5 Life-Changing Lessons from the Parable of the Unjust Steward (Luke 16:1-13)

In this post, we dive deep into the Parable of the Unjust Steward (also called the Parable of the Shrewd Manager) in Luke 16:1-13, one of Jesus's most controversial and thought-provoking teachings. While it may initially appear to commend immorality, understanding its true meaning reveals 5 life-changing lessons that challenge us to live with a sense of eternal responsibility and faithful stewardship. Read or listen to this material from Your Finances God’s Way or watch the accompanying sermon to learn the important lessons. https://youtu.be/rXeNjXab5UE Luke 16:1-13 contains the Parable of the Unjust Steward (or Shrewd Manager), which teaches that money is the foundation of faithfulness. Table of contentsWas Jesus Applauding Dishonesty Or Doing Something Else?1. The Parable of the Unjust Steward Teaches We Will Give an Account2. The Parable of the Unjust Steward Teaches Us to Prepare for the Future3. The Parable of the Unjust Steward Teaches We Have a Narrow Window of Time to Use Our Master’s Resources4. The Parable of the Unjust Steward Teaches Us to Work Hard5. The Parable of the Unjust Steward Teaches Us to Use Money to Make FriendsPrinciple One: If We Can’t Be Faithful with Money, We Can’t Be Faithful with Much ElsePrinciple Two: Serving God or MoneyWe Must Choose What could motivate us to be better stewards of our finances than a parable Jesus taught about financial stewardship? The parable of the unjust steward is one of Jesus’s most controversial and confusing teachings because it seems to commend immorality; therefore, please bear with me through the groundwork that explains why this is not the case. Luke 16:1-2 opens the parable of the unjust steward: [Jesus] said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. And he called him and said to him, “What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.” The manager here is a steward, which is how it’s translated in many Bibles. Stewards don’t own anything. Instead, they’re responsible for someone else’s possessions, which is why this person is called a manager. Stewards were trusted servants because they had full authority over their master’s possessions and could conduct business transactions in the master’s name. The master thinks the steward is incompetent (“wasting his possessions”) versus dishonest, so he tells the steward he will fire him in the future versus immediately. This mistake allowed the steward to keep control of the master’s assets and rip him off. Luke 16:3-8 records the steward’s thoughts and actions after learning of his termination: 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, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.” So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, “How much do you owe my master?” He said, “A hundred measures of oil.” 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?” He said, “A hundred measures of wheat.” He said to him, “Take your bill, and write eighty.” The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. If you ever learned you would lose your job, you would probably immediately start thinking about what to do next. That’s what the steward did, but he found his options unattractive. He was “not strong enough to dig,” perhaps because he was old or disabled, and he was too “ashamed to beg,” perhaps because doing so was beneath him after having held such a prestigious position. More than likely, the steward lived in his rich master’s house. When he was fired, not only would he lose his job, but he would also lose his pleasant living situation. So he decided to win people’s favor so they would “receive [him] into their houses,” and he accomplishes this by meeting with the master’s debtors and decreasing their bills. If you owed money and someone offered to take 20 to 50 percent off your bill, you would likely jump at the opportunity, but hopefully only if it was done morally. The words “sit down quickly” reveal that this was a secret transaction that was unauthorized by the master. So why did the master commend the steward’s ingenuity? Everyone in the parable of the unjust steward is immoral: the steward, who ripped off his master; the debtors, who went along with the plan; and the master, who admired the steward’s actions. Was Jesus Applauding Dishonesty Or Doing Something Else? The confusion is apparent: in the parable of the unjust steward Jesus seemed to commend the steward’s dishonesty, right? Wrong. The master did, but Jesus called him dishonest (Luke 16:8). If Jesus wasn’t commending the steward, what was He doing? This point clarifies the parable of the unjust steward: Jesus was contrasting two groups—unbelievers and believers. He was saying unbelievers do some things better than believers. The rest of Luke 16:8 makes this clear: “The sons of this world [unbelievers] are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light [believers].” “Their own generation” refers to the time unbelievers live in or this life. Unbelievers are shrewder when they deal with the affairs of this life than believers are when they deal with the affairs of the next life. This is another confusing part of the parable because it sounds like Jesus is commending unbelievers and criticizing believers. Is that what He’s doing? Yes! Verse 1 says Jesus was speaking “to the disciples,” which means the parable of the unjust steward is intended to rebuke people who claim to follow Him. Some unbelievers are shrewder (more zealous and passionate) with their physical affairs than some believers are with their spiritual affairs. Let’s consider these ways. 1. The Parable of the Unjust Steward Teaches We Will Give an Account The steward learned he would have to stand before his master and “give an account of his management,” or stewardship, and he took that seriously. Some unbelievers take it more seriously that they’ll stand before an earthly, human master—whether a boss or employer—and give an account than believers take it seriously that they’ll stand before their Master, the God of heaven and earth, and give an account. Following college, I’ve done four things professionally. First, I was an officer in the Army. Second, I was a supervisor at a distribution center for a major box store. Third, I was an elementary school teacher. Now, I’m a pastor. In each of these professions, I received evaluations. While I wasn’t afraid—just like we don’t need to be afraid when we go before the Judgment Seat of Christ—I did want to do well. I took my evaluations seriously and tried to please whomever I worked for. How much more seriously should you and I take standing before Christ? Considering all He’s done for us, how much more should we want to please Him? If we strive to be faithful to an earthly, human master, how much more should we strive to be faithful to our Lord and Savior? And when it comes to faithfulness, few stewardships are more critical than that of our finances. 2. The Parable of the Unjust Steward Teaches Us to Prepare for the Future Again, Jesus isn’t commending the sinful way the steward prepared for the future, but He is telling us to learn from his planning and foresight. The steward said, “When I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.” He used his present circumstances to prepare the best future for himself. It’s sad when unbelievers prepare for their temporary futures better than believers prepare for their eternal futures. How tragic is it when unbelievers work harder for their earthly lives than believers work for their heavenly lives? 3. The Parable of the Unjust Steward Teaches We Have a Narrow Window of Time to Use Our Master’s Resources The steward learned he had a little time before losing his job, and he took advantage of this window. We, too, have a narrow window of time. Our lives are short: Job 7:7—“Remember that my life is a breath!” Psalm 102:3—“My days are consumed like smoke.” Psalm 144:4—“Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.” James 4:14—“What is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” We should use our little time before “losing our jobs,” which is to say before our lives end. As Jesus said, “We must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work” (John 9:4). We must take advantage of our narrow window. The steward used what he had at his disposal, which happened to be the resources the master entrusted to him. Similarly, what do we have at our disposal? Because we’re stewards, we have the resources the Master entrusted us with. Not only our finances but also our time, relationships, possessions, money, talents, abilities, and gifts. Are we using these resources to the best of our ability? Are we using to the fullest what the Master has entrusted to us for His glory and honor? 4. The Parable of the Unjust Steward Teaches Us to Work Hard Consider these statistics. American employees work 137 more hours per year than Japanese workers, 260 more hours per year than British workers, and 499 more hours per year than French workers. Americans average 47-hour work weeks. Twenty-five million Americans (21 percent of the workforce) work at least 49 hours per week, and 11 million Americans (9 percent) work more than 59 hours per week. Four out of five Americans spend their lunch break at their desk so they can keep working. Americans receive 15 vacation days per year, while workers in Asia receive 19 and workers in Europe receive 28.