Parable of a Shrewd Manager (Luke 16:1-13)

Trinity 16 (19^th September 2010)

Text: Luke 16:1-13

Our Gospel lesson for this morning has a rather strange parable. It is one difficult parable to understand.  It is a parable about a dishonest manager.  He used dishonest methods to give an accounting of his company’s assets.  However, NIV entitles it as the “Parable of a Shrewd Manager”.  

Why is this parable important?   I want to tell you that there are 38 parables told by Jesus in the Gospels, and half of it dealt with handling possessions.  That tells us the importance of this issue, and therefore, we must pay attention to what this parable is telling us.  Now, this parable is about possession and trust.  You know it is important that we trust God.   But when it comes to handling God’s money, how much can God trust you?

What sort of a man was the manager in the story?  The manager in the story was a cunning and dishonest man. When he learned he was about to be fired, he became worried. He knew that he would not be able to get another job managing money, he was too old or to weak for manual labor, and too proud to beg.  As he considered his future well-being, he came up with a plan. He decided to use this last opportunity as a manager to do something for himself. He could have could have asked the debtors to pay what they owed in full, and pocketed half the money for himself.  But instead he decided to help them by reducing the debts they owed to his master, so that they would owe him favour.  And after he was out of job, these people would remember the good things he had done for them, and they would welcome him into their houses.

Why did the master commend his dishonest manager? In verse 8, Jesus says that when the master found out what the dishonest manager had done he "commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly."  I want you to understand that the master commended the manager not because of his dishonesty; rather it is his shrewdness, i.e. his prudency and wisdom in planning for his future well-being. 

What was Jesus’ intention when he told this parable to his listeners?  Jesus is not suggesting that we use dishonest business practices, but He is suggesting we can learn something from the clever way cunning people operate.  I want you to note how Jesus categorizes people: he divides them into two groups: one group - the “people of this world” and the others are what He called “people of the light.”   People of this world are those who do not have a personal relationship with God.   They are busy accumulating the things that will make them feel comfortable.  On the other hand, those of us who are “people of the light” have a personal relationship with the God. 

In spite of this, Jesus said we should learn to be a little shrewder in the ways of the world without becoming like the world.  The reason we all need a little dose of worldly wisdom is because we have to live and operate in a world filled with dishonest, crooked people.  We must not forget the warning of Jesus in Matthew 16: 10.  He said, “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.”   On one hand we hand to be shrewd, otherwise we shall be eaten like a lamb in a pack of wolves.  On the other hand, we must remain as innocent as doves.

What can we learn from the parable of the Shrewd Manager?  Remember that he was facing a deadline, so he formulated a plan, and he acted before the opportunity was gone.  We are also facing a deadline.  Do we have a creative plan to influence our world before that deadline? 

Jesus used this unusual parable about a crooked man to launch into four practical principles about handling money.  There are some Christians who teach that money is evil. But the Bible never says money is evil: it is the love of money, the craving for money that is a problem (I Timothy 6:9-10).  Money is morally neutral. It is what you do with money that determines its moral value. Money can be used to build a church, or to feed the hungry, or to educate people, or to help us to evangelize to people around the world.  Or money can be used to start illegal businesses or to commit crimes. 

First this parable teaches us that your best investment is in people that you will see in Heaven.  Jesus in verse 9 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.

The verse is not saying that we can buy our salvation or anyone else’s salvation.  But notice how the crooked manager used his discounts to influence his customers so they would receive him favorably after he lost his job.  In the same way, we should be using our money to influence people for Christ.  Obviously the best way to do that is when you give your money for God’s works – to missions and evangelism.

Jesus said one day our money will be gone, either through our own deaths, economic downturns, or foolish expenditures. So while we have an opportunity, use our money to influence people so when we are living in the eternal dwellings (heaven) there will be friends there to welcome us.

Secondly, your management of the money you have determines if God can trust you with true riches.  Jesus in verses 10 to 12 says: "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. ¹¹So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? ¹²And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own?

Jesus mentions two kinds of wealth. First, there is “worldly wealth.” That is the money God gives each of us. You must remember everything in the world belongs to God.  God gives us wealth so we can buy the basics to meet our needs – to buy food, clothing and shelter.  Also, He gives us wealth so we can enjoy things that go beyond the basic necessities.

It seems that the main reason God gives us worldly wealth is to test us. He wants to see how well we manage that kind of wealth.  In verse 11 Jesus speaks of another kind of wealth.  He calls it “true riches.”  If you are trustworthy with a little, God knows you can be trusted with a lot. If you prove to be trustworthy with worldly wealth, God can trust you with true riches.  True riches have nothing to do with money.  True riches include spiritual blessings like peace, love, security, and strength that are so valuable they can’t be bought at any price.

The question is: Do we manage God’s money wisely?  How much of what you earn is given back to God and his church?  The problem is too many of God’s people are giving to God the left-over of their monthly income, instead the first-fruit of their income.  Great many of us who can afford to give more are still giving the same amount that we gave 10 years ago.  If that is the case, how can we expect the church to grow?  If the church is not growing and not moving, it deserves to be so because people are not generous and trustworthy enough in managing God’s money.

The third lesson that we can learn is that money is a great servant but a terrible master.  Jesus says, “No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”

Jesus was teaching this parable primarily to the religious leaders, i.e. the Pharisees. The Pharisees were very much interested in accumulating money and possessions. They even taught that a person’s wealth was connected to one’s holiness or spirituality.  They felt that their desire for money did not conflict with being godly people, but Jesus pointed out they could not serve both God and money at the same time.  If our focus is on making money, then money becomes our god. On the other hand, we can love God, and He can gift us to make money, as He has done for many people.  There is nothing wrong with being wealthy, even being a millionaire or a billionaire.  But we must prove our love for God first.  We prove our love when we give our money to help other people, to God’s church, so that his Word is heard by many people.

Money is important but it is temporary.  In verse 9 Jesus said one day money will be gone, and it will.  When we die, worldly riches will cease to exist for us.  A millionaire might have made millions while he was alive, but when he died he would be like any dead person.  The Bible says, “We bring nothing into this world, and we take nothing out with us”.

So how can our riches benefit us in the long term?  . First, we must use money wisely: we need to recognize that we are managers and not the owners of money.

Second, we must use the money we have to help people. Jesus is telling us that there are only two eternal things we deal with in this world – the souls of men and women, and the Word of God.  That is where we should be investing our money, if we want to see lasting result.  We can’t take money with us when we die, but we can invest in these two things. 

Third, we must choose serving God as our highest priority. Jesus spoke about laying up treasures in heaven. He said we should invest our money in people because people have eternal souls and can go to heaven.  You can imagine when you get into heaven, there will be people greeting you – those who have been blessed by the money you have given to the Church and to mission.

The question is: Are you investing your money in ways so that when you get to heaven there will be people there to greet you because of your gifts? Will there be some people there because of how you lived, what you said, and how you gave your money?  When you are giving to God, you may not even realize how far your money is reaching with the good news.  This story is told to us today to encourage us to manage God’s resources in a way so when we arrive in heaven, there will be people there who will say, “Thank you for giving to the Lord.”