Luke 16:1-8

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘There was a rich man and he had a steward denounced to him for being wasteful with his property. He called for the man and said, “What is this I hear about you? Draw me up an account of your stewardship because you are not to be my steward any longer.” Then the steward said to himself, “Now that my master is taking the stewardship from me, what am I to do? Dig? I am not strong enough. Go begging? I should be too ashamed. Ah, I know what I will do to make sure that when I am dismissed from office there will be some to welcome me into their homes.”

Then he called his master’s debtors one by one. To the first he said, “How much do you owe my master?” “One hundred measures of oil” was the reply. The steward said, “Here, take your bond; sit down straight away and write fifty.” To another he said, “And you, sir, how much do you owe?” “One hundred measures of wheat” was the reply. The steward said, “Here, take your bond and write eighty.”

‘The master praised the dishonest steward for his astuteness. For the children of this world are more astute in dealing with their own kind than are the children of light.’

Is Jesus really praising the dishonest steward for cheating his master? The answer is no. What Jesus is praising the steward for astuteness – planning for his future even if it is with wealth that does not truly belong to him. He does not praise the dishonesty even if it is forgiven.

We, who would at least like to claim we are the children of the light, need to plan for our future in a similar way.

The wealth, physical and spiritual, that God gives us does not belong to us but to God. We should use it in ways that benefit other people. God is far more forgiving than any human master, but God does expect us to use the gifts we are given for other people’s benefit – not just our own.