Parable of the Shrewd Manager

Study of Luke 16:1-13

Now He was also saying to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and this manager was reported to him as squandering his possessions. And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an accounting of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig; I am ashamed to beg. I know what I shall do, so that when I am removed from the management people will welcome me into their homes.’ 

And he summoned each one of his master’s debtors, and he began saying to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ And he said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ And he said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ And his master praised the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of light. 

And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they will receive you into the eternal dwellings.  “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much. 

Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you? And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

— Luke 16:1-13

Transitioning from a flurry of evangelistic parables for the self-righteous Jews, Jesus now turned to teach His disciples about stewardship through a parable commonly called unjust steward or shrewd manager because the main character is both unjust and shrewd. I prefer to call it parable of the shrewd manager because that's what Jesus wants his disciples to become, not an unjust steward.

A steward is someone who manages the estate of his master. He has authority to make decisions regarding his master's possessions and businesses. In the story a whistleblower tipped off to the rich master that his steward is wasting his wealth. The master now wants to audit his prodigal manager and told him to give a final report and be relieved of his duties.

Apparently the accusation is true as the manager has no plan of defending himself. He is sure to lose his job and he's contemplating what job will he take next. Being used to a very comfortable white collar job, he is too weak to do manual labor. Coming from an affluent lifestyle, it's shameful for him to stoop that low to beg (although he is not ashamed to steal).

Then a eureka moment happened. 'I know what I shall do, so that when I am removed from the management people will welcome me into their homes.’ His time is short so he did not delay.

"And he summoned each one of his master’s debtors, and he began saying to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ And he said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ And he said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’"

We get a sampling of his master's collectibles and they are very large amounts of wealth. Clearly the debtors are big time businessmen as well.

Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible calculates

"Nine hundred gallons of olive oil. That is, more than 3,000 liters; the fruit of some 150 olive trees.  

A thousand bushels of wheat. That is, about 30 tons (27 metric tons); the harvest of some 100 acres (40 hectares). Scholars suggest that he forgives about 500 denarii in each case (the olive oil in v. 6 was worth about 1,000 denarii, and the wheat in v. 7 was worth about 2,500)."

500 denarii is about one and a half year worth of daily wage. And that's just two of the debtors, we don't know how many there are. But if that's the kind of amount that he discounts, then those people would easily become his friends as they are indebted to him.

The scandal of the story is that even though he got embezzled a substantial amount of wealth, the master praised the manager for his shrewdness. Of course the master isn't happy for his losses, he's going to fire his manager because of that. He is praising the manager for his forward thinking. He was able to devise a wicked but clever plan to insure his future. The master won't be able to revoke what the manager has done anymore to protect his honor and not stain his reputation that will make him lose some deals and clients.

The biggest surprise is Jesus' next comment that agrees with the master in praising the manager's prudence, 'for the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of light.'

Like the master, Jesus is not praising the manager's dishonesty, wastefulness, and wicked scheming. Jesus is making a point that unbelievers are wiser in dealing with their realm, the kingdom of darkness, than His disciples in their own realm, the kingdom of light. Worldly people excel in amassing earthly treasures than Christians do in storing up treasures in heaven. Unregenerate men are better in collecting friends they can use to help them achieve their ambitions than true believers in gaining friends to share eternity with.

So Jesus exhorted His disciples, "I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they will receive you into the eternal dwellings." 

Jesus called it wealth of unrighteousness because it is commonly used for unrighteousness. Money has a strong tendency to corrupt and love of it is the root of all kinds of evil (1 Tim. 6:10).The shrewd manager made use of wealth to gain friends that will accept him in their homes and secure his short life here on earth. Likewise, we should also be shrewd in using our wealth for the gospel to spread and gain friends who we can visit in their eternal abode in God's kingdom forever. That way, the wealth of unrighteousness is transmuted to righteousness.

Arthur Pierson contrasted 2 ways to use wealth.

"The golden calf may in turn be melted down and coined into Bibles, churches, books, tracts, and even souls of men. Thus what was material and temporal becomes immaterial and spiritual, and eternal. Here is a man who has a hundred dollars. He may spend it all on a banquet, or an evening party, in which case the next day there is nothing to show for it. It has secured a temporary gratification of appetite—that is all. On the other hand, he invests in Bibles at ten cents each, and it buys a thousand copies of the Word of God. These he judiciously sows as seed of the Kingdom, and that seed springs up a harvest, not of Bibles, but of souls. Out of the unrighteous mammon he has made immortal friends, who, when he fails, receive him into everlasting habitations. May this not be what is meant by the true riches the treasure laid up in heaven in imperishable good?"

What do we do with our wealth? Should we use it to hold a banquet like the Pharisees to gain friends they can use to get ahead in life? Or should we use it for the spread of the gospel and gain a brother or sister in Christ? We must remember that God is the owner of everything we have including our own life, time, money, abilities, etc. We are merely stewards of God's graces and we ought to be faithful in managing it regardless of how much or how little we are entrusted with. “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much."

J.I. Packer said

"When we set ourselves to think about Christian money management, in whatever connection, from buying groceries to supporting missionaries to investing in industry to financing a holiday, the first thing we have to get clear on is that the money that is ours to manage is not ours, but God’s. Yes, we have been given it to use, but it remains his. We have it as a loan, and in due course we must give account to him of what we have done with it."

God's money must be spent for His glory and not wasted on our worldly comforts and pleasures. If we cannot be trusted with money here on earth, we cannot be trusted with true riches in heaven. If we are not faithful in our use of God's property He won't give us a property of our own. We are God's stewards here on earth, and the way we use the things here on earth reflect our spiritual condition.

Jesus warned, "No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

This may be the reason why the sons of this age are more shrewd than sons of light. The sons of the world are fully devoted to their master, mammon. They exert 100% time, effort, and passion to achieve the success and wealth that they dream of. But Christians are sometimes torn between two competing masters that each demands a part of us. Our impure motives make us unwise, ineffective, and compromising. We have to make every effort, by God's grace, to free our selves from every bit of the love of money (1 Tim. 3:3) and be faithful shrewd managers of God's resources, using it to advance His kingdom in every area of life.