Written on the Tablet of Your Heart Proverbs 3:3–6; Amos 8:4–7; Luke 16:1–15 

Grace, mercy and peace be with you, from God, our Father, and our Lord, Jesus Christ, who writes His Word upon our heart, and makes us good and faithful stewards of our heart, and of His Word.

The first part of our message is taken from our Gospel, and the second part from our opening verses, Proverbs 3, especially verse 3: Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. 

In both today’s Gospel and Old Testament, we hear about the mismanagement and evil use of worldly wealth, and the better way of trusting God, and serving others with what we have.

In our Old Testament, God lets the rich, who are subverting His laws in order to take advantage of the poor, know that their evil deeds are not hidden from Him.

Amos says, Hear this, you who trample on the needy… 7 The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob: “Surely I will never forget any of their deeds.”.

God will hold greedy and dishonest behavior accountable. So let us be just and charitable in the way we treat others, and so, be like Christ to them.

In today’s Gospel, a parable, Jesus describes a worldly way of getting others to help us, and a better, godly way of helping others.

A wealthy man’s steward, his business manager, was either misusing or poorly managing his master’s resources. 

So he was summoned and told to get his books in order and turn them in, and then he would no longer be employed.

After being fired for being incompetent at best, or dishonest at worst, he knew he was never going to get another job as someone’s manager. 

So he came up with a clever scheme, whereby people would owe him a favor, and in return, he hoped, out of gratitude, they would provide for him after he lost his

job. 

He went to all his master’s debtors, and wrote off massive amounts of debt for them.

The write offs made the rich lender look good, like he was generous and merciful. Dishonoring the agreements would make him look bad and lose face, so he seems to have gone along with it.

Also, he was probably charging so much interest that even with the write offs he wasn’t losing any money.

Surprisingly, he complimented his sneaky steward for being so resourceful, even if it was dishonest and behind his back. 

Then Jesus said in so many words, “That’s the kind of thing you can expect from  dishonest people in this dishonest world.” And we concur; that’s often how it seems to be.

Then Jesus said something very interesting: 9 … Make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.

Jesus calls it unrighteous wealth because in this world, money is so often misused. 

He isn’t saying we should be greedy and unrighteous with our money. The point He’s making is the opposite, that we should put our possessions to good use by helping and befriending people on earth, not expecting any favors in return, and then in Heaven, we’ll be eternally provided for.

This is an argument from lesser to greater: from worldly, which is of less benefit, to spiritual, which is far more lasting and impacting.

Jesus says, 10 “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. 11 If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, like the dishonest steward, who will entrust to you the true riches, that is, spiritual riches, the gifts of the Gospel. 

 12 And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own? 

All that we have belongs to another, to God; and we should use it not for selfish gain or personal advancement, but in ways that honor him, and serve the growth of His Kingdom.

Jesus continues, 13 No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. 

You cannot serve God and money.” The heart can’t be divided like that.

And that brings us to our text, in Proverbs 3.

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, (not part of it) and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. 

3 Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. 

What a wonderful phrase to remember: written on the tablet of your heart. 

If the heart is a tablet, then something is written there. 

What’s written on your heart, is what guides your life. 

So the question is: what is it that’s written on the tablet of your heart?

Godly truths can be written there, but so can worldly lies. The human heart is easily deceived, so easily manipulated for evil.

A deep love for God can be imprinted on our hearts, but so can a love and passion for sin.

So let us be wise and selective in the words we allow into our hearts, because they determine the life we live, the values we have, and the hope we have. 

The Commandments of God were first written on tablets of stone, and given to Moses to give to the people. 

Eventually those words, along with many other words from God’s prophets, were written on tablets of paper.

Now we have a book on which God’s Word is written, and we can read it and learn from it, and be comforted by it.

We even have God’s Word on electronic tablets, iPads and other digital devices, laptops, and smart phones.

These devices are powered by electricity, but the Word of God that’s stored on and accessed through them is powered by a far greater power, by the Holy Spirit, who has eternal and unlimited power; there are no power outages for Him.

He’s the One who takes these words from God, written on paper, or stored on silicon chips, computer chips, and inscribes them on your heart, making them your own to believe and live by.

By hearing and reading and learning and studying Scripture, God writes His Word upon our hearts, and in this way is always with us, comforting and blessing us, guiding and correcting us, and empowering us to love and embrace and live by  these truths from Heaven; to celebrate them and rejoice in them; and to share them with all. 

Some of the things we share with others, earthly possessions and resources, we can run out of. 

But the well from which we draw God’s Word will never run dry. When we share the Gospel, we never run out of good news to share in this world.

When the Word of God is written on your heart, then you always have meaningful words to say and share.

When vain and worldly words try to enter in and imprint themselves upon your heart, to mislead and deceive you, to determine your life, and dictate the deeds you do, and the words you say, chase those malevolent, evil words away with holy words of truth and love, with the Word and power of God.

Frequently feed your heart and enrich your mind with His Word. Replenish your soul with His Sacraments. Uplift your spirit in prayer.

And be an open book. 

Open up the tablet of your heart, and reveal what’s written inside, true words and loving deeds, words and deeds God has put there for you to share, from His Word to your heart.

And as you share God’s Word and His ways, His peace, which passes understanding, will guard your heart and mind, in Christ Jesus, whose Name is written on the tablet of your heart. Amen.