in coming,’ and he then begins to beat the other servants, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.
Luke 12:42-46
In this passage, Jesus is talking with his disciples (v. 22), probably in a crowded setting (v.1). Before these verses, Jesus had spoken a parable about a servant being ready to greet his master returning from a banquet. It seemed to confuse the disciples, so Peter asked for clarification. The bottom line is this: Jesus is coming back – will we be ready when he returns? And what should we do in the meantime?
1. Will we be ready when He returns?
In this parable, when the manager forgets – or even disbelieves – that his master is returning, he mistreats the servants, gives in to the pleasures of the world and gets drunk. Now, like me, you may find yourself saying, “HA! I’m not nearly as bad as this guy…” but this is a parable depicting spiritual truths.
Here’s the point: Have you forgotten that Jesus is returning? Have you lost yourself in the things of this world and indulged past a healthy point? Maybe we’re not getting drunk, but after a hard day with the kiddos, we might find ourselves overindulging in Netflix or (if you’re me) Ben & Jerry’s. I can feel like I “deserve” to watch as much TV or eat a pint of ice cream if my kid went down to bed kicking and screaming. That’s #momlife…right?
But is that being a good steward of the life that God has given me?
Look, I’m not saying it’s wrong to order a Gotta Have It sized Coldstone Creation after a long day of momming. We all need that sometimes. That’s not the point. It’s the heart behind what we’re doing that matters to God.
Jesus is a fan of resting — He created the Sabbath! But I think if we allow ourselves to tune in to our hearts as we recreate, we can find the difference between resting to recuperate versus bingeing/medicating/generally overdoing it to try to make ourselves feel better.
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2. What has He asked us to do while He’s gone?
Thankfully, Jesus gave us his words to live by – we can know exactly how God wants us to live by reading them. This is a good reminder that we need to be deeply rooted in God’s Word each and every day. If not, how can we know if we’re living the way God wants us to? How else can we be ready for Jesus’ return?
More specifically, as moms, we are stewards over God’s children. A steward is someone who manages something (like money or property) on the behalf of another. In this case, God has chosen us to take care of HIS children while on this earth. This is a good reminder that my children don’t just belong to me – they belong to the ALMIGHTY. He has graciously placed them in my care as long as they are in the flesh.
So when we’re tempted to feel that our days are dreary, repetitive, trivial, or anything else negative that Satan wants us to feel, remember whom we serve. We are managers in the most powerful Kingdom in the entire universe! If that’s not important, I don’t know what is!
This means that as we feed our children, clothe them, bathe them, teach them to share, to be kind, to not whine…we are doing God’s work. Mamas, don’t ever let Satan make you think that your daily work is anything less than VITALLY IMPORTANT.
This week, as you’re going through the “daily grind” remember whom you serve. The Almighty God, Creator of the universe, Writer of Salvation’s Plan, Giver of Jesus, Father to ALL. He has hired you to do a job of utmost importance: raise his children. And He sees you, mama.
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Galatians 6:9
Keep fighting through the mayhem of this life, Mamas. God is with you and one day He will come back and we will get to hear Him say, “Well done good and faithful servant!”
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