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.
In verses 1-13, we find the parable of the unjust servant. The upshot of this parable is instruction for Jesus’ disciples to use money in a way that is benevolent toward others. The proper use of wealth is the issue. This parable is not found in the other gospels.
16:1
He also said to His disciples:
Jesus shifted from speaking to religious leaders to addressing His disciples.
“There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting [squandering] his goods.
The rich man’s steward or manager of an estate squandered his wealth. He managed wealth not his own.
16:2
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.’
The rich man fired the steward for mismanagement or squandering his wealth. However, he allowed the steward to remain so he could make a final accounting as to what had happened.
16:3
“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.
The steward deemed he could not do physical labor. He thought he could not dig ditches by hand, and he was too ashamed to beg for money. His future was bleak.
16:4
I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.’
The steward devised a plan to ingratiate himself with his employer’s debtors by cutting the interest on their debts. His approach was to call on his master’s debtors by visiting their homes to contact them personally.
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?’
The steward called each of his master’s debtors and asked how much they owed him.
16:6
And he said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ So he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’
The first debtor owed 100 measures of oil to the master, which was almost 900 gallons of olive oil. The steward cut the debtor’s oil debt in half, creating a loss for the master. This action put the debtor under an obligation to the steward.
16:7
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.’
The steward cut the wheat debt from 100 measures or 1000 bushels of wheat to 80, which was a loss to the master of 20%.
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.
The rich man praised the dishonest steward for his wisdom in handling the debtors. The conclusion is often that the world is shrewder than believers. The Greek word for “shrewdly” can convey the idea of prudently. The steward used wisdom to deal with the debtors. In any case, Jesus did not endorse what the manager did. The owner did not commend the steward for being moral but for being shrewd. Wisdom is necessary in handling God’s riches.
Jesus did not commend the steward for his dishonesty with his master but for his wise use of the opportunity set before him. Businessmen are wise in seizing opportunities to make money before others do. Jesus did not commend him for his dishonesty but for taking resolute action on the issue. Light is a metaphor for a believer. The “sons of light” refers to those who believe in God. Believers are to use the same wise approach as businessmen do in handling their money.
PRINCIPLE:
Believers need to make the best use of their resources for the kingdom.
APPLICATION:
Christians should live with eternal values in view. Accountability to God depends not on the amount God entrusts to us but on how responsibly we handle it. We do not use our stewardship dishonestly but shrewdly. God will not evaluate us because of what we kept but because of what we gave away. We will not take what we keep for ourselves to heaven.
A believer as a steward does not own his wealth but is a manager of God’s wealth for Him. God entrusts His money to His followers. He entrusts us with it until eternity. The right use of God ‘s resources is for eternal values.
God drafted us into His kingdom to play in the game, not to keep the score.
