Have you ever looked at a $1 and asked yourself, where has this $1 been? Who has touched it? What has it been used to buy? The history of this $1 simply illustrates the overall point that we do not have money in our possession for very long. The question is, what will we do with it? Will this $1 be spent wisely, before it leaves my possession, or will it be spent foolishly? Will it be spent for a purpose that would glorify God or will it be spent for a purpose that glorifies the owner? Of course, the only person who can answer that question is the current owner.

Money is not good or bad; it is ethically neutral. It all depends on what you do with it. Today, I want us to study a parable of Jesus that deals with money that is recorded only by Luke.

THE PARABLE – 16:1-8a:

When this parable begins in verse 1, Jesus is speaking to His disciples. But, we do not know the context of the discussion until we go back to 15:1-2 when we see that Pharisees were criticizing Jesus for associating with tax collectors and sinners.

But also, when we read beyond our parable, 16:14, we see that the Pharisees were lovers of money and scoffed when Jesus told them this parable. So, the parable has to do with money, with the proper use of it. He tells His disciples – maybe in the presence of these very tax collectors but clearly in the presence of the Pharisees – that they need to use money wisely if they would be blessed by God.

The manager was fired (1-2):

This man was “wasting” his master’s possessions. The word “waste” is the same word as “loose” in 15:13 of the prodigal son. Some jobs make it easy to “skim off the top.” A missionary can easily siphon funds off. There is no one there to provide accountability. The payment of our taxes is, to some degree, on the honor system.

The manager makes a plan (3-4):

It is ironic that the man was ashamed to beg but not ashamed to squander his master’s possessions!

The manager implements the plan (5-7):

The manager negotiates a 50% reduction on the oil and a 20% reduction on the wheat.

The owner praises the manager (8a):

Money was considered “unrighteous” because it is, often, obtained unrighteously or used unrighteously. Please observe that “unrighteous” is found five times in four verses: 8-11. The manager was commended for his forethought and his promptness, not his dishonesty.

THE CONCLUSION – 16:8b:

This seems to be the beginning of Jesus’ comments on the actions of the manager.

THE APPLICATION – 16:9-13:

First (verse 9) – Make good use – generous use – of your resources here on earth.

Second (verses 10-12) – Faithfulness in this life is the basis of the reward for heavenly riches. How we handle money indicates our level of trustworthiness and ability to accept responsibility.

Third (verse 13) – Christians owe their highest allegiance to God, not material wealth.

Use your financial resources for godly purposes.

Paul Holland