Today’s Scripture passage from the Gospel of Luke is the Parable of the Unjust Steward, a sometimes puzzling parable to understand. At first glance it might seem that the parable is commending a crooked and cheating employee. Would Jesus actually say something like that? Let’s look into this rather enigmatic passage from Luke.
The parable that Jesus told his disciples was about the steward in a rich man’s household. A steward was the chief of a household, the household manager. He would manager his master’s provisions and resources. When the wealthy man found out that his steward was squandering his money and household supplies he fired him (vs. 1-2). The steward, hearing about the loss of his job, is concerned about what will happen to him now. Obviously he hasn’t been too good with his own finances either, as he doesn’t seem to have savings to carry him over until he could find another position. The steward quickly came up with a clever but very dishonest way to provide for himself for the future. He used his cunning ingenuity to make sure his wastefulness and dishonesty will not leave him friendless and unprovided for in the future. The steward arranged to give large discounts to his master’s debtors (vs. 5-7). By reducing their debts the steward gained their indebtedness to himself. Thus they were obligated to take him in when he was put out.
So how did the master react when he found out what his dishonest former steward did? Outwitted, the master applauded the steward’s cunning (vs. 8). His admiration for this former employee’s criminal activity showed that he, too, was criminally inclined. Unbelievers often admire criminals, the unjust, unscrupulous, and the corrupt. We often see this in Hollywood movies and TV shows, when they make “heroes” out of criminal characters. Jesus commented here that most unbelievers are wiser in the ways of the world than some believers are towards the things of God. This steward used his master’s money to buy earthly friends. Believers should use their Master’s (God’s) resources to gain friends for eternity, meaning that we need to invest in bringing the Gospel to others in order to bring sinners to salvation (vs. 9).
Some people have mistakenly believed that Jesus was commending this type of dishonest behavior, which is not true, as that would go contrary to everything that He continually taught. Jesus only used the steward as an illustration to show that the children of this evil world system are shrewd enough to provide for themselves against coming evil. Believers should be more shrewd concerning eternal matters.
Jesus proceeded to give a teaching about money and our attitude, use of, and desire for riches (vs. 10-13). The Pharisees believed that earthly riches signified divine blessings. They felt rich people were God’s favorites. However, Jesus denounced man’s love and devotion to wealth and money (vs. 13). Money can easily take the place of God in our life. Money is a hard and deceptive master. It promises power and control, but doesn’t always deliver. It cannot provide health, happiness, or eternal life.
Faithfulness in small assignments for the Lord qualifies us to serve in greater ways (vs. 10). If we are not trustworthy with our money here on earth, regardless of how much or little we have, we will be unfit to handle the riches of God. We must not let our integrity slip in small matters. Money is a good test of our faithfulness to Christ. We should use our resources wisely because they belong to God and not to us. Money can be used for good or evil. It has power, so we must use it carefully and thoughtfully. As believers, God wants us to use our material resources to help spread His Kingdom.
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