Parable of the Shrewd Manager

This lesson is a companion to the word of encouragement posted earlier today. God bless, Helen In Luke 16:1-13 we read a parable my Bible calls the “Shrewd Manager.” It is about a steward placed in charge of his master’s possessions. This manager “wasted” the possessions, and so was called into account by his master. Before losing his job the manger decided to act wisely so that “people will welcome me into their houses.” If we view this parable as being about God (the master) and his servants (the steward/manager) we might stumble across the concept that people can owe a debt to God. But consider that God entrusts us with gifts and a calling, which He expects us to use for His glory. There are other parables that speak to this concept as well. We as God’s servants, then, incur debt towards God if we do not use His gifts for his glory. In this parable we see that the manager used the gifts and his calling to benefit himself. Though he was entrusted with the ability to impart gifts, he never called men to use them. We in like manner can use our gifts and ministries to benefit our positions. There is great temptation to use position and fame to exalt ourselves and gain popularity and monies. One insight we have about the heart of the manager in this parable is that he wanted to be received by other men. He not only sought benefit from serving God, but in the coming future when he would be on his own, wanted the acceptance of men. He could conceivably continue to minister, without the “possessions” of His master. The manger wanted to create an entrance into the hearts, homes and ministries of by doing the right things for the wrong reasons. He should have been encouraging his fellow servants to serve God with their gifts all along. However, it did not bother the manger that servants were incurring debt towards God, just as he was. The principle is that, when allow sin to live in our hearts, it may be a relief to see others who likewise allow sin to live in their hearts. Yet we see by the manger’s delayed obedience that the other servants could have been brought to repentance earlier if he had encouraged them to use their gifts for God’s purposes. God knows the good we can do in our faithfulness to His purposes. But if we fail to encourage our brethren to do good, and if we enjoy the benefits of fame and fortune by keeping our ministries acceptable before men, we will ultimately lose our reward. All we do is “wasted” efforts. If we feign righteousness by encouraging our brethren in order to create friendships, even if those same brethren receive us into their ministries, God will not receive us. He knows that, “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. . . . No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or her will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (Lk 16:10-13) The ones who have been entrusted with the management positions in God’s Church are in the position to encourage all the members of God’s Body, his servants, to use their gifts for His glory. Let us be found doing so today, not looking at our own ministries, but as stewards of God’s riches. Amen.