The Parable of the Shrewd Manager

In Luke 16:1-15 (NLT) Jesus tells the parable of the shrewd manager. This is probably the most confusing of all the parables! I had to study on this one! If you're not familiar with it, here is how it goes:1 Jesus told this story to his disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a manager handling his affairs. One day a report came that the manager was wasting his employer’s money. 2 So the employer called him in and said, ‘What’s this I hear about you? Get your report in order, because you are going to be fired.’

3 “The manager thought to himself, ‘Now what? My boss has fired me. I don’t have the strength to dig ditches, and I’m too proud to beg. 4 Ah, I know how to ensure that I’ll have plenty of friends who will give me a home when I am fired.’

5 “So he invited each person who owed money to his employer to come and discuss the situation. He asked the first one, ‘How much do you owe him?’ 6 The man replied, ‘I owe him 800 gallons of olive oil.’ So the manager told him, ‘Take the bill and quickly change it to 400 gallons.[a]’

7 “‘And how much do you owe my employer?’ he asked the next man. ‘I owe him 1,000 bushels of wheat,’ was the reply. ‘Here,’ the manager said, ‘take the bill and change it to 800 bushels.[b]’

8 “The rich man had to admire the dishonest rascal for being so shrewd. And it is true that the children of this world are more shrewd in dealing with the world around them than are the children of the light. 9 Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home.[c]

10 “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. 11 And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? 12 And if you are not faithful with other people’s things, why should you be trusted with things of your own?

13 “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.”

14 The Pharisees, who dearly loved their money, heard all this and scoffed at him. 15 Then he said to them, “You like to appear righteous in public, but God knows your hearts. What this world honors is detestable in the sight of God.

When you first read this, you may think that Jesus is condoning dishonesty. In addition, why would someone who is cheated out of what was owed to him admire such a character?

Well, let's start there. In that time, debt collectors were paid by adding whatever amount they wanted on top of the debt that was owed and that's what they kept for themselves. That's right! Whatever amount they wanted!(That's one of the reasons tax collectors , like Matthew, were hated so much!) Crazy , right? Well, that is why the business owner was impressed, not angry! He was given what was owed to him either way.

So, what is the meaning of the parable? Why Jesus chose these types of characters, I don't know. But, no , he was not condoning dishonesty. So, what he was actually saying? The business owner represents God, not in character, but as owner of the money that we are entrusted with. All throughout scripture we read that our money does not belong to us, but all things belong to God.

The shrewd manager represents us. We are managing 'God's money'. What does that mean exactly? When we give to the poor, help someone who is struggling financially, or even giving to the church, we are managing our money (or God's money) the way God intended. We are being 'good managers'.

The rich man's customers represent those we help. When we use our blessings to help others get to Heaven (for example supporting missions, etc) or simply feeding ,clothing or housing the poor , we are 'making friends' to welcome us into Heaven. See verse 9 that says, "Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home."

Keep in mind, our actions don't get us into Heaven. That's what Jesus died for. But our actions will earn us rewards when we get there and the friends we made along the way will welcome us!

I hope you enjoyed this post. If you would like to leave a comment or rating, just scroll down a bit . I would love to hear your honest thoughts! Thanks for reading!