Word of Salvation – Vol. 53 No.21 – June 2009
Shrewd Investments
Sermon by Rev. Dr. Steve Voorwinde
Text: Luke 16:1-13
Scripture Readings: Luke 12:13-34; 16:1-13
Brothers and Sisters in Christ.
The text for this morning’s sermon is truly challenging. The Bible commentators will tell you that of all the parables that Jesus told this one has to be the most difficult to interpret. You see, this parable poses a problem — a big problem. The whole story is so unusual. It is so uncharacteristic of Jesus. It sounds so unlike him. Here he is saying good things about a bad character. Here he is holding up a scoundrel as a good example. Here is one of these financial rogues that Current Affair programs like to expose on prime time television. He is a crook. He is a first rate con-man. And yet Jesus commends him! He tells us to be like him. Surely, this can’t be right.
There is no getting around the fact that the manager is a crook of the first order. This has embarrassed some Christians. But there is no need for any Christian to be embarrassed by this parable. What we do need to do is to take extra care that we interpret it correctly. We need to look at this parable closely and to interpret it carefully.
To begin with, we need to outline this passage clearly. There are three major divisions in these verses:
1. There is narration in the first seven and a half verses. The parable proper is found in verses 1-8a.
2. Then there is a word of explanation by Jesus in the second half of verse 8.
3. Then finally there is application in verses 9-13. There are three related lessons that Jesus draws from this parable.
So these will also be the three main points to my sermon this morning — narration , explanation and application .
So let’s begin with narration — the actual story that Jesus told, the parable of the unjust manager in verses 1-8a.
The story begins on a low note for the manager. Jesus’ opening line immediately casts him in a bad light: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions.” The unjust manager squanders his master’s possessions. From the word go we understand that this man is dishonest. He is not incompetent. He is underhanded. He knows how to take a cut for himself. He uses his master’s wealth to line his own pockets.
When the master hears about this he calls the manager in immediately and he gets straight to the point: “What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.”
This is drastic. This is bad news for the manager. He’s been caught out. He’s had his hand in the till once too often. Here he was the manager of a rich man’s estate — a plum job if ever there was one. But now that he has been accused of dishonesty he is not just demoted to a lower position. He is fired on the spot. This is an instant dismissal. It’s curtains for this manager. It’s all over, Red Rover.
When the rich man says, “Give an account of your management,” he’s not suggesting that the books be audited, he’s telling him to hand over the books. This is it. He’s finished. “You cannot be manager any longer.”
So this puts the manager in a real spot. He can’t defend himself. There’s no point making any excuses. He’s been caught red-handed. And now his master is going to put him out on the street. He’s in quite a predicament. So he says to himself, “What can I do now? My master is taking away my job.” So he considers his options. “I’m not strong enough to dig.” Digging was a rather strenuous way to earn a living and he doesn’t have the physical stamina for that. The only other option was begging and that was beneath his dignity. So what can he do?
Then suddenly the penny drops. He hatches a plan that might just keep him out of the poor house and off skid row. He may not have to wander the streets after all! “I know what I’ll do,” he says, “so that when I lose my job here people will welcome me into their houses.” What he comes up with is a very cunning idea and it shows what a crafty character he really is. He is going to cook the books one last time. He has only a very narrow window of opportunity. If his plan is going to work, he has to act quickly and secretly. Remember his master has already asked for the books. So he has no time to waste. Once he has handed over the books, this opportunity will be gone forever.
So he calls in his master’s debtors one at a time. Secrecy is essential or this ruse will never work. He is also in a tearing hurry. The first debtor comes in and he asks, “How much do you owe my master?” Even the way he phrases the question shows what a dishonest scoundrel he is. “How much do you owe my master? “ How clever is that! He pretends that he hasn’t been fired. He acts with all the authority of the estate manager. If these debtors knew he was fired, he could never pull this stunt off.
These debtors are probably tenant farmers who cannot afford to get on the wrong side of their landlord. So they think that this reduction in debt has the full support of the master. And they owe him heaps. The first debtor owes him 800 gallons of olive oil. That was probably the yield that the rich man expected form the land leased out to the tenant farmer. It has been estimated that this was the equivalent of might have been produced by 146 olive trees. So it was a sizeable debt. But without batting an eyelid, the manager declares, “Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred.” In other words, he now owes the yield of just seventy-three olive trees. Note that he has to do it quickly, and of course this debtor thinks that the manager is still acting on the authority of the master. So he writes a new IOU which states just half the debt of the old one. And maybe the old IOU is destroyed immediately.
Then the second debtor comes in, and again the deal is done very quickly. Time is of the essence, so the manager asks very curtly, “And how much do you owe?” “A thousand bushels of wheat,” comes the reply. Again this is quite a debt. Some scholars have estimated that this would be enough wheat to cover 100 acres or about thirty hectares. This time the manager is not quite as generous. Instead of reducing the debt by 50% he only reduces it by 20%. The second debtor now only owes the master 800 bushels of wheat rather than 1000. Still that’s not a bad deal. So no doubt the second debtor is also quite relieved and very impressed with the master’s generosity.
But now comes the parable’s big surprise. We are now at the beginning of verse 8 and this has to be the punch line to the parable. This is the part that is the most unusual and for some people also the most offensive part of the parable. It is the master’s reaction: “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly.” The master discovers the manager’s underhanded dealings and then all this monkey business is praised. That has to be the story’s most unexpected twist. Why does the master praise the dishonest manager?
If we listen carefully, then of course it is immediately obvious that he is not praising the manager for his dishonesty but for his shrewdness. It’s as though he is saying, “You clever fellow. You have pulled it off superbly.” The manager has put him in a checkmate position. He can’t pull back now without looking mean and stingy. If he were to reinstate the debt, his reputation might never recover. He can’t retreat. It’s game, set, match for the manager. It’s as though the master says, “You win. There’s no way I can get out of this one.” The manager is like a factory foreman who arranges very generous Christmas bonuses for his workers. He comes out looking like the real hero, but of course the bonuses all come at the company’s expense.
So the master has been had one last time. The manager had acted prudently and cleverly. He had pulled off a final stunt that the master could not outdo. All he could do was accept defeat and tell the manager how clever he was.
And here endeth the story. This is the conclusion to the parable.
Now comes a word of explanation by Jesus — and this is the second point of the sermon. And it’s going to be a brief point, because Jesus’ explanation is also very brief. It comes in the second half of verse 8: “For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.” This is a crucial word of explanation by Jesus and he uses it to make two points.
Firstly, he distances himself from the underhanded practices of the steward. Jesus wants his disciples to know without a doubt that he doesn’t agree with the manager’s shady dealings. And he doesn’t encourage his followers to be dishonest like the steward. In fact quite the opposite. The ends do not justify the means. In this explanation Jesus contrasts two groups of people — the people of this world and the people of the light. His own disciples are the people of the light, while the manager clearly belongs to the people of this world. He is a worldling and his business practices identify him as such. Jesus disciples are not to be like that. So Jesus’ explanation makes it clear that he does not agree with the steward’s behaviour nor does he want his followers to behave that way — well, not completely anyway.
There’s also a positive side to this explanation. You don’t want to imitate the manager’s dishonesty, but you do want to imitate his shrewdness. Listen to Jesus’ explanation once again: “For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.” And isn’t that true? Worldly people are often so smart in their financial dealings with one another. They have a business savvy that would leave most of us for dead. When it comes to business sense you have to admire a Kerry Packer or a Rupert Murdoch or a Bill Gates. They are shrewd in their financial dealings. They are smart when it comes to money. They are absolutely brilliant. They have it all over us Christians. By and large worldly people are smarter in money matters than are the people of the light.
“BUT,” says Jesus, “it doesn’t have to be that way. The people of the light can be more shrewd with their money than the people of this world. Let me show you a way that you can be more shrewd than the dishonest manager of my story and still be honest. Let me show you how you can be smarter with your money than Kerry Packer or Rupert Murdoch or Bill Gates. Let me show you how to make investments that will leave the best super plans in the shade. Let me take you to a bank whose interest rates are out of this world! The people of this world may be shrewd, but you can be shrewder still!”
This brings us to the third point which is Jesus’ application in verses 9-13. He now applies his parable in three ways.
In verse 9 he says, “I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.” The shrewd manager used worldly wealth to make friends for himself. He made friends with those two debtors so that when he lost his job he wouldn’t be out on the street but would have a house to go to. Now Jesus is saying that you can do much better than that. The most the manager could hope for was that his master’s debtors would take him in for the rest of his earthly life. What Jesus promises is far more extravagant than that. Those who benefit from our worldly wealth will welcome us into eternal dwellings. In other words, those we help with our money now will forever be our friends in heaven. Do you want to be smart with your money, really smart? Then use it to help people now and they will welcome you when you get to heaven. Don’t just make investments for retirement. Make investments for eternity. That’s what Jesus is saying. It’s as straightforward as that.
Now let’s put some flesh on that claim. Let’s spell it out a little. I think Jesus is encouraging us to believe that while all believers will be equally at home in heaven and all will be equally loved by God, there are some who will have more friends than others. Let’s say that because of your sacrificial giving copies of the gospel of John were made available to a pagan tribe. As a result that whole tribe came to Christ. Then when the books are audited in heaven that whole tribe will show gratitude to you. They will be eternally grateful to you — literally! They will show a love to you that they won’t be showing to another Christian who spent his spare cash on his own luxury and enjoyment.
In the light of this verse I have often wondered how many people will welcome me into the eternal dwellings. How many friends will I have in heaven? Then I realized that that was probably the wrong question to ask. It is not so much that I have given to others as that I have benefited from the gifts of others. Rather than being welcomed I have been blessed so much by the gifts of God’s people that I’ll be on the welcoming committee. I can imagine Jesus saying something like this:
“Steve, do you see that single mother over there? She paid for all those kids who attended that free camp that you ran as a young minister. Give her a big hug.”
“And how about that old man over there? Give him a hearty handshake. If it wasn’t for his generous gifts to the RTC you would have missed out on several months’ salary.”
“And see that old widow over there? Percentage wise she put more in the offering than any other member of your first congregation. I thought you might like to know so that you could thank her.”
How smart are you with your money? Are you using it to make forever friends? Are you investing in ways that will pay dividends for all eternity? I’m not sure I have ever met Christians as financially smart as Kerry Packer, Rupert Murdoch or Bill Gates. Or then again maybe I have. I once knew a Christian businessman who bought a newer and bigger house, but he had so much money that he didn’t have to sell the old one. Being a smart businessman he could have rented it out for a princely sum. Instead he used it to help set up a Christian women’s refuge. He provided the property and some ladies in the church ran the refuge. It was a great way to use worldly wealth, and some of the women who were helped came to know the Lord.
So that’s Jesus’ first point of application: “Use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.”
Then comes Jesus’ second point in verses 10-12:
10 Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.
11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?
12 And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?”
Here Jesus is really making the same point three times. It is obviously very important, so he gives it a lot of emphasis.
So let me ask you — how are your investments in heaven doing? How much have you invested up there? That depends largely on how much you have invested in kingdom enterprises here on earth. Have you been faithful with worldly wealth? Can God trust you with the property he has entrusted to you?
A few years ago my wife and I decided that our lounge suite had seen better days. But we really did like it and it was very comfortable. So we had the whole thing reupholstered and we were quite pleased with the final result. But our pleasure faded a little when someone reminded us that the cost of reupholstering would have been enough to pay for a church building in India. Am I missing out on lots of Indian friends in heaven because I invested my money in my living room rather than in their church building? I wonder.
So that brings us to Jesus’ third point of application. First he reminded us to make friends by means of worldly wealth. Then he told us to be trustworthy with what God has entrusted to us. But he leaves the biggest gun till last and he fires in verse 13.
“No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”
Again notice Jesus’ careful choice of words. He does not say that you may not serve God and money. He says that you cannot. It is a spiritual impossibility. Notice too that he isn’t saying you can’t be rich. In the Bible there were lots of rich believers — think of Job, Abraham and Solomon for starters. It’s no sin to be rich. But it is a sin to serve money. So how do you know if you are serving God or money? Think of the question like this. Say if I was talking to a young person after church one day and I said to him: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” What if he were to say to me: “I don’t really know. All I know is that I want to be really rich!”
How would I respond? I hope I would have the presence of mind to say something like this: “Good on you, son! Go for it and may God bless you! But just remember two things — never make a dishonest buck and always use your wealth to serve God and his kingdom.”
So how do you know whether you are serving God or money? The question is not really that hard. How much money are you prepared to give away? Are you giving God just the leftovers as were the Jews in Malachi’s day? Are you giving God just your spare cash and loose change on a Sunday morning? Or are you a shrewd investor? Are you investing in kingdom enterprises? Are you using your money to make forever friends? Are you depositing regularly in the Bank of Heaven where the interest rates are absolutely out of this world?
Conclusion
Well that brings me to the conclusion of this message. And by now you may be saying: “This has been a very interesting sermon. It has held my interest all the way through. I just have one problem. Your explanation of Jesus’ parable is pure heresy. You are suggesting that we can buy our way into heaven. Wasn’t that the very heresy that gave rise to the Reformation nearly five hundred years ago? Aren’t you reviving a false teaching that Reformed churches laid to rest in the sixteenth century?”
With all due respect I think this objection can be easily dealt with. Jesus is not explaining the way of salvation in this parable. After all it says at the very beginning that he was addressing his disciples. The way of salvation is explained in the previous chapter where Jesus tells the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son. Now Jesus is speaking to those he has found. And Jesus came a long way to find us. He went all the way to the cross that our sins might be forgiven. And if your sins have been forgiven, if you have trusted in Jesus alone to save you from your sins, then that will make a difference in your life. How can an open-handed Saviour have tight-fisted disciples? It has often been said that the last part of our lives to be discipled is our wallet!
How is it with you? Are you a whole-hearted disciple of Jesus?
Are you using worldly wealth to make friends for yourself?
Are you trustworthy with what has been entrusted to you?
Are you serving God or money?
Amen.