Luke 16:1-9 (NIV) Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’
“The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg–I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’
“So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
“‘Eight hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied.
“The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred.’
“Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’
“‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied.
“He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’
“The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.”
Many Christians are troubled when they read this parable, because Jesus almost seems to be commending this dishonest steward for his dishonest actions. But the truth is much simpler and easier to grasp.
In the parable, the steward realizes that he is going to lose his job, so he uses his master’s resources and influence (dishonestly) to win friends among his master’s debtors. His idea is that, if he treats them very well, they will be positively disposed toward him, and could quite possibly offer him a position when his master boots him off of the payroll in the very near future.
Jesus’ point is not that this man should be praised for his dishonesty, or that he is a good role model for the people of the kingdom. He is simply pointing to the fact that the people of the world tend to be more resourceful (shrewd) than the people of the kingdom. The most successful of them tend to be focused on their goals, and always look to see how they can use the resources that they have access to in order to get to them.
The people of the kingdom, on the other hand, too often take a very relaxed attitude toward the goals of the kingdom. They wait for God to act, to do all of the necessary work, and if things don’t work out, they figure that it wasn’t God’s will after all. They frequently lack the motivation, or push, that worldly people have, and so frequently lose ground, instead of pushing powerfully forward, motivated strongly by the spiritual needs all around them, and God’s command to go and make disicples of all nations.
This was strongly illustrated by Jesus in Matthew 11:12, when He pointed out that the kingdom of God had been forcefully advancing, and forceful men had been seizing control of it. The point was that the kingdom and its vital, soul-saving work is no place for timid, non-resourceful people. Instead, Jesus is calling the people of the kingdom to be shrewd, resourceful, and so passionate about what God is doing in the world, that we use every resource that He provides us fully, forcefully, and ethically, to advance His agenda.
Father, thank You for this reminder. Your work is vital, and time is of the essence, because people are dying every day without knowing Jesus, heading into an eternity separated from You and the life that you sent Jesus to bring us. Help us, help me, to be passionate about Your work and Your plan, shrewd and resourceful, so that I can help move Your agenda forcefully forward. Amen.