The Parable of the Unjust Steward
In Luke 16 Jesus gives a parable about a steward (Gk. oikonomos[1]) who is mismanaging his employer’s money / resources. Word gets out to the steward’s boss who says to him, “What is this I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.” And the manager says to himself, “What shall I do since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their homes.” So summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, “How much do you owe my master?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measure of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’” The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are shrewder in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into eternal dwellings (Luke 16:1-10).
It
appears scholars and commentators believe Jesus is continuing an ongoing
discussion from the previous chapter. At the end of Luke 15 Jesus gives the
parable is what is commonly called The Prodigal Son. Others view it as the
Forgiving Father. And others view it as the Tale of two Sons. Keep in the mind
the titles in our Bibles are not inspired by God. Translators added those to tell
us what the subject matter was in the following paragraphs.
When
Jesus provided parables, it was a fictional story with real life elements
contemporaneous to that time that often dealt with the kingdom of God. The
issue here was the steward who was mishandling his master’s possessions. As a
result he is going be fired for his poor performance. Since the soon to be
unemployed manager is not strong to do manual labor (dig), and he is ashamed to
beg, his only recourse for him is to go to his master’s debtors and offer
them a discount on what they owe so that he can secure his future living arrangements
with these debtors when he is no longer working. What this wicked manager did
was barter for himself – a buddy system if you would.
Notice
he is still transacting business on behalf of his master dishonestly; he is
providing the debtors a discount he has no right to transact. The money is the master’s
- not his. Surprisingly, his master commends him for his shrewdness. Why?
Because the master knew that by lowering the amount the debtors owed, it would
secure the fired steward from being thrown out in the street. The unjust
steward saved the debtors a lot of money which he may have pocketed for himself
since he was dishonest. So when the time was right, he could receive lodging
because he became their friend.
Jesus
is making a comparison between the temporal and the eternal here. Jesus is
commanding His disciples and us by extension to make friends with earthly
wealth that the Lord gives to us as believers and use those resources for the
gospel so that when we get to heaven those lives that were saved here on earth
as a result of our evangelism directly or by proxy will receive us as eternal
friends. What we do now with the Lord’s wealth He gives us management over
should never be wasted on selfish things, but strictly for the kingdom of God
and for the benefit of those who we make contact with that are lost in their
sins. It takes money to send Bibles to countries that do not have them in
impoverished areas. It takes money to build churches and send missionaries
around the world to preach the gospel and to provide food, fresh water, clothing
and medical supplies to those who are poor and needy and sick in our
communities. It takes money to pay the Pastor, his staff, keep the lights on
and pay the mortgage. These types of activities are God honoring ways to use
the resources God has given to us as a trust.
This
parable is parallel to what Jesus said in Matthew 6:19-21, “Do not lay up for
yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves
break in and steal; but rather lay up for yourselves (italics mine for
emphasis) treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where
thieves cannot break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart
will be also.”
Continuing,
Jesus says, “He that is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and
he that is unjust in what is least will be unjust also in much. Therefore if
you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon (or money), who will
commit to your trust the true riches? If you have not been faithful in what is another
man’s, who will give you what is your own? No servant can serve two masters;
for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to
the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money” (Luke 16:10-13).
The
main issue Jesus is driving at is faithfulness in what God has given us to
steward / manage. A simple illustration is if you are a loyal manager at a
company (represents secular wealth), and you decide to start your own business,
you will do what it takes to become a loyal business owner. You will also be
able to train your employees to become loyal. Conversely if you are a lazy
employee; never on time, and never complete your tasks or meet your deadlines, you
will be like the wicked steward in this parable and lose your job due to your unfaithfulness.
That type of person is definitely not ready to be in a position of Church
leadership such as an Elder or a Pastor (i.e. true riches). No one wants a
reckless, immature person in spiritual authority; that is a train wreck waiting
to happen. Sadly, that is what we are currently dealing with in many Churches,
large and small.
So,
the questions are, “How many people will get to heaven because of our
faithfulness to what God has given us here on earth?” How many eternal friends
will we make due to our faithful stewardship in the here and now?
[1]
Means a household manager. A steward took care of daily operations of his
master’s estate.
This would include meals, farming, children, servants,
tilling of the fields and finances. The manager
Had authority to transact business in his master’s name.
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