THIS parable, unlike those immediately preceding it, was addressed to disciples only (Luke 16:1-121And 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? (Luke 16:1‑12)). An important lesson is contained therein for those who follow the Lord Jesus Christ.
An unfaithful steward is held up to our view—one who was convicted of wasting his master’s goods. Receiving notice of discharge, his mind turned upon his future. “I cannot dig,” said he; “to beg I am ashamed.” He therefore resolved to ingratiate himself with his master’s debtors during his brief remaining term of office, with a view to receiving benefits at their hands at a later date. He accordingly called them together, and bade one who owed his master for a hundred measures of oil sit down and write fifty; another who owed for a hundred measures of wheat was told to write eighty. The Saviour’s comment upon this has frequently puzzled even devout readers of Scripture. “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.”
Let us consider this carefully. First, the one who thus corn mends is not the Lord Jesus, but the imaginary lord of the parable. Second, the steward was not commended for his honesty but for his wisdom. A clever rogue necessarily elicits from his observers admiration―of a kind. The point of the parable is that the man acted with his eye upon the future. He used hi: brief term of stewardship with a view to the years that lay beyond. In doing this he set an example even to true disciples. Hence the words that follow: “Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.”
To read these words of our Lord as if they had any reference to men seeking salvation would be disastrous. Salvation is by grace alone, and it is founded upon the Saviour’s atoning blood. This cannot be too earnestly or too frequently insisted upon. But those who are saved have serious responsibilities concerning which they must each one give account at the judgment-seat of Christ. Hence each “disciple” should take a leaf out of the book of the unjust steward, and use the brief period of life here with a view to blessing and reward in the life beyond. Perhaps there is nothing concerning which even true Christians fail more deeply than in the matter of money. Riches are called “the mammon of unrighteousness,” because they are the fruit of sin. Such conditions as now prevail, one rich and another poor, could have no place in an unfallen world. A grave responsibility therefore rests upon the Christian as to how he disposes of that which he holds, be it little or much. He is indeed a steward; to Another he must render an account. He who spends all upon himself, reserving only his three penny-piece for God, is living for the present only; he who uses his substance for God in the midst of a needy world is making friends by means of his possessions. There is no thought in Luke 16:99And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. (Luke 16:9) of the objects of our benefactions welcoming us into the habitations above. Reference to the Greek shows that the Lord spoke in the third person― “that ye may be received.” The one who welcomes the self-denying disciple to rest and reward is none other than the living God Himself, who is prepared to abundantly honor in another world those who have surrendered night in this world for the sake of His name, and under the constraining influence of His mighty grace.