The Dishonest Manager and the Diligent Owner

It is against the backdrop of our overly judgy society that I see Luke 16 a little differently this time. It’s not just social media—the tendency to look out the window, walk down the street, and monitor everyone else’s business is as old as time itself. Otherwise, Jesus—God Himself—wouldn’t have had to instruct us in Matthew 7:3–4 (KJV) to deal with our own stuff first:

“And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?”

We are commanded to deal with me and my house, not spend all day critiquing our neighbors.

Naturally, that brings me right around to a passage in Luke 16 about an owner and his servant.

Before we move on, let’s go back a little. Why in the world did these people owe wheat and oil in the first place? The owner would’ve possessed a vast amount of land, and the people who owed him were tenant farmers. They would “rent” a portion of his fields to grow crops and pay him straight from their harvest. Hence, the debts of fifty jugs of olive oil or a hundred measures of wheat.

Because the estate was so large, the owner wasn’t out in the fields managing every lease himself. As one teacher in my life shared: with the title comes the authority to carry out the responsibility. The manager had the responsibility, therefore, his word was as if the owner himself had said it. He had full legal backing to alter agreements and collect the harvest.

The Manager

This man was trusted with the owner’s entire estate. Somewhere along the way, he grew lax or unfaithful, and his mismanagement caught up with him. When he realized he was getting fired, he moved fast to cut deals on those tenant debts so he’d have friends when he hit the street.

I love the note in the Dake’s Bible here: he was too ashamed to beg, but not to extort.

We aren’t called to copy his character—the man was deceptive and bound for trouble. But the owner commended his shrewdness, and then Jesus Himself affirms that assessment of being prudent in Luke 16:8 (KJV):

“And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.”

Jesus applauds his practical use of wisdom in a crisis. That should make us ask: How wise are we concerning the Kingdom of God? How well do we put this Bible into action in our daily lives? The Word is our legal authority—so why do we let the enemy cheat us out of our inheritance and pillage our goods while we just sit back and watch?

The Owner

As I sat down to read this afternoon, I noticed the owner like I never have before. He isn’t the main star of the parable, but he’s definitely worth looking at.

He was a lender with enough resources not to have to borrow from anyone. He had enough going on that he needed to delegate, but he was also diligent enough in his business to make an inquisition when reports reached his ear. (Now, I just wish he had removed the manager’s access to the books first—but there I go with a little extra judgment!)

Points for Self-Examination

Both men give us something practical to assess in ourselves. After all, the Bible tells us that if we will judge ourselves, we won’t be judged (1 Corinthians 11:31):

Operating in Delegated Authority

This manager understood the massive authority delegated to his position and boldly put it to work for his own benefit. We, likewise, have been given massive authority in the name of Jesus and our covenant relationship with God. But having authority means we have to actually work it—we cannot sit back waiting for the Owner to do what He already authorized us to carry out.

Kingdom Urgency

Am I as sharp, proactive, and determined about my spiritual inheritance as people in the world are about securing their careers and money?

Oversight

In my business, ministry, and family, am I diligent enough not just to delegate, but to check in and see things through?

Self-Check

Am I paying closer attention to someone else’s mismanagement than my own stewardship?