Luke 16:1-13 has been called the most debated of Jesus' parables, with people in particular focussed on whether Jesus was condoning dishonesty. (You can read the parable here.)
I think a big clue lies in the context of this parable. In Luke 15 we read the famous parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son. In each of them we see the Father's heart longing for the salvation of people. It is about how God searches for, celebrates and welcomes the lost. The focus is on God. Then as we come to Luke 16's parable of the shrewd manager, I think the focus is now on us, and our responsibility to win people over.
Luke 16: 8-9 - "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. 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."
To be shrewd is to be wise and to act sensibly. Jesus makes the comment that the people of the world are more wise at dealing with the current times than God's people are. This may seem strange, but consider this: people of the world have no reason to be selfless in their goals. They can be completely self-seeking if they choose to be, and it makes complete sense.
"It's a dog-eat-dog world!"
"I'm looking out for no.1!"
Each of those statements are permissible in the world. And people sensibly live according to those goals and principles.
Christians are called to love one another, and even to love their enemies. To be self-centred is to be disobedient and therefore sinful. And many times it is difficult for me to differentiate between worldly wisdom and godly wisdom. My goals of loving other people are often tainted by goals of wanting to protect myself. I'm not saying that having healthy boundaries is wrong; just that Jesus makes the comment that people of the light aren't always so shrewd in their dealings with the world.
The primary goal, then, that Jesus puts forward? Make friends using worldly wealthy. To be shrewd Christians, we are to use our temporary wealth that comes from this world to make friends and win people over for Christ.
I don't know about you, but often times I'm not that excited or driven to sensibly use my money to build relationships. But that's exactly what Jesus asks of us in this passage!
We need to understand that relationships take investment. They take our time and resources in order to build. Relationships that simply chug along because every one is all happy and merry all the time are not relationships built to last.
In God's house, my home, I have to have the realisation that I am responsible for building relationships with others. Yes, I can expect that other Christians will reach out and try at least to be friendly with me (if they understand the call to love others). But that doesn't take away my responsibility to do the same.
Kommentarer