The Unwilling Writer
Read: Luke 16:1-18
The Parable of the Dishonest Manager
16 He also 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. 2 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.’ 3 And 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. 4 I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ 5 So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ 7 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.’ 8 The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. 9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.
10 “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. 11 If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? 13 No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
The Law and the Kingdom of God
14 The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him. 15 And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.
16 “The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into it. 17 But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void.
Divorce and Remarriage
18 “Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.
I wasn’t excited about my assigned topic: “The Parable of the Shrewd Manager.” Do you know it? It’s a story about a manager who gets in trouble with his boss for “wasting possessions,” and before he gets fired, he cuts significantly the debts of the people who owe the boss in order to make a few friends who might help him later. And the boss actually commends him for it. Then Jesus says, “You do the same, guys. You be shrewd with your worldly wealth, too.”
It’s not the easiest parable to understand. People get confused because Jesus seems to be commending the worldly guys (He’s really not). There’s the question of why Jesus seems to want us to selfishly look out for ourselves and gain “friends” and “property” (He’s actually encouraging us to build up the Kingdom). Jesus seems to indicate that if we haven’t been trustworthy with property here, we won’t have as much to look forward to in the afterlife. See why I wasn’t so excited?
Frankly, I’m an emotional kind of gal, and I really like a good Psalm to write about or a prophet or the beatitudes. The parables…not so much…especially ones about money. I mean, yeah, yeah, yeah. Tithe. Be generous. The Bible talks a lot about money. What’s new to be said? Frankly, I was turning up my nose and considering making an excuse for not writing today.
But verses 14 and 15 wouldn’t quite let me go.
Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they derided Him. And He said to them, ‘You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.’
I had to pause.
Had I actually just rolled my eyes when I saw the assignment? Was I really unhappy about reading God’s Word? Was I really “bored” and “unexcited”? Was I actually wishing someone else had been assigned this passage? Was I just deriding Him?
There’s no justification to give. God knows my heart, and He knows I can be a Pharisee down deep. I don’t like the parables because they poke at my sin. I can be a real lover of money. My house, my savings, my vacations. I don’t like to think about how I use money. I don’t like to consider that what I do here with it might affect my eternal future. I don’t want to have to be shrewd and wise; I want to be lazy and self-indulgent. I run back and forth between money and my Savior as if I could have them both. If I am honest with myself, some of the things I am holding tight in my hand are, in fact, abominations in the sight of the Lord.
Forgive me, O God. Forgive the snarky way I approached your Word today and the idea in my head that there was nothing in it for me. My heart was proud and shut off; thank you for the grace of being pried open. Please shine your light where I foolishly thought it was already light and make me a willing participant in the life you want me to live. There is always more to clean up. That’s the way of the heart. It’s a hard truth to look at sometimes. But it’s the truth.
Your Word, no matter how WE feel about it today, is always good. It is always helpful. It always has something to tell us. Thank you for extending yourself to us this way, reaching out to save us through the pages. Money is a monster of an idol, so very hard to escape. This is why you warn us about it so often in your Word. Because your love wants us to be free of any other God but you.
Church, I hope you’ll join me in welcoming this parable this week as Carson preaches and in sitting with wide open ears, feeling glad for God’s Word, no matter how familiar or how difficult. It is God’s gift to us.
