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Luke 16:1-12 Have a read. It’s a weird one! https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2016%3A1-12&version=NIV
Not gonna lie. I’ve been sitting on this passage for twenty-four hours now because it’s just such a strange one. I’ve read it in five different translations and I’ve gone to a couple different websites to see how other christians approach it. Sometimes when I’m kind of stumped I do something like this. I’ll read it in several translations. I might try to pick out a verse or two that seems like the key to the passage. I kind of get an idea of what I think it’s about, and then I will compare my thoughts to what others have said. The Bible has been around for thousands of years. I am not the first person to find this passage weird. By calling himself our father, God made his followers family. We are a community designed to need each other. It’s a good idea to talk to more than one family member when you are trying to grasp a new concept. Think of me as your crazy aunt who climbs trees, dabbles in philosophy, and loves to bake. Hopefully I have things to share with you, but you might also want to talk to your brother who understands the stock market, your cousin who is mechanically inclined and your niece the archeologist. God alone knows everything. The rest of us were designed to have strengths and weaknesses that make us reliant on one another.
What I found as I read other people’s thoughts is that mine probably aren’t particularly misguided since they share common threads with other believers. I’ve said this before, but you and I are reading this together like friends having coffee. I’m just sharing what I’m learning. I’m working really hard to check my ideas against all of scripture so I don’t mislead you, but this is just me reading the book alongside you and learning as I go.
All that to say, here’s what I think is going on. First of all, clearly the manager is not raised up here as an example to follow. And it seems like the boss is also not intended to be an example of integrity or good business practise. When he commends or praises the dishonest manager, he’s not saying what the guy did was right. It’s more like he is saying, “Well played!” The picture Jesus is painting here is of a guy who knows how to use physical wealth to his advantage. He understands how it works and he uses it, even when it isn’t his, to accomplish what he needs. He may not be a good person, but he knows that money can earn favour with people.
Jesus knows that money doesn’t last. He talks about “when it is gone.” Money, and the perks it buys aren’t what we are chasing after as Christians. But God sometimes allows us to have money as believers and Jesus says, be smart with it. Money is one means by which we accomplish the actual end goal of being welcomed into God’s presence in eternity as good, faithful servants. In verse 9 I think what he is saying is that we can use our finances in this life to gain friends and build relationships. In building relationships we are given opportunities to share our faith in the hope that, when we enter eternity, we will be welcomed by many of those friends who met Jesus because we were generous and used our wealth in smart ways.
I think verse 10-12 affirms this interpretation. Jesus recognises that money is a tool. When we use what we are given to accomplish his purposes, he is likely to trust us with more. When we misuse it and use it to abuse others, not so much. God seems to view money as a trial round, a testing ground. How we handle financial blessings now is a good indicator of how we will handle true lasting blessings in eternity. Furthermore, Jesus points out that everything we have in this life is a gift, on loan from God. We are actually managing his money and resources. If we don’t use God’s riches well, why would he trust us with our own?
