“And he said also unto his disciples, ‘There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods.
And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.
Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.
So he called every one of his lord’s debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? And he said, An hundred measuresa of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore.
And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.
And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.
He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?
No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him. And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.”
- (Luke 16:1-15) (KJV)
The Parable of the Unjust Steward
CONTEXT: The gospel writer Luke sandwiches this parable between that of the Prodigal Son, and the extremely scary tale of the Rich Man and the beggar Lazarus. This parable is definitely told in the hearing of the Pharisees (Luke 15:1..), who later deride him – a man with no money talking about unscrupulous stewards!
In this week’s story, we have a picture of a guy who is definitely unscrupulous. This is a person that has been wasting (or even worse – embezzling) His Masters goods. Reports of this get back, he is found out, and the master now says – I am coming to audit you, prepare your books and get ready to give an account of your activities. BTW, you are also fired – this will be your last act in my service!
Well this person had it really good for a long time, and now the ax has finally dropped. What is he to do? It is interesting (and really funny) to note that options for earning money HONESTLY (working, begging) are considered, and then REJECTED by him ?.
How to continue the gravy train?
Our man comes up with a brilliant idea …. He is going to give all the suppliers of his master an early Christmas bonus, with his master’s money! He calls all the debtors, looks at their bills, and then tells them to write new and increased (false) ones, which he will approve. That way, once he is out of a job, these people will still owe him considerable gratitude for what he has done for them, and will continue to support him in some shape or fashion.
The master does NOT approve of this idea either, but he does appreciate the cunning of the servant!
KEY MESSAGE: ….????
The heart of the parable is in these sentences. ““He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?”
The parable is not about the cleverness of the steward. The parable is about the EXPECTATIONS of the master!
None of what we have and enjoy is truly ours. Pieces of land may have the owners deed recorded in a registry office somewhere, but Nature itself does not recognize any owners or heirs (trees don’t grow fruits with their owner’s name on it … for example), oxygen is not stamped with the person who is going to breathe it. All of Creation is God’s, He had given us dominion (which we lost to the enemy), but now through Christ, we have it back again!
Nevertheless, this is not our property, it is His!
Our life, and resources, are the treasure and property of God who gave them to us. He expects a return on His investment (good), he does not expect a loss (bad – as in the parable of the Talents) or to be stolen from (this parable)!
And the way God looks at hearts is so amazing. If you steal pennies from the change jar at work, you will probably graduate to robbing your employer at some point. If you are habitually late for family engagements, you will also be late for critical company meetings and appointments. If you can’t be bothered to help your own family, friends, and neighbors around you – you will treat a “mission trip” as an extended vacation. It’s a principle that has great practical application in dealing with/understanding people!
And here is the kicker. “If ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?” Apparently, there is something that is eternal and awesome which is ours, but we don’t have yet! (eternal Life/Rewards/ our eternal assignment). If we have not been careful with the Lords or others valuables – can He trust us with our own personal and forever eternal life and His power and authority?
KEY MESSAGE:
The Lord expects smart stewardship – because that has a direct bearing on our eternal assignments.
Well, you may ask, what about the command – “Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.”
So we ask you in turn – WWASSUTTM?? (What would a smart steward understand this to mean?)
This is so unique we are going to all caps it :
Yeshua says “INVEST YOUR MONEY WISELY, SO THAT WHEN YOU DIE, YOU GET THOSE OFFICES RESERVED FOR THE SMART ONES”.
Unrighteous mammon doesn’t mean that money is dirty. It means that the pursuit and acquisition of money is accompanied by moral compromises that are part and parcel of the process. But, even this dirty money, can be invested to yield returns in the cause of God.
It can be 2 cents or 2 billion dollars. At God scale – it doesn’t matter. If you are “penny wise” you are also “pound wise”. Yes we need money to live, eat, work, play – all of that. God does not begrudge you your NEEDS - He is interested in what you do with the SURPLUS. Does it go back into feeding yourself, or is there even some of it that finds its way into the world to help someone? God will NEVER ask you to feed someone when you have no food on your table – unless He Himself provides it!
In the world to come, wouldn’t you agree it is perfectly fair for God to give you your assignment based on how you have dealt with the truth revealed to you during your life? How you have managed your time, your body, your finances, your relationships?
“for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.” Having an insight into the plan, purpose, and providence of God does not confer an advantage when it comes to running a rat race. Only rats win in the earthly rat race …. But we are running a different one … and we are not to be numbered or confused with those caught up in the race for significance or power.
We are running to be approved of God, workmen that do not need to be ashamed, workmen that rightly divide the word of truth and apply it to their lives. Those are the SMART people He is looking for. If you don’t think you are SMART – “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” – James 1:5. God will give us that too! All we have to do is ASK!!!
God not only gives us resources to manage, He gives us resources to manage our resources! Let us pray to use whatever gifts, talents, abilities, resources, He has given us, to glorify Him in our corner of the world!
Hallelujah!