The Shrewd/Tricky Manager
Luke 16:1-13
16 Then Jesus[a] said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property. 2 So he summoned him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Give me an accounting of your management because you cannot be my manager any longer.’ 3 Then the manager said to himself, ‘What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. 4 I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.’ 5 So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 He answered, ‘A hundred jugs of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.’ 7 Then he asked another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘A hundred containers of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill and make it eighty.’ 8 And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly, for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. 9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth[b] so that when it is gone they may welcome you into the eternal homes.[c]
10 “Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much, and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. 11 If, then, you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth,[d] who will entrust to you the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? 13 No slave can serve two masters, for a slave will either hate the one and love the other or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”[e]
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Hey everyone,
Some of my friends have noticed that I’ve been preaching some tough verses lately. And they’re right! The book of Luke is full of challenging passages. Money problems, division, family conflicts, and money is back! But this time, it’s “dishonest money.”
If you read Luke 16, verses 9, 11, and 13, you’ll see that the words “worldly wealth,” “worldly wealth,” and “money” in the NIV are all translations of the same Greek word: Mammon. Mammon is a powerful word that Jesus uses to describe a type of wealth that has a dark spiritual side. It’s so strong that it will compete with God’s authority in our lives.
So, we’re coming back to one of Jesus’ teachings about money in this week’s compelling verses (Luke 16:1-13). These verses remind us of our call to discipleship. Luke’s gospel would agree that discipleship starts with a change of heart, but it also requires specific changes in our behavior. In this Sunday’s sermon, Jesus is trying to tell us something about how to relate to Mammon when it is unavoidable.
Peace,
Zach