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RR Luke 16:1-13

"The Shrewd Steward"

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16:1  He also said to His disciples: "There was a certain rich
man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that
this man was wasting his goods.

2  "So he called him and said to him, 'What is this I hear about
you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer
be steward.'

3  "Then the steward said within himself, 'What shall I do? For
my master is taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig;
I am ashamed to beg.

4  'I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the
stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.'

5  "So he called every one of his master's debtors to him, and
said to the first, 'How much do you owe my master?'

6  "And he said, 'A hundred measures of oil.' So 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?' So he
said, 'A hundred measures of wheat.' And he said to him, 'Take
your bill, and write eighty.'

8  "So the master commended the unjust steward because he had
dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in
their generation than the sons of light.

9  "And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous
mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an
everlasting home.

10  "He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in
much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in
much.

11  "Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous
mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?

12  "And if you have not been faithful in what is another man's,
who will give you what 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 loyal to the one
and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."

This is a parable that the more you look at it, the less that
you seem to be able to understand it.  Just about the time you
think you have gotten an understanding of it, it seems that
something complicates it.

At first reading it would appear to be this:  A steward of an
estate is accused of mismanagement.  To protect himself and
provide for his own future, he engages in even more fraud.  The
owner of the estate congratulates him on his shrewdness.

The "moral" that Jesus gives in response to this parable is
almost as puzzling, and some of the responses seem not to have a
lot to do with the parable.

So we must look carefully at this parable to get to the meaning.

In the parables in Luke 15, Jesus has spoken to the Scribes and
Pharisees.  As we look at this parable in Luke 16, we find that
it is specifically stated that this parable was given to the
disciples.  Now we find in verse 14 that the Pharisees were
listening to the parable, and I am sure that Jesus wanted them
to hear what he was saying also.  

But lets keep in mind that this parable was spoken to the
disciples.

Now let us look at the content of the parable.

There is a rich man who has a steward.  This was not an uncommon
situation in the time of Christ.  Men who had vast wealth needed
people to help them manage their estates.  Someone was needed to
sell the produce, purchase supplies, care for the servants, and
oversee the maintenance of the whole estate.  This was even more
necessary when the rich man had more than one property to be
cared for.  

The steward had almost total discretion in the management of the
property.  When he made a decision it was if the owner had made
that decision.

However, having a position of steward made you responsible for
the decisions that you made.  And someone approaches the rich
man and makes accusations against the steward.  

The accusation is rather general; the steward is wasting the
master's goods.  No accusation of stealing, lying, cheating. 
Just wasting the master's goods.  I believe as I read the
parable that he was not begin accused of fraud.  If that were
the case, he would have been fired immediately, rather than
given more time to continue his larceny.

The owner gives the steward some time to bring all of the
business up to date.  There were probably contracts out that the
master had no knowledge of.  There were agreements that the
steward had made that needed to be recorded.  Everything in the
estate was to be brought up to date so that a new steward would
know just where to begin.

As I imagine it, the steward probably felt somewhat like any
professional today might feel when their job was threatened.  I
am too out of shape to do manual labor, and I am ashamed to get
welfare.  There was an internal conflict.  Not to mention the
matter of keeping face.

So the steward comes up with a plan.  He will make friends with
as many people as possible before his job is terminated.  

He begins to go to each of the people that owe the master
something and work out a deal with them.

Luke 16:5  "So he called every one of his master's debtors to
him, and said to the first, 'How much do you owe my master?'

6  "And he said, 'A hundred measures of oil.' So 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?' So he
said, 'A hundred measures of wheat.' And he said to him, 'Take
your bill, and write eighty.'

Now here is where it becomes important to understand where this
fits in the culture of that day. The contracts that the steward
had with the debtors were probably what was called atokos,
meaning "without interest."  

This was an interesting contract.  You will recall that the
charging of interest was prohibited when dealing with the poor
and frowned on in other situations.  To remedy this unpleasant
situation, the amount of the contract would just be increased by
a certain amount to cover what would normally be an interest
charge, though it would never be stated as having interest
applied.

On the other hand sometimes a contract was increased to cover
the steward's commission for doing business for the master. In
either case, when the steward told the debtor to write down the
amount of the contract, the master would still get all that he
was owed, and the steward would have a friend.  

If the amount that he decreased the loans by was the interest,
then a lower debt should speed up repayment.  If the amount that
he wrote down was his commission, he was losing nothing, for
when he lost his employment, all of that went out the window
anyway.

Perhaps that helps to understand what is going on with the
steward.

Jesus continues

Luke 16:8  "So the master commended the unjust steward because
he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more
shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.

Note here the steward is called unjust, not wasteful as in the
first time he is mentioned.  Also it is important that the
master did not commend him because of his honesty, or his
faithfulness, or his careful management.  The master commends
the steward because of his shrewdness.  Shrewd: keen wittedness,
cleverness, sharpness in practical affairs.

Now we have completed the easy part of the parable.  What
follows is Jesus practical application of the parable.  And it
is not easy to understand.  The one thing that is clear is this:
 Jesus is talking to His disciples on the shrewd use of earthly
possessions.  He gives 3 bits of advice to his disciples.  The
first is:

Luke 16:9  "And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by
unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you
into an everlasting home.

On the face this is saying, "Use your earthly goods to
ingratiate yourselves with people so that they can take care of
you when you fail."  The only problem with this is the
statement, "an everlasting home."  And perhaps the meaning of
this is the same as everlasting fire, which continues until it
is done.  In which case it would mean as long as you are alive.

Luke 16:10  "He who is faithful in what is least is faithful
also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust
also in much.

There is a lot less ambiguity with this verse and the following
ones.  Unfaithfulness is demonstrated not in the huge issues of
life, but in the details.  If you can't trust someone to tell
you the truth about little things, how can you trust them with
great secrets?  If a person consistently steals small things
from the employer, how can she be trusted with the bank account?

Luke 16:11  "Therefore if you have not been faithful in the
unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true
riches?

If you cannot be trusted with the material possessions of this
world, does it make sense to trust you with the affairs of the
Kingdom of God?

Luke16:12  "And if you have not been faithful in what is another
man's, who will give you what is your own?

This needs no explanation.

Luke 16:13  "No servant can serve two masters; for either he
will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal
to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and
mammon."

Now Jesus brings the argument to the bottom line.  Is your life
going to be lived in the endless pursuit of more things, more
money, more wealth, or is it going to be lived in the service of
God.

You cannot do both.  You can only have one God in your life. 
What God (god) is in your life?

Let's come back to what I see is THE KEY to this parable.  The
steward is wasting the master's goods.  Whether from sloth, or
disinterest, or fraud, he is not working in the best interest of
his master.  He is not doing what is best for the master, and
really is not doing the best for himself, as the parable
not-so-subtlely demonstrates.  If he had spent the same energy
and effort in taking care of the master's affairs all the time
as he did in taking care of himself, he would have been in good
shape.

Not in one place does Jesus hold up the steward as a prime
example of proper actions.  I don't know about you, but being
known primarily as a shrewd person is not on the top of my list
of desirable characteristics that I am seeking after, how about
you.

The obviously better way is to serve the master faithfully.  And
perhaps this is the point that is missed so many times.  

The Pharisees did not miss the point.  

Luke 16:14  Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also
heard all these things, and they derided Him.

In case you did, may I suggest a list to give your self a
checkup.

1.  Do I spend time regularly on my relationship with God?

2.  Do I handle my finances in a way that shows my concern for
God's kingdom and for his children?

3.  Do I care for my body in such a way as to keep it in good
health so that I may serve God better?

4.  What is my goal in life?  How is this demonstrated in my
actions?

5.  Am I as enthusiastic about the things of God's kingdom as I
am concerned with the kingdoms of this world?

You could probably come up with more if you spend some time on
it.  If you want to hear, God will tell you what you need to
know.

Are you willing to listen?