As the second of three parables in a row that deal with money and the importance of how it is handled, Jesus told the Parable of the Shrewd Manager in Luke 16 to illustrate mankind’s duty to be a good steward of the blessings it receives.
The Revs. Aubrey Jones and Kyle Rodgers say the parable is perplexing because Jesus might appear to commend the dishonest manager, who is being fired, for his shrewdness in settling the debts that are owed to his master.
In Luke 16:9 Jesus says, “I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves so that when it is gone you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.”
“It is an odd parable,” said the Rev. Jones, pastor of Chapel Hill Baptist Church. “Just reading through it Jesus seems almost to commend the dishonest servant, who is unrepentant, for cutting deals, but where he is going with it at the end of the day is that we should be good stewards of what God gives us and just like the shrewd manager use those resources to secure an eternal place for ourselves down the road.”
Jones said a key verse follows, saying, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.”
He noted that the Parable of the Shrewd Manager comes just after the Parable of the Prodigal Son, who wasted his inheritance in wild living, and before the Story of the Rich Man and Lazarus, who was impoverished in life but greatly comforted in Heaven while the rich man from whom he had begged was tormented in Hell.
“This doesn’t mean wealth or money are evil, but when we allow money to be our master it is almost impossible to serve God,” Jones said. “God has blessed us with so much that we must remember to be good stewards of what he blesses us with because one day we will have to give an account for what we did with it.
“Are we using our blessings in a way that honors him or are we just hoarding them for ourselves? Time and education don’t necessarily make Jesus’ parables easier to understand. A lot of times we have to let the Holy Spirit lead us.”
The Rev. Rodgers, pastor of St. Andrew Cumberland Presbyterian Church, noted that the Parable of the Shrewd Manager comes between parables that are much easier to understand about the Prodigal Son and Lazarus and the Rich Man.
“What an incredible writer Luke was,” Rodgers said. “If you look at the Gospel of Luke and Acts alone, he wrote almost as much as Paul. He never met Jesus face to face, so he learned from Paul.
“His passion was to tell the story of Jesus with great accuracy. The Prodigal Son was repentant, but I see no repentance in this dishonest manager. Dishonesty from a financial standpoint requires a repentant heart for forgiveness, but he is just scurrying to find another job. He finally gets out of that lethargic position and gets busy doing the job of managing his master’s money.”
Rodgers said the manager’s behavior illustrates Jesus’ teaching that a man cannot serve both God and money “because you will honor one and neglect the other.
“He was serving a different master than the one who had hired him and it caught up with him,” he said. “The world is filled with talented people who don’t do their jobs well. Money can be deceptive, but eventually you will give an account.
“There is the surprise commendation by Jesus in Verse 8 with the Greek word for ‘shrewd’ meaning ‘prudent’ or ‘wise.’ That of itself was commendable.”
Rodgers said God has the ability to create order from disorder.
“It’s always good to get back on your feet and use your talents and gifts to do the job well,” he said. “To me being faithful to God is an issue of integrity. Honesty and integrity are of the utmost importance.”
