Luke 16: The Parable of the Shrewd Manager
“Jesus also said to His disciples, “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. So he called him in to ask, ‘What is this I hear about you? Turn in an account of your management, for you cannot be manager any longer.’
The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, now that my master is taking away my position? I am too weak to dig and too ashamed to beg. I know what I will do, so that after my removal from management, people will welcome me into their homes…’
And he called in each one of his master’s debtors. ‘How much do you owe my master?’ he asked the first.
‘A hundred measures of olive oil,’ he answered.
‘Take your bill,’ said the manager. ‘Sit down quickly, and write fifty.’
Then he asked another, ‘And how much do you owe?’
‘A hundred measures of wheat,’ he replied.
‘Take your bill and write eighty,’ he told him.
The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the sons of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the sons of light. I tell you, use worldly wealth to make friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, they will welcome you into eternal dwellings.
Whoever is faithful with very little will also be faithful with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. If, then, you have not been faithful with worldly wealth, who will entrust you with true riches? And if you have not been faithful with the belongings of another, who will give you belongings of your own?
No servant can serve two masters. 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 both God and money.”
At first, this story seems crazy. Why is Jesus praising a manager who is obviously a crook? While Jesus has praised faithful servants, you would think that this slippery character is the last person Jesus would hold up as a good example.
This guy is already in hot water with his boss for wasting his boss’s possessions. After systematically stealing for years, now those crimes have caught up with him. Facing dismissal, this man is busy assuring himself of a spot somewhere else by ingratiating himself with his boss’s creditors by slyly reducing their outstanding debts.
Jesus is telling this story with tongue in cheek, deliberately praising a crook to shock his audience into thinking seriously. As Jesus is describing this man, lots of people in the audience are nodding, thinking of similar situations they have witnessed. Obviously, once this man leaves his current position, only another crook will employ him, but he’s got to nail down a position someplace.
What are the points of this story? “Whoever is faithful with very little will also be faithful with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. If, then, you have not been faithful with worldly wealth, who will entrust you with true riches? And if you have not been faithful with the belongings of another, who will give you belongings of your own?” The “true riches” Jesus is referring to are heavenly, not earthly. Jesus wants his audience to realize that they cannot simply live heedlessly, concentrating only on earthly goals. Faithfulness is always important, whether on the job or in following God.
While the crooked manager in the story is trying to assure himself of a secure position for the remainder of his life, Jesus wants his listeners to examine themselves. Are these people simply trying to get as much money as possible or do they realize that they need to be serving God? Jesus warns his listeners that they cannot serve both God and money.
What should we learn from this story? Money is important; we all need to support our families and ourselves. But when money becomes our main goal, we can ignore everything else in our pursuit of riches. Several years ago, the news media interviewed an Asian billionaire. This man assured his interviewers that he had every intention of initiating charitable giving eventually… but he needed more wealth before taking that step. But the billionaire couldn’t tell how much more he would need to feel free to act charitably. Obviously, no amount of wealth would ever satisfy this poor man!
How can we serve God? We should pray and study His Word, the Bible. We can count on God advising us. Psalm 32:8 tells us, “I will teach you and instruct you in the way you should go. I will guide you with My eye upon you.” God does not expect us to do it all ourselves, for He stands ever-ready to assist us.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to serve you and not money. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus Amen
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