Luke 16:1-8
Chapter 16
He summoned the steward and asked him:
‘What is this I hear about you? I want you to give an account of your service, for it is about to be terminated.’
The steward thought to himself, ‘What am I supposed to do now? My master will definitely fire me. I am not strong enough to do hard labor, and I am ashamed to beg.
I know what I will do: I must ensure that when I am dismissed, there will be people who will welcome me into their homes.’
So he called his master’s debtors, one by one. He asked the first debtor:
‘How much do you owe my master?’
The reply was:
‘A hundred jars of oil.’
The steward said:
‘Here is your bill. Sit down quickly and write fifty.’
To the second debtor, he asked the same question:
‘How much do you owe?’
The answer was:
‘A hundred measures of wheat.’
Then the steward said:
‘Take your bill and write eighty.’
The master praised the dishonest steward for his sharpness, because the people of this world are often more clever at handling their own generation than are the people of light.
Commentaries
Parable of the Dishonest Manager.
Jesus praises not just the steward’s tricks but his shrewdness and wisdom in predicting the future he will face. Jesus’ message to his disciples is that they too must use their creativity, be shrewd in predicting the direction that the kingdom must take within society; although the kingdom belongs to the humble and simple, this does not mean it can be built through naivety.