Tag Archives: Luke 16

“Even if Someone Rises from the Dead”

April 7, 2026 Tom Vander Well 1 Comment

[Abraham] said to [the rich man], ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”
Luke 16:31 (NIV)

This past Sunday Wendy and I volunteered to help usher people into Easter worship and find seats.

There’s always a large crowd.

I’ve regularly attended weekly worship for most of my life. Along the way, I notice patterns. A few weeks before Easter attendance will slowly swell. The crowd arrives on Easter. Wendy and I help them find a seat.

Then the crowds go away.

Numbers recede back to normal.

Until a few weeks before Christmas.

It makes me wonder how often we are drawn to moments…but resist what they’re actually calling us into.

Today’s chapter is two scenes stitched together, both whispering (and sometimes shouting) about money, loyalty, and what we truly trust.

First, there’s a manager caught mismanaging his boss’s money and is about to be fired. Instead of panicking, he gets… creative. He cuts deals with his master’s debtors so they’ll welcome him later.

And here’s the twist—his master commends him for being shrewd.

So is Jesus praising the dishonesty? Not exactly. He’s saying: “Look how creatively people pursue temporary security… why are my people so passive about eternal things?”

Then He tightens the screws:

Faithful in little → faithful in much
You cannot serve both God and money

Money isn’t the villain. It’s the test.
It’s not about having it. It’s about what it does to your grip—does your hand open… or tighten?

In the next scene, Jesus pulls back the curtain on eternity.

A rich man lives in luxury.
A poor man, Lazarus, lies at his gate—hungry, broken, ignored.

In a world where the rich get remembered and the poor forgotten Jesus flips the script. God knows the poor man’s name. Not the rich man.

Both die.

Now the tables turn:

Lazarus finds himself in eternal comfort.
Rich man finds himself in eternal torment.

Interestingly, the rich man isn’t condemned for cruelty, but for indifference.

He didn’t beat Lazarus.
He merely stepped over him… every day.
Not out of hatred… just habit.

And the haunting line:

“Between us and you a great chasm has been set in place….”

No crossing. No do-overs.

And in the quiet this morning, the text leans in close, lowers its voice, and asks me something a little dangerous:

What am I really living for?

Not what I say.
Not what I post.
What my calendar, my bank account, and my quiet decisions reveal.

Jesus isn’t subtle:

This life is a test run, not the main event
Money is a tool, not a lover
Faithfulness in the small, unseen moments… that’s the real résumé

And maybe the most piercing truth of all:

The gap between heaven and hell isn’t created at death.
It’s revealed there.

I am becoming someone right now.

With every choice
Every act of generosity
Every moment of indifference
Every quiet “yes” or “no” to God

I am shaping the person who will step into eternity.

And for me, the most haunting line of all this morning was the final one.

‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

Translation? I already have more than enough truth to change my life. The question is whether I’ll listen.

An annual visit to God on Easter probably won’t make much difference.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

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Chapter-a-Day

The Earth and Eternity Connection

December 28, 2023 Tom Vander Well Leave a comment

“[Abraham] said to [the rich man], ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”
Luke 16:31 (NIV)

I have confessed in previous posts that I was foolish with money when I was young. When I got my allowance, I spent it and I didn’t spend it wisely. I made a lot of foolish choices.

As a child, I remember being plagued with existential angst. I was this unique person with fingerprints, thoughts, and personality. I was a soul trapped inside this one-of-a-kind body living on this planet in a vast universe. Who am I really? What am I doing here?

Was there a connection between my existential angst and my foolish choices with money?

When I became a disciple of Jesus, those existential questions went away. Jesus was very straightforward in His teaching. There is an eternity that lies beyond this life, and His disciples are to live this life with that eternity top-of-mind. My earthly thoughts, words, relationships, and financial choices should be made with an eternal perspective.

In today’s chapter, Jesus is focused on money and material wealth in this life. He started by telling a parable that highlighted how shrewd people become when they believe this earthly journey is all there is. People learn to cover their rear ends, take advantage of others, and hoard wealth and possessions for themselves. If this world is all there is, then the things of this world will be what you treasure.

Luke finishes today’s chapter with a different parable. A rich man had a homeless beggar who slept on the sidewalk outside his house. Both men died. The beggar ended up in heaven hanging out with Father Abraham, while the rich man landed in the torment of Hades. The rich man realized what a foolish mistake he’d made and begged Father Abraham to send the beggar to his family to tell them about the eternal consequences of their lives.

Abraham tells the rich man a hard truth. The message of eternity has been proclaimed through the centuries. It’s right there for any who are willing to hear it. Sending the beggar won’t do any good, Abraham explains. Those unwilling to believe won’t even listen to a person who rises from the dead.

Even after I chose to become a disciple of Jesus, it took a while for this eternal perspective to change some of my patterns of thought and behavior. The truth is I’m still working on it every single day. But it has changed me, and it continues to do so. If I really believe what I say I believe, then my earthly choices will reflect my eternal perspective. If they don’t, then Jesus’ words convict me: “If you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?”

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Observations of a Mentor

January 16, 2020 Tom Vander Well Leave a comment

Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.
Luke 16:10 (NIV)

I have been on the road this week working with a client. As part of my duties for this particular client, I have been mentoring a number of their front-line supervisors. Most of these supervisors are in their first managerial position, and I have an opportunity to help them learn some of the basic managerial and interpersonal skills they will need in order to succeed.

Over the years, I have observed that I can usually tell in my first few sessions when one of my protégés is going to be successful. Those who are self-aware of their own struggles and shortcomings and are willing to be open and honest about them tend to make quick progress. I have enjoyed watching these individuals listen to wise counsel, work hard to develop themselves, and rise quickly within the organization.

I have also had the experience of mentoring individuals who are dishonest with me about themselves, their strengths and weaknesses, and what is really happening within the team in their charge. Some have been so good at spinning their reality that when I give my report to their senior manager, their manager thought I must be talking about a different person. I’m sorry to say that I’ve watched certain individuals in my charge fail because they lacked the simple ability to be honest with themselves and others.

In today’s chapter, Luke shares a series of parables that Jesus told His followers. In the midst of the parables, Jesus makes a very simple observation that those who can be trusted with very little can be trusted with much, and that the opposite is equally true. I suddenly saw the faces of individuals I’ve mentored who have given me living proof of Jesus’ words.

I’m back in my home office this morning, and in the quiet I find myself looking back at my own life and career. I have been blessed to have had good mentors and wise counselors in my life, and I hope that I’m doing a good job of paying it forward with the dividends of their investment in me. So much of what I’ve learned boils down to things that are very simple.

Be honest, trustworthy, capable, and content with the smallest of the responsibilities you’re given. In due time, you’ll find yourself with greater responsibilities.

Chapter-a-Day

A Tale of Two Agents

August 26, 2014 Tom Vander Well Leave a comment

“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. Luke 16:10 (NIV)

I was recently with a client providing call coaching for a team of agents. In these coaching sessions the client’s front-line agents join me in a small conference room with their supervisor. We review the agents service quality data and listen to recorded calls between the agent and their customers that my team had analyzed. On this particular day, I was coaching several young agents I had never coached before, and it was as if one of Jesus’ parables was coming to life before my very eyes.

There were two agents…

The first agent came into the room confident and smiling. She was bright and confident. When I asked how it was going for her with her calls, she immediately recounted what the data had revealed about the strengths and weaknesses of her service delivery. She had obviously been paying attention, had taken responsibility to go out and review the information available to her, and had digested the data and recommendations. When I played her recorded calls and then asked what she thought, she quickly picked out exactly how she could have improved and explained what she would have done differently if she had the chance to do it over again. When the agent left the room I expressed to the supervisor that I was impressed. “She won’t be on my team long,” the supervisor said. “With her attitude and work ethic, she is going to go places quickly in this company, and she should.”

Before the second agent came into the room the supervisor explained that this particular agent always demanded the last session so that she could put it off as long as possible. When the agent came into the room I could tell from her physicality that she was defensive and did not want to be there. I tried to break the tension. I pulled up the service quality data that had shown a recent trend toward improvement and complimented the improvements. “I don’t know why I improved,” the agent mumbled, “I haven’t done anything differently.” We listened to calls together and when given the opportunity to self-critique the agent simply responded with “it sounded pretty good to me.” In one call, the agent responded to a customer’s question with “I don’t know anything about that” despite the fact that the agent clearly knew the answer. When asked why she didn’t answer the question the agent shrugged and said, “Yeah, I probably should have. I don’t know. I just didn’t.” After the session was over, the supervisor looked at his watch to see how much time was left in the agent’s shift, explaining “She won’t get anything else done today. She watches the clock for the last hour of the day so she can be out the door as soon as the second hand hits twelve.”

I thought of these two agents when I read Jesus’ words this morning. I have observed countless times over the years that the difference between successful people and those stagnate in their careers is usually a small handful of things done faithfully and done well.

Here are seven qualities I’ve consistently observed in those who succeed:

Showing up early (or at least being at your post and working on time)
Doing the job faithfully
Dealing with people honestly
Approaching things positively
Handling yourself professionally
Keeping productive and busy in slow times
Going the extra mile without being asked/required

“If you are faithful with a few things,” Jesus said, “You will be put in charge of many things.”

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Luke 16

December 9, 2010 Tom Vander Well 1 Comment

Statue of Mary Tyler Moore at the corner of 7t... — Image via Wikipedia

“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.” Luke 16:9 (MSG)

My daughter, Madison, called last night. She is a poor college student living with three other girls in the Cities. She is working hard at work (ironically, at Bare Escentuals), working hard at school, and learning to walk her own journey on her own [cue: Mary Tyler Moore Theme].

Right now, her daily journies have become more difficult. Her beloved car (a.k.a. Squirt) is dying. In fact, there is an epidemic of car problems among her roomies. They have been sharing one girls car as they all figure out what they are going to do to repair or replace their sputtering vehicles.

“If I have to,” Madison said on the phone, “I can walk to work. It’s a long walk and I’ll freeze my butt off, but I can do it.” [This from the girl who trekked miles into the jungle of Costa Rica using a machette].

How could I not think of her this morning as I read Jesus’ dictate to be on constant alert, looking for angles, and surviving by your wits. Those are life lessons we don’t get in books nor can we absorb them from a lecture. I find it fascinating when people ignorantly believe that being a follower of Jesus is about “complacently getting by on good behavior” when Jesus call was to follow him in the opposite direction.

The journey is frighteningly more adventurous than that.