2192 Parable of the Shrewd Manager

This could be one of the most confusing and easily twisted stories Jesus told. Maybe you’re like me and you’ve read it before, said “well that doesn’t make sense”, and quickly moved on. On the surface this one doesn’t make sense. However, if you really seek, you will find a deep message that truly does make sense.

So, let’s read this story together and this time we’re committed to not digging deep for the message instead of skimming on through.

Luke 16: 1-9

Jesus told this story to his disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a manager handling his affairs. One day a report came that the manager was wasting his employer’s money. So the employer called him in and said, ‘What’s this I hear about you? Get your report in order, because you are going to be fired.’

The manager thought to himself, ‘Now what? My boss has fired me. I don’t have the strength to dig ditches, and I’m too proud to beg. Ah, I know how to ensure that I’ll have plenty of friends who will give me a home when I am fired.’

So he invited each person who owed money to his employer to come and discuss the situation. He asked the first one, ‘How much do you owe him?’ The man replied, ‘I owe him 800 gallons of olive oil.’ So the manager told him, ‘Take the bill and quickly change it to 400 gallons.’

‘And how much do you owe my employer?’ he asked the next man. ‘I owe him 1,000 bushels of wheat,’ was the reply. ‘Here,’ the manager said, ‘take the bill and change it to 800 bushels.’

The rich man had to admire the dishonest rascal for being so shrewd. And it is true that the children of this world are more shrewd in dealing with the world around them than are the children of the light.

Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home.”

First glance – is Jesus telling us to cheat? Is he praising twisting the truth or dishonest business? Absolutely not.

This manager was no doubt doing wrong – he cheated and he was caught cheating by his boss. He knew his boss was going to fire him, so before he could, he made friends with everyone who owed his boss money. He lowered their bills in order to earn their good graces. Now, when he was fired, he would have friends who would help him. And the boss had to “admire the dishonest rascal for being so shrewd.”

The confusion comes in this word ‘shrewd’. I liken that word to mean slimy, sneaky, crooked – but that’s actually not the defin