Becoming
a Shrewd Manager
St.
Thomas Lutheran Church, Trufant, MI
September
22, 2019
About
1148 words
This
parable is somewhat unusual in that neither of the characters behave in ways we
ought to admire; both the steward and the rich man are unsavory fellows. This
alerts us to the fact that Jesus isn’t suggesting we emulate their behavior as
we might in the case of many other parables. Listen for the key underlying principle
of the story instead.
Grace
and peace to you from God our Father, from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Let’s
consider the gospel text in two sections. The parable itself is found in the
first half (if you still have the gospel reading open, that would be verses
1-8); the verses that follow point us to the application of what is recorded.
In
the first section, we learn that a rich man has summoned his manager. In
scripture, a manager is sometimes called a steward. Stewards would have had the
authority to transact business on an owner’s behalf. Such a relationship would
necessarily require a great deal of trust. However, this rich man is giving his
steward a termination notice based on one or more accusations that the steward
has been wasting his master’s wealth. Since we don’t hear the servant offer
any defense when he’s asked to account for himself, he was probably guilty.
As
far as we know, the master isn’t even aware of the steward’s dishonesty at this
point. It’s a little bit later in the passage when Jesus says that the manager is
dishonest. Since he’s being given his notice based on mismanagement, not
blatant deceit, he still has a few days of employment, in which he hatches a
plan to recover some of his master’s debts for his own purposes.
Realizing
he’ll soon be jobless, the steward makes some shrewd business deals behind his
master’s back. The steward wouldn’t do physical work and he was too proud to
beg, so he figures out a way to ingratiate himself with his master’s debtors in
a way that will provide him a hedge against homelessness. He reduces the amounts
owed by several of the master’s debtors in hopes he can claim favors for
himself later.
The
manager probably inflated the amounts owed so he could skim off some profit for
himself. If that hadn’t been the case it would be more likely that the master
would’ve felt cheated and angry. The steward lost his easy money, but his
master still received what he was owed. The amounts the steward built into his
master’s debts were quite significant.
To
put it in perspective, a gallon of olive oil on Amazon is listed at $46.99.
Multiply that times 450 gallons and the steward would have forgiven his
master’s debtors over $21,000.00 for just the oil alone. If you follow farm
prices, you might have a pretty good idea about how much money was lost on 200
bushels of wheat. If you were forgiving that much debt, people would feel like
they owed you a favor.
When
the rich owner becomes aware of what his servant did, he commends him for his
shrewdness. That’s because both the master and the steward are worldly people. People
of this world admire shrewdness when dealing with each other. So, the master was
able to admire his former steward even after firing him.
This
parable is not implying that believers should gain wealth dishonestly and then
be generous with it. Instead, it warns us that the pursuit of wealth, even for
our own security, interferes with our ability to focus on the only real Master.
Jesus is drawing a contrast between those who belong to this world and those
who belong to God’s kingdom. Those of this world may be shrewd about the way this
world works, but believers need to be shrewd about how God’s kingdom works.
So,
the principle that Jesus is trying to convey is that a steward who belongs to
the world will be shrewd to protect himself in the world. A steward of God’s kingdom
must observe God’s will. The steward in the story saw his master’s resources as
a means for his own personal gain, but we understand that the resources we control
are a gift from God. We merely manage them on his behalf. We need to be
generous with the wealth God gives us and avoid using it for our personal
advancement. If we put God first, then we will place all we have at his
disposal. In other words, the faithful and just steward whose Master is God
will employ wealth in building up the kingdom of God. Jesus wants his followers
to be righteous stewards.
Typically
we think of our personal goals first when we think about how we use money.
Maybe we set a bit aside for something we want, something new. Jesus invites us
to realize that our money isn't really ours. On the other hand, even worldly
wealth can be pressed into the service of God and our neighbor. When it is, the
benefits last beyond today, while the things we might buy for ourselves most
certainly won't. Time, talent, and treasure can and should be used to further
the Gospel, through which the Holy Spirit gathers us into the fellowship of all
believers. We will enjoy that kind of fellowship forever, long after the money
is gone.
Jesus
goes on to tell us that if we are faithful in managing worldly wealth, God will
be able to trust us to be faithful with real, eternal prosperity. If we can’t
be faithful with earthly wealth, which isn’t even ours to begin with, then how
can God entrust us with true riches? Similarly, if we are dishonest in little things,
we’ll also tend to be dishonest in larger ones.
God
can’t work with a half-hearted believer.
He either has all of your heart or something else does. There is no way we
can satisfy both God and our own desires at the same time. Sometimes we act
like the dishonest steward, trying to hold onto things, but God’s blessings are
so infinitely bountiful that we can share them generously without losing
anything ourselves. We must use the things God has entrusted us with to help
others come to saving faith. That’s the kind of shrewdness our Master
commends.