Luke 16:1-13
1 Now He was also saying to the
disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and this manager was
reported to him as squandering his possessions. 2 “And
he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an
accounting of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ 3 “The
manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the
management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig; I am ashamed to
beg. 4 ‘I know what I shall do, so that
when I am removed from the management people will welcome me into their
homes.’ 5 “And he summoned each one of his
master’s debtors, and he began saying to the first, ‘How much do you
owe my master?’ 6 “And he said, ‘A hundred measures
of oil.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write
fifty.’ 7 “Then he said to another, ‘And how
much do you owe?’ And he said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him,
‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ 8 “And
his master praised the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly; for
the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the
sons of light. 9 “And I say to you, make friends for
yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails,
they will receive you into the eternal dwellings. 10 “He
who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is
unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much. 11 “Therefore
if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous
wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you? 12 “And
if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is
another’s, who will give you that which is your own? 13 “No
servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the
other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot
serve God and wealth.”
Parables can be very instructive as well as very confusing. This parable about the unfaithful steward can
be very confusing because it seems to promote dishonesty. The key to understanding a parable is to be
careful not to infer anything from the parable that would contradict other teachings
of Scripture and to look for ways the parable illustrates other clear
teachings. This parable seems to illustrate
two basic principles that are consistently taught throughout all Scripture. Another good idea is to try to state the
overall teaching of the parable in one short phrase. I would summarize this parable as: “be
faithful in light of the future.”
PREPARE FOR THE FUTURE: The first portion of this parable
seems as if Jesus is commending dishonesty.
The unfaithful servant goes and reduces the bills of people while he
still has the authority to do so. His
rationale is that these people will then be so thankful for his “generosity”
that when he is in need, they will provide for his needs. Jesus commends the shrewdness of this steward’s
actions. It is vital to understand that
Jesus is not commending his unfaithful business practices before his
confrontation or his dishonesty afterwards.
Jesus commends the fact that the steward is concerned about and making
provisions for the future. Jesus in not
trying to teach His disciples how to mange their money or do business. He is teaching these men the importance of
living in light of eternity. Out tendency
is to live for the momentary pleasures this world has to offer. Kingdom living requires eternal perspectives. Jesus is trying to impact His audience by
showing how this very unfaithful steward was wise enough to plan for the future. If this scoundrel is wise enough to stop
living in the moment in order to provide for his future; follows of Jesus must do
the same. One day all of us will stand
before Jesus. We must do all in our
power to prepare ourselves and help others prepare for that coming judgment.
PRACTICE WHAT IS FAITHFUL: The key teaching of this parable
is to be faithful with that which is of eternal value. Money is not eternal. It is considered to be a “very little thing.”
However, our faithfulness with that
little thing of money will indicate to God how trustworthy we will be with that
which is truly important. There are
temporal things in which we can invest as well as eternal things to which we give
our attention. Our handling of the temporal
things is a good indicator of how we will handle the eternal things. None of the temporal things truly belong to
us. That which is eternal will last
forever and be ours to enjoy in heaven for all eternity. If we are faithful, we will put God’s eternal
kingdom far above our temporal comfort.
It is impossible for us to have both a love for the Lord and a love for
our own status and comfort. It is
necessary to make a choice between living for now or living for eternity. It is a waste of time and energy to pretend
that we can serve both God and money.
Following God requires an undivided attention and affection. We must be faithful with every aspect of our
lives.
APPLICATION: Don’t live for the present, live in the present
but for the future. Don’t be enamored
with money but be enamored by eternity.
Be more concerned about eternal dwellings than earthly dwellings. Be faithful with little things so God can entrust
us with big things. Recognize God’s
ownership of all things, both in the hear and now as well as for eternity.
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