The "Unjust" Steward And The Power Of Leverage

Have you ever thought about what it means to leverage your position as a person? In finance terms leverage can be a way of borrowing against equity to acquire assets that potentially increase the value of the company beyond the cost of the interest on the money. In essence using equity as leverage to create more equity. In the world of physics it means to apply force to a lever that is wedged between two objects for the purpose of moving the lighter object that might not otherwise be moved. The lever only has to be stronger than the lighter object. Thus the lesser weighted object is forced to move. I have discovered that we can also apply leverage in a personal and spiritual way that moves obstacles or opens doors that might not otherwise be moved. In the Parable of "The Unjust Steward" Jesus commends the shrewd Steward. What was Jesus admiring? Dishonesty? Definitely not. Shrewdness? Yes, of course. As we will discover, the steward in the parable was not being dishonest. The "Unjust" Steward understood the power of his position and leveraged the remaining few days of his employment to his advantage. What the Steward did was lawful. We know that because if the Steward had broken the law the Master would have had him arrested. Instead the Master commended the Steward. Why? because the Steward outsmarted him. And the Master was impressed. A good sportsman, business person or warrior respects the victories of their opponents. Im not a good chess player but I do understand that Chess is about leverage. Sacrifices are made in the course of a game for the ultimate goal, Checkmate! Based on Jesus recommendation, I say it is time for the "sons of light" to go next-level in what Kingdom shrewdness looks like. I believe it is understanding the power of leverage in a very personal, practical and applicable way. A way that helps us to know who we are, where we stand, and what our options are at any given moment in any given circumstance. I highly recommend the Art Of The Deal by Donald Trump. Trump understands the power of leverage and smart shrewdness in a very lawful way. Did you know Moses leveraged his position as Israel's deliverer with God on Mt. Sinai. See Exodus 34:6. Moses was set up by God to ask for the very things that God wanted him to ask. God let Moses negotiate with Him. Moses bargained for the ongoing portable tangible presence of God and that God would take Israel as His inheritance. A very rough paraphrased version of this would be to say that Moses committed to the rest of the journey under the condition that from that day forward God has come with them in a tangible way, and that God has to take legal ownership/assume responsibility for the people. This undoubtedly took the pressure off Moses, and of course those were two things the God wanted Himself. In Genesis 32 Jacob wrestled with God all night and "prevailed". He said "I will not let go unless You bless me". Was it because Jacob is stronger than God. Of course not! God wanted Jacob to demand the blessing. And for that Jacob became Israel, meaning GOD PREVAILS! And guess what, the art of physical wrestling is the art of leverage. Oh my, shaka shama kai hasta hodabondai (my prayer language) Wow! Jacobs "victory" resulted in him carrying the namesake of an entire nation that literally interprets GOD PREVAILS. Jacobs "victory" was actually Gods VICTORY. And Jacob used the physical art of wrestling (leverage) to achieve this. Yes the battle truly belongs to the Lord, but some are meant to be fought by us. Thus we must learn The Power Of Leverage. It is the very means by which God gets us to fight the battles that He wants to win on our behalf.

Thanks for reading, Brian Nickens