Jesus Gives Financial Advice

Greetings everyone.

Today we will examine of Luke 16:1-13.  In this passage, Jesus tells a somewhat puzzling parable about a man whom Jesus seems to be commending for his dishonesty.  The man is a manager of a wealthy man’s estate.  The wealthy man hears reports of mismanagement, and confronts the manager.  The manager is being fired, and from his response, it seems that the charges are likely true. Here is my translation:

1  Then Jesus spoke to the disciples, “There was a man of great wealth, who employed a manager. Charges were brought against the manager, accusing him of squandering the man’s possessions. 

2 The wealthy man called out to his manager, “What is this I am hearing about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be my manager.” 

3 The manager said to himself, “What do I do, since my master is taking my management job away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I would be too ashamed to beg. 4 I know to do, so that when I am removed from management, people will welcome me into their homes.” 5 He called upon each of his master’s debtors personally.  To the first one, he said, “How much do you owe my master?” 

6 He responded, “About eight hundred gallons of olive oil.” 

So the manager said to him, “Quick, take out your bill and make it four hundred.” 

7 Then he said to another, “How much do you owe?” 

He responded, “A thousand bushels of wheat.” 

The manager told him, “Quick, take your bill and make eight hundred.” 

8 The master commended the corrupt manager because he had acted so shrewdly. For the children of this age are far more shrewd in dealing with their own kind, than are the children of light. 9 And so, I’m telling you, use your worldly wealth to make friends, so that when it is all gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. 10 The one who is faithful with little things, is also faithful with bigger things.  The one who is dishonest in little things, will also be dishonest in bigger things. 

11 Therefore, if you have not been faithful with your worldly wealth, who will trust with true riches? 

12 And if you cannot be trusted with that which belongs to other people, who will give you something for yourself? 

13 No one is able to serve two masters, because he will hate one of them and love the other. He will be loyal to one and despise the other.  It is impossible  to serve both God and money. 

The manager devises a scheme in hopes that in the end, he has a place to go.  He reasons that he is unsuitable for manual labor, and does not want to end up begging. The manager’s plan involves removing some of the debt of those that owe the wealthy man money, so that when he is unemployed, these other men will look upon him favorably and give him somewhere to go. The manager recognizes that his future lies outside of his current job, and acts accordingly.  

The manager goes to his boss’s debtors and has them reduce their bill.  He is obviously trying to earn their favor.  Is he also trying to cheat his current boss?  It is difficult to say.  Later the owner praises him for his shrewdness.  

There is speculation that the corrupt manager was taking his commission off of the amount owed. Also, there is speculation that the manager was taking off interest charges that would bring the business owner more in line with Mosaic law. Both of these things are good. However, Jesus doesn't specify either of those things. 

The first man owes 100 baths of olive oil.  In our standard measurement system, that comes out to about roughly 800 gallons of oil.  The manager has the man cut the debt in half.  The second man owes 100 cors of wheat, which comes out to roughly 1000 bushels.  He is told to make it 800.  

In his commentary on Luke, Darrell Bock says that the first debtor's debt was equal to about three years worth of wages.  The second owed somewhere in the vicinity of 8-10 years wages.  (Bock, 1332.) Within the context, it seems that the idea that the manager is getting rid of his commission makes the most sense.  In the story the owner commends the man for his shrewd behavior, and Jesus seems to be commending the man as well. 

If the man is indeed giving up his commission, that throws an interesting twist on the story.  If a man loses his job, he would likely want to hold on to every bit of money that he can.  However, he would be very forward-thinking here, as he is giving up his own income now, in exchange for favorable treatment in the future.   

The man had been tabbed as corrupt at the beginning of the story.  So when Jesus called him corrupt in verse 8, it is possible that Jesus was referring to his prior actions in verse 1, rather than his reduction of the debts.  It seems very unlikely that Jesus would praise the man for continuing to be corrupt.  Giving up his commission seems to make the most sense here. 

Any way, Jesus uses this story as a springboard to make some practical implications for the use of money, which he does in verses 9-13. Here is Jesus' advice. 

• Be generous with your money. Jesus tells his disciples that they should use their worldly wealth to make friends.  Not that Jesus is recommending buying friendship, but using money generously to influence people.  
• Be faithful with money. We will be faithful or unfaithful, while handling big and small things the same way. How we handle money is an example of our faithfulness (or unfaithfulness.) God will reward those who prove themselves faithful with money, entrusting them with more important things. 
• Serve God, not money.  Money cannot be the ultimate priority. We cannot chase after both successfully.  At some point, we will be forced to choose between God or money. We choose God over money when we give our money to serve and meet the needs of others.  We all serve something or someone.  The wise choice is to serve God.