The Parable of the Unjust Steward

Have you ever heard these words? “My Roof…My Rules...”

When I was a kid my parents used to say that to me all of the time. Whenever I would want to do something that my parents didnt want me to do, they would pull that out as the ultimate trump card… “My Roof…My Rules” meant that I was living under the authority of my parents. I couldnt set my own rules because I didnt own anything that I had…I had a room, yes. I had things clothes and a car, yes? But all of these things were stewarded to me…they were loaned to me so to speak…and at any given moment if I disobeyed or tried to live however I wanted to live…my parents could take them away… You see, Because I lived under their roof…because everything I had was given to me…I had to steward them well…otherwise I could lose them...”

Anybody else live in that type of home? “My roof…my rules”

Well, in this passage today Jesus tells a story that effectively teaches his disciples, similar to that lesson that my parents taught me as a young kid. Because in this parable Jesus teaches us that because we are stewards of God’s resources, we must use our possessions the way he intends.

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The parable starts out simply enough: If you got in a time machine and traveled back to the first century Biblical World you would find the scenario that Jesus describes here in this parable. Jesus begins by describing “a wealthy man” who had hired a steward or a manager to oversee his business dealings.

Luke 16:1 (ESV)

1 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.

The word that Luke describes him as an οἰκονόμον (A ruler of the House). And Luke meant this literally. In the first century this type of person would live in the house with a rich person and they would manage pretty much function as a fiduciary to a rich persons estate and business affairs. The steward doesn't own anything, he is simply a manager of his masters resources…which means he doesn't get to write the rules for how things are managed ultimately. He is responsible for managing the resources that he has been lended according to the will of his master.

And as Jesus says in verse 1, the Master brings charges against his Steward of being wasteful with his possessions. He isn't managing the funds the way he was hired to do.... Therefore Verse 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.”

You're fired…You’re done…Here’s your two-weeks notice...

And now the manager says to himself… “What am I going to do now?”

Luke 16:3 ESV

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.

“I dont know how to do anything else but be a manager…I dont know how to dig…and I cant stoop to the level of a beggar...Ive got to come up with a plan.”

So he does…and we find his plan in verse 4:

Luke 16:4 (ESV)

4 I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’

He decides that he is going to do something that will convince people to “receive him into their houses.”

He decides that he is going to use the little time he has left to set himself up for the future...

Luke 16:5–6 (ESV)

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.’

How does this manager set himself up for the future?

He calls on all of his masters debtors one by one, he cuts their expenses 100% and 80%… the cut was referred to as a usury…it was the interest on the loan. It would be effectively what would happen if your credit card company called you one day and told you that they were taking off all the interest on your credit card bill and they were just going to let you cover the cost of whatever you had borrowed.

And this manager isnt doing this out of the goodness of his heart…of course he has selfish motives.... his motives are to buy some friends that will employ him in the future…he is saving face before he loses his job.

And then the ultimate twist in the story that leaves us scratching our head comes next…verse 8...

Luke 16:8 ESV

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.

The Master of the Steward praises him...

Not for his morality…the title of the parable is right…he is the unjust steward…he is a dirty rotten scoundrel…BUT FOR HIS SHEWDNESS IN THAT HE INVESTS IN HIS FUTURE...

HE SPENDS THE RESOURCES HE HAS BEEN GIVEN NOW, TO IMPACT HIS LIFE THAT IS TO COME

AND if an unjust worldly steward…a dirty rotten scoundrel can use his money to invest in his next life…HOW MUCH MORE…should the son’s of light…the sons and daughters of God…the church…invest in the life that is to come? How much more should we live with Eternity in our Minds? THIS IS THE POINT THAT JESUS MAKES...

Jesus wants us to use the money we have been given on earth to impact the life that is to come in Heaven...

Luke 16:9 (ESV)

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.

But the truth is…many of God’s people live as if this life is the only life we will live.

Instead of spending what God has given us NOW TO INVEST IN THE LIFE TO COME....WE SPEND OUR MONEY AS IF THIS LIFE IS ALL WE GOT…

There’s a saying for it in pop culture: #YOLO

I said this last week…How you spend your money tells you what you really believe.

If you want to know what you believe: Look at your checkbook, not your church attendance.

--Our generosity (or lack of generosity) in this life…shows what we believe is going to happen in the life that is to come...

So how do we fight to live generously?

Jesus tells us in verse 10-13

4 times Jesus uses the word “faithful” in these verses...

Luke 16:10–13 ESV

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.”

Give Faithfully…that’s the message...

Be faithful with the little you have…and you will be faithful when you have much...

Many people use the excuse that they aren't faithful to give because they dont have much.

But when it comes to generosity…it isn't the amount that you give that matters…it is whether or not you are faithful.

And you need to know this....how faithful you are today with the money you steward will determine how generous you are in the future.

Be faithful because we know that when we are God will entrust us with the true riches…(v.11-12)

When we are faithful with the money we have been given to steward…God gives us the true riches of seeing His Kingdom Come and His Will be Done on Earth as it one day will be in Heaven.

Spurgeon said it this way, “God has a way of giving by cartloads to those who give away by the shovelfuls.”

So church…be faithful…give…invest in the life that is to come…spend your money....spend it for the Glory of Good…and for your own eternal good. Give faithfully to your church…to other Christian mission agencies…give regularly, give cheerfully, and give abundantly…invest your money, your time, and your resources in the life that is to come.

You cant serve God and Money…so serve God…by spending the riches you have knowing that God in Christ has first given to you.

This is ultimately the reason why we give…we are faithful because we know that in Christ…We have received abundantly more than we deserve.

I want you to think about this truth this morning…No matter how much you give…Christ has given you more...

In Christ we have received eternal life

Romans 6:23 (ESV)

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In Christ we have been adopted as a son or daughter

Galatians 3:26 (ESV)

26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.

In Christ you have abundant life…

John 10:10 (ESV)

10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

In Christ you have forgiveness of sin...

In Christ you have been set free...

For Freedom Christ has set you free...

Christ has given you redemption through his blood...

Christ has given you salvation...

Christ has given you eternal security...

Christ has given you an inheritance...

Christ has given us the riches of heaven that will never fade.

We give because Christ has given to us...

This is why we observe the Lord’s Supper. The Lord’s Table is a picture of the generosity of God...

Luke tells us this:

Luke 22:14 ESV

14 And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him.

God has given to us church…Receive it…and lets be faithful to wise in our giving ...

We are Managers of God’s Money…Not Our Own

Just like the manager in this story…We are simply stewards of our Masters resources… Everything we own has been given to us by the Lord…and therefore we are accountable for how we spend what he have.

The truth is, for many of us, we dont actually view life that way, especially when it comes to the issue of money. Do you remember the old J.G. Wentworth commercial that used to always come on a few years ago? Let me see if you remember the slogan…, “IT’S MY MONEY, AND I NEED IT _______!!!”

But our money is not our money…it has been given to us by God…and if you dont believe that you will never steward your money the way God has called you to.

For example, if you would have been born in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya you probably could have worked just as hard as you have but you wouldn't have gotten nearly as far. You say, “Well, I earned every penny I have ever owned.” I cant totally disagree. You have in one sense. But the truth is, you earned every penny you've ever had...with the circumstances God has given you, with the opportunities that came your way…God gave you that. Secular people would call those things, “getting lucky” the Bible would call that “divine providence.”

You might have worked really hard to get what you have…but the truth is that the opportunities you were given were simply given to you by the grace and providence of God. God has given us what we have and what Jesus says here is that you are stewards of the resources of God.

Jesus gives us a sober warning about the danger of money in verse 13...

Luke 16:13 (ESV)

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.”

How do you fight the temptation to not make an idol out of money? Give it away…knowing that God gave it to you in the first place...

We are to Use the Money God gives us to Build God’s Kingdom, Not Our Own

We are to Give the best of what we have now…because God gave the best of what he had...

v. 13 is a sobering statement that Jesus makes...

We are administrators of God’s resources...

And what Jesus does in this story is he compares us to a manager of God’s resources. He is saying that everything we have in this life is simply a resources that has been stewarded to us to manage and invest for the glory of God.

We are Called to Manage our Money With Eternity in Mind...