Jesus and
the Story of the Shrewd Manager
[Luke
chapter 16, verses 1-15]
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Last
week when we left off at the end of chapter 15 of Luke's gospel, we
concluded the story of the wayward son (or “prodigal son” with
due respect to my King James readers) with my account of the triple
meaning of that story Jesus told. Don't forget how I applied that as
we read and shared comments about these meanings Jesus deliberately
inserted for our enrichment. Only when we discover these hidden
things of God do we begin to grasp the enormous scope of the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit! So today as we move on to chapter 16,
we find ourselves at another time and place, although the Bible
doesn't specify either one. So let's begin at verse 1 of Luke 16.
“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's this I hear about you? Give an account of your management,
because you cannot be my manager any longer.' The manager said to
himself, 'What shall I do now? 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 of
his master's debtors. He asked the first debtor, 'How much do you owe
my master?' 'Eight hundred gallons of olive oil', he replied. The
manager told him, 'Take your bill and sit down quickly, and make it
four hundred.' Then he asked the second, 'How much do you owe?' 'A
thousand bushels of wheat', he replied. He told him, 'Take you 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 home into
eternal dwellings.'” (Luke 16, verses 1-9)
It
is necessary to read in between the lines here in order to catch the
first wave of this teaching of our Lord and Savior. The story is
about a shrewd manager, but before that it is a tale of
accountability and being responsible. In the same way as the
manager's lackadaisical approach to his work ultimately cost him his
job, so it is with our own service to Christ. The word of the
manager's egregious mismanagement spread because it was undoubtedly
affecting the morale of the workers to the point that they went over
the manager's head and complained to the master, or perhaps one of
his senior lieutenant's. When the master puts him on notice that he
is being terminated, this manager in Jesus' story decides to get more
than a little creative by doing favors for his master's creditors.
Had the manager done that today he would have been charged with
fraud, theft or both! That just goes to show us all how much times
have changed. Today the laws are 100% in favor of the rich, which
explains why the US has the world's largest prison population.
But
look at what Jesus taught instead! “The master commended the
dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly.” There was an
old saying, “turnabout's fair play” that today can be restated
as, “What goes around comes around”. This, I'm very sure, is
exactly what our Lord and Savior was referring to! Back in those days
there was no unemployment or even a 'job market' as we understand it.
So by making sure he had a place to go after he turned in his final
account – together with his resignation, if there was such a thing
back then – the manager acted shrewdly by Jesus' standards. This
just goes to show you how far off course today's world actually is
compared to the superlative teachings and self-sacrifice of Jesus
Christ, the Son of God!
“For
the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own
kind than are the people of the light.” Evidently Jesus was
telling his apostles they needed to be more shrewd in their dealings
with other people, presumably to become more effective ministers to
others and better servants to Christ. Jesus knew that his words would
one day be in print and on the Web, so this lesson is clearly
intended for ourselves as well as the apostles. We, you see, are the
“people of the light”, and Jesus is admonishing us to become very
shrewd individuals so we too can be better servants. “I tell
you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when
it is gone, you will be welcomed home into eternal dwellings.”
Here is yet another warning from our Lord that those who hoard wealth
and material goods here on earth will have nothing left for eternity.
Many people who do this very thing do so because they don't believe
there is an eternity, a life after death that is totally unlike
anything they have ever experienced. So getting rich is not shrewd
like the world thinks. Jesus defines shrewdness as spreading the
wealth around instead of keeping it all to ourselves as so many are
prone to do. Selfish people are, then, by definition, small minded
individuals. I can't imagine going through life like that! Having
said that, let's move on to the 2nd part of our study
starting at verse 10.
“'Whoever
can be trusted with very little can be trusted with much, and whoever
is dishonest with very little will be dishonest with very much. So if
you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will
trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with
someone else's property, who will give you property of your own? No
servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love
the other, or he will be devoted to the one but despise the other.
You cannot serve both God and Money.' The Pharisees, who loved money,
heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them, 'You are
the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows
your hearts. What is highly valued by men is detestable in God's
sight.'” (Luke 16, verses 10-15)
Let's
examine closely what our Lord and Redeemer was trying to say right
here. Had the manager who was losing his job simply quit and walked
away, headed towards an uncertain future, that would have been
considered foolish or maybe even stupid in Jesus' time. Then he would
have truly been considered an untrustworthy individual, ending his
career. But since he curried favor with his master's creditors just
prior to his dismissal, the manager's now-former master sent him away
but with a good recommendation. He still lost his job, but his
reputation was intact. These facts about the teachings of Christ are
downplayed today because this story empowers employees to seek
compensation from their soon-to-be former bosses in the event of
their dismissal, which in today's business climate can happen for no
reason at all. Obviously today's huge multinational corporations, the
Bilderbergers and their armies of lobbyists don't want to hear this
kind of talk at all since that would be viewed as a potential threat.
“No
servant can serve two masters... You cannot serve both God and
Money.” Either materialism or
spirituality will be your master and your motivator. Either you will
only be devoted to that which is seen, touched and experienced in the
present tense, or you will be focused solely on preparing yourself
for the future tense, which is eternal. Devotion to God through
Christ and devotion to self, often at the exclusion of all others,
are mutually exclusive of one another. Do you drive a new car, a used
one, or do you take the bus? Do you wear the latest styles or only
what you can afford, even if it means checking out thrift stores? Do
you live in a big fancy house or just rent or lease? You get the
idea, people, you can't have it both ways. Those of you who are not
yet doing these things need to change your ways! “The
Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at
Jesus.” Doesn't this remind
you of certain kinds of people? Like the 'elitists' as the main
stream press calls them, or 'rich arrogant snobs' as I call them?
They are the ones who put profits before people, when it's supposed
to be the other way around. They're the ones who out-sourced your
jobs, ending the careers of many prematurely. They're the ones who
buried you, your kids or your grand-kids under a mountain of student
loan debt, whose interest accrues faster than the principal can be
repaid. They're also the ones who are turning America's classrooms
into exercises in idiocy. These people must be stopped no matter what
the cost! What America needs is a revolution, but that's a topic for
another discussion.
“God
knows your hearts. What is highly valued by men is detestable in
God's sight.” The people who
are admired by the world for amassing great wealth are the ones most
despised by God. On the other hand, I don't think this necessarily
means the God hates all rich people either. The apostle Luke was a
doctor prior to becoming Christ's disciple. Doctors are generally
fairly prosperous people, and some get very wealthy. So clearly being
destitute is not a prerequisite for being a follower of Jesus, just
so everyone is clear about that. Later in this series of studies when
we get into the Book of Acts, I will be better able to go into detail
about that. But for now, understand that those the world despises
most are the ones held in the highest esteem by God, and those held
in high esteem by the world are the ones God hates, although there
can be exceptions in both cases. Have you ever noticed as you live
your lives for Christ that some days it seems like the whole world is
against you? Also, have you noticed that oftentimes those who the
world admires and fawns upon, from the greatest box office phenomenon
to the richest rock star or pro athlete, turn out to be jerks in
person? What you are seeing in that case is the teachings of Christ
coming to life, confirming everything he ever said or taught. For the
next week, I want everyone to practice making the teachings of Christ
come to life in whatever way suits you best. Carrying ourselves so
that others can see Jesus' living within us is a far more powerful
witness for Christ than the most powerful and anointed sermon or
evangelistic crusade ever could. So let's make it a point to live our
lives this way every day this week until it becomes a habit. And next
week we'll examine part 2 of Luke chapter 16.
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