the parable of the shrewd manager

Recently, a friend from church shared with me a question one of her co-workers raised concerning the parable of the shrewd manager in Luke. Namely, is Jesus encouraging us to be deceitful? This is a fair question, especially since several apparent problems (including the issue of ethics) within this passage have attracted a surplus of interpretations.

One Commentator, John Nolland, provides a succinct summary. Nolland states, “The worldly-wise steward has shrewdly appraised the situation that confronts and threatens him and has moved quickly to situate himself to best advantage for the future. Would that those who know the truth of the Christian gospel could see things so sharply and as effectively align their actions to the situation that confronts them!” (Word Biblical Commentary 35b, 796)

In short:
Jesus is telling his disciples to be “street-smart”. Learn how the world works, while remaining true to the Kingdom of God of which you are a citizen, and use the means of the world to bless people, especially those who cannot repay you. It would behoove Christians to recognize that the wealth of this world will not be found in the next life, but that which one will find in the next life, provided he or she has chosen to live rightly in this present time, is much better, incomparable. For the wealth of this world rots, can be stolen and will ultimately be consumed by fire.

Yet does Jesus telling his disciples to be “street-smart” as it were, carry the connotation of being “dishonest”? A closer look at this passage would reveal that Jesus does not tell his disciples to be dishonest, nor is dishonesty praised in this passage. Rather, prudence is praised, “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly.” Note the narrator, Jesus, calls the manager dishonest, whereas the reason he is commended is not his character, but his actions.

The underlying impression is simply this: money corrupts and cannot be made equal with God in terms of our allegiance (cf. 16:13). Therefore, it is best to give money away, specifically to those who cannot reciprocate that gift (e.g., almsgiving or in our context, giving to those who are "lower" on the socio-economic status totem pole, and becoming their equal or “friend”). A further way to understand this act of giving is found in the incarnation. Jesus left his high place of heaven, emptying himself, to be among us in human likeness (cf. Philippians 2:5-8), ultimately giving his life on our behalf.

The manager, a person of the world, was dishonest and used wealth to make friends so they would show him hospitality in return. Conversely, the people of the light, Christians, should not be dishonest. Instead, they should use wealth to bless people in this present age without the need or desire of having wealth returned because their reward is in the age to come.

A Short Commentary (with the help of Joel B. Green and John Nolland)

Building up to this parable has been Jesus' teachings on hospitality and rejoicing when one finds what has been lost, in which one shows hospitality by hosting a party in order to celebrate. Moreover, the chapter that precedes the parable of the shrewd manager is based on the Pharisees' complaint that Jesus welcomes sinners (thus is hospitable toward the "unworthy"). According to Green, the theme of the narrative in chapter 16.1-9 is the “appropriate use of wealth to overstep social boundaries between rich and poor in order to participate in a form of economic redistribution grounded in kinship” (NICNT, 589).

Jesus' story of the shrewd manager is not so much allegorical inasmuch as the rich man does not personify God. This story is birthed from the way the world works, so to speak. There are two named characters. The first is the rich man. At this point it is good to keep in mind Jesus has already pronounced misfortune on those who are rich (cf. 6:24). The rich hope and find their security in their wealth (cf. 12:16) and practice giving only in terms of reciprocation with their social peers, while disregarding those of lower status (cf. 14:12; 16.19-22). The second is the manager whom, according to Green, in the Roman context is either a slave or a freedman with access to his master's wealth and possessions. Furthermore, the manager acted as the rich man’s agent in business affairs. The importance of knowing this in order to understand the passage comes clear in the crisis anticipated by the manager in verses 3-4. The manager realizes, "Oh no, I'm about to be fired and that will be the end of me!” For him, being fired means a forfeiture of his once enviable social status, with the consequence that he has to turn to either physical labor or begging, which ultimately means he will become "unclean and degraded," an “outcast,” on the margin of society. What is more, he will no longer have a roof over his head.

Why is this happening? Apparently the manager was wasting his master's possessions, or "squandering", which basically means being very irresponsible with the wealth that had been entrusted to him. Perhaps a point to take away from this, though it may be somewhat of a stretch, is an assessment of what we are doing with the gifts, talents and blessings that have been entrusted to us. In any case, the manager, having weighed his options, does not want to beg or labor because he is too proud and too weak. Therefore, he wants to do what he can to be "welcomed" into other people's homes. Again, we see the topic of hospitality.

The rich man is indeed wealthy because so many people owe him so much and no doubt the interest just makes them go further and further into debt (like credit card companies perhaps?). Therefore, by the manager reducing their loan agreements so generously, he has done these people a significant favor (can you imagine someone saying your school loans went from $100,000 to $20,000!). And, because he is still manager at this point, the agreements with the debtors are legitimate. In this way, the manager has entered into his own relationship with the master's debtors, who perhaps themselves have some wealth, or at the very least the means of helping him get on his feet. He has shown support to them and, in return, can expect them to reciprocate by extending to him the hospitality of their homes.

Point of view is vital in understanding the next two verses (8-9). The master commends the manager for his shrewdness, even though the narrator, Jesus, has identified the manager as “dishonest.” I know, crazy, right? But consider the fact that the master does not commend the manager for dishonest, but for his prudence in business affairs. Jesus uses the phrase, "children of this age," or in some translations, "people of the world," implying the need for people of the light to understand how the world works and use it to their benefit.

The world is characterized by faithlessness and wickedness. “That Jesus can speak of a manager as one who is commended by one of his own generation, of his own worldly kin, for his having prudently taken advantage of the systems of this world and as wicked is therefore not surprising” (Green, 593). The people of the light, on the other hand, would live in accordance with Kingdom principles, not worldly ones.

If they, people of the light, did understand the ways of the new age to come, how would this be manifest in their lives and actions? Simply put, they would use "dishonest wealth" to "make friends" in order that they might be welcomed "into eternal homes". Wealth, or mammon, is characterized as “dishonest,” similarly to the manager. Both belong to this present age and world. In speaking of its demise, Jesus insinuates that mammon has no place in the age to come (cf. 12.33).

In telling his disciples to “gain friends for yourselves,” Jesus’ audience, and Luke’s readers, would have picked up on social conventions deeply embedded in the Greco-Roman world, whereby friendship and economic considerations were intertwined. Friends in Roman antiquity might be "superior," "equal," or "lesser," depending on their relative resources. Using money to gain friends, then, refers simply to the social reality: The exchange of money created, maintained, or solidified various forms of friendship. As my good friend Dave Stein often says, “Money makes the world go ‘round.” Thus verses 4-7 show the manager using his master's wealth to gain friends who would later repay him with hospitality.

Jesus counsels his disciples to make friends by using wealth, or mammon, to be sure, and this might take the form of giving to those in need or the more specific form of canceling debts. But Jesus provides no basis by which his followers might come to expect reciprocation from these friends. Luke records Jesus teaching his disciples to practice giving without expecting anything in return (6:32-35). Almsgiving exemplifies genuine social solidarity between rich and poor, who act toward each other as equal friends.

Conclusion
One question Nolland raises is, “Do we who have at least in theory the perspective created by a knowledge of Jesus as Christ and Lord have the incisiveness of insight to see as effectively through to the heart of the matter and the incisiveness of action to follow through with what is required?” (Nolland, 802)

The whole idea behind this parable seems to be pointed at the nature of what so often goes on in the world of business and money. The ethics are low to say the least. What should attract our attention as readers of this passage is that the manager wisely assessed the situation in which he found himself, and acted to save himself. The challenge Jesus poses is for us as Christ’s disciples to have the wisdom and shrewdness to recognize and seize the opportunity that exists in the midst of threat. In the immediate context, the threat and opportunity are those created by the ministry of Jesus. However, beyond this parable challenges all of us as Christians to be successful as the worldly wise to do the best with what you have. Act in accordance with Kingdom principles and execute solid and shrewd judgment.

Interpreting this parable, as difficult as it may be, is best accomplished through the challenge posed to the Christian juxtaposed the person of the world. That is to say, if only the Christian were as eager to be righteous as the man of the world is eager to gain wealth and security, what an effective kingdom worker he or she would be!

perspective on spiritual focus

You handle the depth of your relationship with God. Let the LORD handle the breadth of your Kingdom work for God.