SAY WHAT???

This is one of those passages that just makes me say, "Say what????!!!!!"

Here it is. Luke 16:1-14.

Jesus told his disciples: "There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. So he called him in and asked him, 'What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager longer.'

The manager said to himself, 'What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I'm not strong enough to dig, and I'm ashamed to bet - I know what I'll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.'

"So he called in each one of his master's debtors. He asked the first, 'How much do you owe my master?'

"'Eight hundred gallons of olive oil,' he replied.

"The manager told him, 'Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred.'

"Then he asked the second, 'And how much do you owe?'

"'A thousand bushels of wheat,' he replied.

"He told him, 'Take your bill and make it eight hundred.'

"The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of light. I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

"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. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your won?

"No servant can serve two master. 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."

The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them, "You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God's sight."

What do you suppose is going on with this passage? How can Jesus commend the dishonest manager? The guy cheated his master for his own benefit?

The teaching about the dishonest manager comes in the midst of Jesus' teaching regarding money. I think that's the key in understanding this passage.

First, the dishonest manager is commended because he had acted shrewdly with worldly wealth. Jesus says, "For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings."

• To use money shrewdly is wise. What does it mean to use money shrewdly? Jesus tells us that money and worldly wealth does give us influence. And we are to use that for the Kingdom. And when we use that for the kingdom to gain influence for the kingdom, that is using money wisely and shrewdly.

Second, Jesus assumes that we will have used all our money. "So that when it is gone." We are supposed to use worldly wealth for the kingdom and for others. Because that's the only way to gain influence. There's no influence when we hoard and use for our own. Jesus assumes that we will have spent it all, not just for ourselves, but for the kingdom.

The real issue is that we are to look at money and worldly possessions as a tool. The problem is when we begin loving money and worldly possessions. That's when money and possessions begins to rule us. It becomes our god.