Luke 16:1-181And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. 2And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward. 3Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. 4I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. 5So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? 6And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. 7Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore. 8And 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. 9And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. 10He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. 11If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own? 13No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. 14And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him. 15And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God. 16The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it. 17And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail. 18Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery. (Luke 16:1‑18)
The Lord Jesus told of a man who had charge of another man’s property, called a steward his master found he was not honest and said he could no longer be his steward, and must hand in his accounts. When the dishonest steward heard that, he planned another way to provide for himself, for he said he could not work, and was ashamed to beg. He hurriedly sent for the men who owed his master; one owed for oil, another for grain, and told them to write a much smaller amount for their debts.
That, too, was dishonest to his master, who would lose that part of his debts; and the men were wrong to agree to do so. But that was his plan to induce the men to favor him, and he thought they would give him a home in return.
The Lord Jesus did not commend the steward for his dishonest acts, but He said he was wiser to think and plan ahead than the “children of light” (those who believed God). The people of God know they cannot be in this world long, yet often they do not think ahead about Heaven, and use the things of this world only for their own comfort or pleasure.
Instead of that the Lord said to “make friends” with the “mammon” (the money, or gain, on earth), and they would be received into the eveasting Home. That meant if they used the money and things here for good, there would be rewards waiting them in Heaven.
The Lord also said, “No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will hold to the one and despise the other: ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
The dishonest steward was trying to serve two persons, his master and himself, and he served himself much the better. Some of the men who heard the words of the Lord Jesus, had been using the things of God all for themselves, and wanting more. We read here that they “derided,” Jesus, or spoke against Him, which is very sad.
People who know God now are to be stewards, for the things on earth all belong to God, and should, be used in honor to Him. We are dishonest stewards if we use our homes, money, or other things only to suit ourselves.
Even boys and girls are “stewards,” they have strength, time, and perhaps sometimes money, to use. If all is used for “good times” and not to please the Lord, or to tell others of Him, they are like the steward who served himself but not his master.
Jesus spoke very plainly that all God’s words given before should prove true, He said, “It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than for one tittle of the law to fail.”
ML 08/19/1945