EXPLOIT YOUR FRIENDS

Luke 16:1-12

Be wise with resources and opportunities

At first glance, Luke 16 seems to deal primarily with economic issues, such as wealth and poverty.  However, even economic issues are spiritual issues at their core.  How a person handles his or her wealth ultimately reveals if their master is God or money.

In this passage the characters are all wicked—the steward and the man whose possessions he manages are both unsavory characters. This alerts us to the fact that Jesus is not exhorting us to emulate the behavior of the characters.

The parable begins with a rich man calling his manager before him to inform him that he will be relieving him of his duties for mismanaging his master’s resources. The steward had authority over the master’s resources and could transact business in his name. This requires the utmost level of trust. 


The master is probably not aware of steward’s dishonesty. He is being released for apparent mismanagement, not actual mismanagement. This explains why the manager is able to conduct a few more transactions and why he is not immediately arrested for crime.

The manager, realizing that he will soon be without a job, commits some actual mismanagement, yet shrewd, deals behind his master’s back.  He reduces the debt owed by several of the master’s debtors in exchange for shelter when he is eventually fired. When the master becomes aware of this he commends him for his “shrewdness.”  "Awkward!"  

In explaining the application Jesus begins by pointing out that the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the sons of light.  Jesus is drawing a contrast between the “sons of the world” (i.e., unbelievers) and the “sons of light” (believers). Unbelievers are wiser in the things of this world than are believers.

The unjust manager, once he knew he was about to be fired, maneuvered to cheat his master in favor of himself. He made friends of his master’s debtors who would then be likely to help him once he lost his job.

In verse 9 Jesus is encouraging His followers to be able to make use of their worldly wealth in making friends of spiritual people so that when the worldly wealth fails, the spiritual friends will be able to help them.

So, the principle that Jesus is trying to convey is one of a just steward rather than an unjust one. The unjust steward saw his master’s resources as a means for his own personal enjoyment and advancement. Conversely, Jesus wants His followers to be just, righteous stewards, and to be generous with our wealth and use it for the benefit of others and the glory of God.

The climax of Jesus’ application is verse 13: “No servant can serve two masters, for 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 God and money.” 

Remember last week's lesson pointing out that the Greek word for hate is not one of "absolutes" as we use the word today, but rather one of degrees – If you try to serve two masters you will always love one a little less than the other.  And remember what the first commandment says?  "Have no gods other than Me."  Only God and his directions should be our master.  Any other substitution violates the first commandment and makes us more akin to the dishonest manager.