The Most Baffling Parable

Luke 16:8 – The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light.

I vividly remember my first reading through the Bible at age eighteen. By the time I came to Luke’s Gospel, I had fully committed my life to Christ and begun a habit of daily prayer and Bible reading.

Every day as I read the scriptures I received a profound new insight into who Jesus was and how he wanted me to live. Some stories I had heard as a child had new meaning as I understood they actually applied to me. Nearly all of Jesus’ teaching made real sense, until I came to the Parable of the Unrighteous Steward. This one I did not understand. Oh, I understood the story line: A manager had been caught ripping off his boss. In order to have a place to land after his firing, he went to all those who owed his boss money and reduced the amount they owed in his boss’ books. I understood that much. What I could not get was his boss’ response when he learned what the servant had done: He “praised” (“commended” in the ESV above) him for his shrewdness. In reality, the wicked manager just robbed his boss again, and the boss commended him for it? This made no sense. Was Jesus encouraging us to embezzle at our workplaces? That does not sound like Jesus.

A read through the context and the teaching that follows shows this is not the case. In verse 11, Jesus asks, “If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?” Obviously, we are not called to unfaithfulness. Why then does Luke (who is the only Gospel writer to do so) take the time and ink to include this parable? I believe the key to understanding the application of this parable is to recognize that the “unrighteous mammon” – better known to us as worldly wealth - has no eternal value in its own right. Yet wealth is one of the greatest tests we will ever face. We need to be faithful but for the right reasons and in the right ways. Verse 9 seems to be the key: make friends with your wealth. Be generous. Do not spend it all on yourself. In verse 9 Jesus clearly says that wealth will run out one day. When taken with the verses that follow, Jesus is asking us to get our hearts and minds off of a focus on wealth but to be faithful and generous in how we use it so we can be received for a great reward in heaven. Be shrewd for a long term investment.