Preached by Michael Cheuk
September 23, 2007, Seventeenth Sunday After Pentecost
Luke 16:1-13
This parable has been named various ways: the dishonest manager, the unjust steward, the unrighteous steward. But no matter what you name it, this is one bizarre parable told by Jesus. It is about a rich man who discovered that his manager or steward was squandering his possessions. So the rich man called his steward into his office, and told him that judgment had arrived. The steward was fired, but before he turned in his keys, he had a little time to show his master the ledger books and give an accounting of how he spent the master’s money. While he was waiting to do this final accounting, the steward thought to himself, “What am I going to do? I’m going to be out of a job, with no place to live, and I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m too proud to beg.” So this steward cooked up a plan by cooking the books for the people who owed his master money. Why did he do that? Presumably to curry favor with the people who were indebted to the rich man, so that, once he was out in the street, those people might think well of his master and him, and will give him a place to stay. So he eagerly went to the first of his master’s debtors and asked: “How much do you owe my master?” “Eight hundred gallons of olive oil” was the reply. “Quick, get your bill and cut it in half,” replied the steward, as he jotted down those same false figures in his master’s account book. For another debtor, the unrighteous steward reduced his bill from a thousand bushels of wheat to eight hundred.
I don’t know about you, but when I get to this point in the parable, I’m thinking, “Boy, what is this guy doing? He’s already been fired for wasting his master’s money, and now, he is manipulating the accounting books so that he’s squandering more of his master’s money! He’s digging himself deeper into a hole! Wait until his master finds out about this! This unrighteous steward is not only getting himself fired; he’s getting himself jailed!”
Since the year 2000, we have been exposed to corporate accounting scandals at Arthur Andersen, Enron, Tyco, Worldcom and others, and so, we’re sensitive to people manipulating the accounting books. We are outraged by highly paid CEOs who benefit from cooking the books while many ordinary investors, employees, and consumers are tragically hurt by those illegal practices. We’ve seen many of those CEOs indicted and prosecuted for their alleged crimes and some of them have been found guilty and have been sentenced to jail. So our moral radar antennas go up and active when we get to this part of the parable, and we expect the hammer of justice to come down hard on this unjust steward, or at least send him off to some cushy jail for white collar criminals.
But then, Jesus pulls the rug right under our expectations and says: “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly.” The master actually praised this steward for his actions! What we would consider to be totally unethical and illegal, this rich lord praised as “shrewd.” Now, Greek the word for “shrewd” also means “prudent,” “careful in regard to one’s own interests” and “wise in handling practical matters.” So, I don’t think this unrighteous steward was praised for being morally wise. I think he was commended for being “street-wise,” for having the sharp awareness to survive in a difficult situation. He was commended for his cunning resourcefulness in looking after his own interests in the face of being thrown out into the streets. The master was not praising him for his morals. In verse eight, this man was still described in the Bible as the “dishonest manager,” or the “unjust steward.” Notice also, that this man did not get his job back. He was still fired. So in my mind, I imagine the “commendation” of the rich master was one of begrudging admiration for the lengths to which this unrighteous steward would eagerly go in order to save his own skin.
Beth and I don’t go to see movies often, but one movie that we did get to see and thoroughly enjoyed was Ocean’s Eleven. It’s about a thief named Danny Ocean, played by suave George Clooney and ten of his accomplices as they try to rob three Las Vegas casinos at the same time. This elaborate robbery was a way for Ocean to get back at the owner of those casinos for stealing Ocean’s ex-wife, played by the beautiful Julia Roberts. When we were watching it, we just couldn’t help but admire the sheer ingenuity and effort of those rogues in pulling off this caper. Now, I’m not advocating anyone here to go out and rob a casino. It was just a movie. And I suppose even in real life, we sometimes can’t help but admire the cunning and ingenuity that some people will show in order to pull off a scam, and in order to get a handout. I’m not only talking about criminals and con artists here - think for a minute about the sneaky efforts and the tactical planning some toddlers demonstrate just to get a cookie! Or the masterful organizing that some teenagers do to avoid doing their homework. It doesn’t mean we morally approve of their actions. We don’t. And if only they would apply half the effort and ingenuity to a legitimate line of work, who knows how far they could go!
So that’s how I understand the rich lord’s commendation of the unrighteous actions of this steward. Frankly, if I were the rich lord, there would be no praise, no grudging admiration. I’d just be really mad. For not only did the steward waste my money the first time around, which was why I fired him, but then he has the gall to reduce the debts so that I won’t receive all that I’m owed. This steward is basically robbing me twice! But it’s surprising to me that, the way Jesus told this parable, we get no sense that the rich master was mad at the steward. This unexpected reaction reminds me of the Sprint commercial promoting its “Fair & Flexible Plan” for cell phones. We see a pompous business executive telling his assistant that he joined the plan so that, “No one can tell me what to do. I can talk when and how I want. It is my little way of ‘sticking it to the Man’.” The assistant is perplexed: “But, you ARE the Man.” “I know,” responds the executive. “So you’re sticking it to yourself?” his aide asks. “Maybe,” the executive answers.[1]
This commercial is ludicrous and funny, and so is Jesus’ parable, for this rich lord is basically praising the unrighteous steward for “sticking it to him!” Once Jesus pulls off the joke, he then immediately tells his disciples: “For the people of this world are more shrewd, are more careful in regard to promoting their own interests, than are the people of the light. I tell you,” Jesus continued, “use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.”
From my perspective, Jesus told this parable as a funny, jarring setup for his major point: value relationships over money, and value God over everything else. The unrighteous steward did everything he could to save his own hide, even if that meant giving away his master’s money in order to secure friendships for himself so that he would have a place to stay after he was out of a job. It is interesting that in the two “stewardship testimonies” that we heard last Sunday and today, they both focused on relationships with people in the church, not money and budgets. Christian transformation comes through relationships; money may help to make that happen, but it is certainly no substitute for relationships. Therefore, value relationships over money.
Furthermore, money in and of itself does not guarantee happiness or friendship. As you may know, some of the richest people in this world are also the loneliest and most miserable. But we also know that some rich people, like Bill & Melinda Gates, give away a lot of their money and wealth for the betterment of others, maybe out of pure uncalculated goodness, but perhaps also to “gain friends” and “goodwill.” Now, you may say that given Microsoft’s history of monopolistic practices, the Gates’ money is “dirty money,” and in fact, in the Greek, the phrase “worldly wealth” in verse eight is literally translated as “mammon of unrighteousness.” “Mammon” is another way of saying “dirty money.” The unrighteous steward uses unrighteous or dirty money to gain friends in order to pursue his own interests. Jesus is saying: “Look, if the unrighteous people of this world are so wise and cunning in using unrighteous money to pursue their own interests, how much more so should God’s people, the people of the light, be wise and resourceful in using that same money to pursue their own interests by gaining friends and securing everlasting dwellings?” You know what I think? I think Jesus is actually chastising his followers, the children of light, for not being shrewd enough, for not looking after their own interests enough!
Now before you get too bent out of shape with what I’ve just said, let me ask you a question. In regards to money, what did Jesus teach to the children of light? Well, Jesus taught a lot concerning money, more than any other moral topic. But what I have in mind is Matthew 6:19-20, when Jesus said: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” Jesus is telling us that it is in our best interest not to store up “dirty money” on earth. From God’s perspective, all earthly currency is dirty money, because all money is intimately involved in oppressive and unjust systems. If you don’t believe me, look at all the stuff that you’ve bought that is made in China. Your dollars go to support a Communistic government that oppresses its own people and Christians. And that’s just one example. Furthermore, earthly money is “easy come, easy go,” and we can’t take it with us after we die. Instead, Jesus teaches us that it is in our best interest to store up for ourselves treasures in heaven where moth and rust do not destroy, where thieves do not break in and steal. Therefore, we need to pursue that with all the ingenuity, all the cunning, all the eagerness and shrewdness of that unrighteous steward.
How do we do that? By valuing God over everything else. First, we need to recognize that all our earthly money and possessions are not ours. Not our bank account, our investments, our homes, cars, clothes, pets, furniture, not our health, abilities, and talents. Everything we have belongs to God, and they are merely entrusted to us to manage. Secondly, we need to realize that one day, we too will face judgment day, and we will be called by our Master to give an account of what we’ve been entrusted. Will we be found like the unrighteous steward who wasted his master’s possessions? To be honest, probably. Then the question is, will we use all our ingenuity and practical wisdom now to eagerly go to everyone we know and give away our master’s possessions in order to make them friends of God? Specifically, will we use the finances, time, and abilities that God has given us to support organizations like Habitat for Humanity, Meals on Wheels, FACES our local food pantry, and yes, even the ministries of this church, among others? If we do, we will make friends for ourselves and for our Master. We can also make friends for God by forgiving the debts of others-whatever they may be, financial, relational, emotional-because Jesus taught us to pray: “forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” Furthermore, this parable teaches that the debt people owe us is ultimately owed to God our Master. And the really cool thing is that our God is such a rich Lord, He doesn’t mind us “sticking it to Him” because He has treasures galore that can never be depleted!
And so our Master entrusts us with small things-like our current salaries, our material possessions, our talents-to invest in His kingdom. And Jesus says in verses 10-12: “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?” Ultimately, Christian stewardship is the spiritual discipline that helps us to become rich toward God. Giving to others in the name of Christ is vital to our spiritual health! God desires to give us true riches that will never fade or rust or be stolen, but first He asks us to be trusted with what He’s currently given us. And while God’s currency is not earthly currency, what we do with our worldly wealth is an indication of whether we are ready to be entrusted with God’s true wealth. No parent entrusts a child with a credit card at the get-go. The parent begins with a small allowance, then a bigger one, then perhaps a part-time job, then a checking account, and finally a credit card. But even with that, many of us are in debt with credit cards, and unfortunately, credit card companies don’t have dishonest managers who will forgive our debts. Wouldn’t that be nice! So we end up serving Master Card, which severely hinders our ability to fully serve Master Christ. Like Jesus said: “No servant can serve two masters. 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 both God and Money.” So value relationships over money, and value God over everything else.
As we prepare for Consecration Sunday next week, as we set apart a portion of our lives to be dedicated to God’s work, let us all remember that we worship a rich Lord who came to us as a righteous steward, who forgave not just half of our debts, but the whole debt to our Master. And in so doing, it didn’t just cost this steward his job, it cost him his life. And this righteous steward is now knocking at the door of our hearts waiting for us to give him a place to stay. Will we welcome Him, love and serve Him, or will we love and serve our money? And in grateful response to what has been done for us, will we go and spread our Master’s wealth so that many more people may become friends of God? Will we be shrewd and do what is in our best interest and store up eternal treasures in heaven? Amen.
[1] http://www.advertisementave.com/tv/ad.asp?adid=625.
