Luke 16:1-13
1 Then Jesus 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 so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes. 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, 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.”
Welcome to Your Eternal Home
Let us remember that the context is important to help us understand Jesus' message. He is surrounded by many Pharisees, scribes and His disciples. Jesus wants the Pharisees to invest in their future life more than their earthly one. He wants them to think about gaining their eternity more than making today's wealth their only treasure. He is also addressing His disciples, intending to convey the message to all around Him.
The core of His message is very clear, "You cannot serve two masters: God or wealth" (v. 13). Jesus is not praising the traitorous manager, rather, He refers to how he uses his present position to ensure a future that may preserve some dignity for himself.
Here is the crux of the parable: What comes after today? How do we prepare for tomorrow? How do we turn what we have today in this earthly life into a means to secure our share in eternal life?
In this parable, Jesus teaches us how to respect human dignity. The master of the manager is not firing him on the spot, but gives him time to report, to present feedback. The master seems to care for the human person much more than for money and business.
Jesus invites us to faithfulness in whatever we do, in small or big responsibilities. By loyalty, faithfulness and depositing treasures that precede us into eternity, we obtain what the Lord Jesus promised us, that He is preparing a place for us in His Father's house. "In my Father's house are many homes: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there you may be also" John 14:2-3.
May we serve God as our master.