Shrewd (Luke 16:1-13)

During the three years of Jesus’ earthly ministry, he told a lot of parables to teach people about the mysteries of the coming Kingdom of God and how to live faithfully in his Kingdom. One of the most difficult parables Jesus told is called the Parable of the Shrewd Manager or the Parable of the Unjust Steward which is recorded in Luke 16:1-13 and is this week’s gospel reading.

One thing that makes this parable so difficult to understand is that the main character of the parable, and the person we think would be the example of what it looks like to live in God’s Kingdom, is a dishonest person who engages in some very dodgy business dealings. The parable opens by saying that he was accused of wasting his employer’s possessions (NIV) or money (NLT). The rich man for whom he worked sacked him because of what he did. The dishonest manager knew that he wasn’t strong enough to do manual labour and he was too proud to beg, so he went to people who were in debt to his former employer and slashed the amounts that they owed him. In first century Jewish culture, this meant that these people were now in debt to the dishonest manager. His plan was that if and when the time came that his own finances ran out and he was looking for somewhere to stay, he could go to these people and they would be obligated according to first century Jewish culture to welcome him into their homes.

We can look at the actions of the dishonest manager and conclude that he’s not a good person and he deserved to be sacked from his job with the rich man. What can surprise us, however, is that his former employer praised him for being shrewd. Instead of trying to gain as much money as he could to help him in the short-term, the manager was thinking longer-term and planning for when his own financial resources ran out. Jesus uses this parable to teach his followers to be shrewd with our worldly resources and use them to prepare for our eternal future, rather than just thinking about the here and now. Jesus says,

Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your earthly possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home. (v9 NLT)

This is not the only time Jesus teaches his followers to be shrewd. When Jesus sent his twelve disciples out on their first missionary journey in Matthew 10:1-42, he instructed them to be ‘as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves’ (v16 NIV). This is the same word which is used of the serpent in the Garden of Eden in the ancient Greek version of Genesis 3:1. Jesus isn’t encouraging us to use the good things he has given to us wrongly or sinfully. However, these references and the parable we’re exploring today seems to be pointing us towards being shrewd, crafty, or cunning with what God has given us and use them with our eternal futures in mind.

This parable challenges us to think about what we are doing with the earthy resources God has given us, both as individuals and as congregations or a parish. Anyone who is preparing for retirement knows how important it is to plan for the future by putting money into their superannuation. Those who are already retired know the benefits of investing in their future and not just thinking about here and now. This seems to be similar to what Jesus is teaching us in the Parable of the Shrewd Manager. Instead of just thinking about getting money straight away, the Shrewd Manager is planning for the future and using the resources he had at the time to make sure he would have somewhere to go in the future. Jesus may be asking us to think in the same way. Instead of just focusing on our short-term futures or taking things one day at a time, this parable challenges us to consider how we can use what God has given us – our time, energy and possessions – to invest in others and our relationships with them. When we use what we have for the benefit of others and not just ourselves, we are preparing for our own eternal futures.

This can make us wonder, how do we do this? While we don’t have time to explore this question in this message, this is something we will continue to discuss as we look for God’s guidance in how we can be shrewd with what God has given us, not to preserve the past, but to prepare for the future.

We can do this as we trust in Jesus who behaved like the Shrewd Manager for us. Jesus not only reduced the debts we owe our heavenly Father because of our sin, the wrongs we have done and the good we have failed to do. He cancelled them completely by giving his life for us on the cross. Jesus’ sacrifice freed us from the debts we owed our heavenly Father so we can live in the freedom that his grace gives us. He didn’t show us this extravagant generosity to provide for his own future. Jesus gave everything to cancel our debt so we can receive the promise that when our earthly life runs out and comes to an end, we will have an eternal home to go to where we will be welcomed with no questions asked and will live forever in security, joy and peace. Jesus didn’t just think about what would be good for him in the short-term. He considered what we would need for eternity and gave everything to provide for us and our futures.

When we look at what we have from this eternal perspective and trust in what Jesus has already done for us, we can be shrewd with what God has already given us. The Dishonest Manager in Jesus’ parable wasn’t just thinking about his immediate future. He was thinking about the long-term future and took steps to make sure that when his finances and other resources ran out, he would still have somewhere to go where he would be received and welcomed. God give us the grace to be shrewd with what he has given us so we can see what we have from an eternal perspective and, like the Shrewd Manager in the story, use it to benefit others by loving, serving, helping and blessing them so we will be welcomed into our eternal home.

More to think about or discuss:

• Do you tend to be more of a short-term or longer-term planner? Why do you think you do that?
• Why do you think the rich man in the parable praised the Shrewd Manager? What do you think Jesus is trying to teach us through this parable?
• What is one thing you can do to use what God has given you to ‘benefit others and make friends’ (v9 NLT) so they will welcome you into your eternal home? What is something we can do as a congregation or parish?