Devotional

no brown m&m’s

by marvin williams
Posted under christian living, daily devotional, finances, generosity, giving, God's provision, greed, neighbors, physical needs, serving others, the poor
(one comment)

read> Luke 16:1-13 If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities (Luke 16:10).

more> Read 1 Timothy 6:17-19 and identify what our responsibilities are as God’s managers.

next> How would you grade yourself as a manager over all that God has loaned you? What can you do to be a more faithful manager over “little” (material possessions) and “much” (true riches of eternal life)?

When rock band Van Halen was riding the wave of popularity, they insisted that a bowl of M&M’s be provided for them backstage at their concert venues. Yet every brown M&M had to be removed from the bowl. If the band arrived and found even a single brown M&M in the bowl, they would cancel their performance but still receive full compensation.

Since the band was rolling out as many as nine semi-trailer trucks filled with the latest in performance technology, there were many errors that could occur both in setup and presentation. If the promoters didn’t take time to read Article 126, the no-brown-M&M’s clause, they certainly had not checked the entire production, and they were bound to run into life-threatening mistakes.

The ridiculous contract demand by Van Halen illustrates the principle of stewardship that Jesus taught in Luke 16. He encouraged His disciples to be faithful with their earthly wealth because it wasn’t theirs but God’s (Luke 16:10). Their ability to manage these possessions properly and be faithful over the “little” (earthly wealth and possessions) that had been loaned to them would be an accurate barometer of their ability to handle “much” (the true riches of eternal life). If they wrongly valued earthly possessions, they would certainly misprize the significance of the kingdom of God.
Jesus is still calling His followers to pay attention to the “brown M&M clause,” that is, to carefully use, control, and manage God’s possessions, for it is a measure of our ability to handle true riches.

It begins with recognizing that all we have belongs to God. He gives us the ability to produce wealth (Deuteronomy 8:17-18), and He commands us not to hoard our resources (Matthew 6:19-21). God expects us to release our possessions into His service by blessing others (Matthew 19:21).

NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: 1 Peter 3:1-22