Be Debt Free! The Shrewd Manager

Here's an interesting parable.  Let's go!

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 any 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 beg— 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?’

‘Nine hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied.

The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.’

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 the light. (Luke 16:1-8)

I find it fascinating that the Parable of the Shrewd Manager comes right after the famous Parable of the Prodigal Son. Hmmm...one is well known. The other? No so much.

This parable comes after a long string of "The Lost ____." We have looked with the shepherd for one sheep, a woman for a coin, and a son who goes and loses everything and returns home, seeking forgiveness.

All of these were in the hearing of the "Pharisees and the teachers of the law." (Luke 15:2) The eager audience of "tax collectors and 'sinners'" had once, again, brought disdainful looks and comments from the self-righteous listening in on Jesus.

My daughter made an interesting point to me today. You can help others, but if after you help, you then turn self-righteous about it, you negate the good you've done. God wants our obedience to be sure, but He equally wants a good attitude about what we do. The Pharisees are all too willing to do good, but they then act like they are the ONLY ones who are obedient to God.  

They fume:  How dare this Jesus comment on our attitude? At least we are doing what God commands. Can we say that of those tax collectors? Those 'sinners'? This Jesus? No way.

Attitude begets altitude. If you fly low and slow, helping but judging as you go, you never get lift. You fly high in His love, and reach out and do your work in His name, then you truly acting as His son or daughter.

This is not your average parable. But let's try to unpack it, and sees where it leads.

Who accused the manager of wasting the rich man's possessions? Was it the rich man's friends? Was it the talk of the town? Whoever got it started, the accusation reached the ears of the rich man, and he wanted to investigate the matter. He just didn't sack the manager. He wanted evidence of the manager's practices. The rich man would then make a judgment.

So, we have a rich man who is calling into question one of his employees. This manager is under suspicion. Interesting how earlier on, the Pharisees were grumbling about Jesus' choice of who to teach. So, could the rich man be the Pharisees and their attitude towards Jesus? 

They might be murmuring:  You are teaching and preaching the Torah and that, Rabbi from Nazareth, puts you under our domain--we are the representatives of the Torah, so you answer to us. Account for yourself. We won't sack you outright; we will show our magnanimity by allowing you to demonstrate how you deal with our "clients."

So, the manager sees his job going away quickly. He doesn't doesn't openly deny or affirm his master's suspicions. He sees himself not cut out for digging ditches or begging. He plans for the future by investing in his master's clients. He decides to show the rich man how he goes about the business. Why? He knows that once the rich man lets him go, he'll need a place to stay to get on his feet. He knows the clients in town and he wishes to put his business relationship with them to good use: He wants to gain some friends at the end of all this.

So, in front of the master's debtors, he shows his master his cleverness. The rich man probably ducked out behind a curtain, so he could hear the manager in action. The first client owes 800 gallons of olive oil. The client is all too aware of what he owes. But the manager has him change the bill by reducing the amount owed to 400--half the original amount.

The second client owes a 1000 bushels of wheat--he also is all too aware of what he owes. The manager has him changed the bill to be only 800. The clients leave and the rich man steps back into the room.

The manager reduced what is owed by these clients by having them change the bill. They left grateful, for any reduction in debt is a benefit. Why?  The debt can be paid back sooner. With the clients gone and prepared to pay the new amount, the rich man looks with respect upon the manager.

Yes, the manager is "dishonest," for he did not have permission to reduce the amount of the debt. His task is to manage the rich man's affairs, not make decisions on his own. But his solution created happy clients, who will more than welcome him in once he is unemployed.

"Shrewd" is defined as "having or showing sharp powers of judgment; astute" per an online dictionary. Remember the original charge against the manager? He was accused of mishandling and "wasting" the rich man's possessions. Perhaps he had in the past; we don't know. But the manager's solution now brought praise from the rich man.

Jesus then comments, 

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 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. 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 own? No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. (Luke 16:8-12)

Hmmm...This interesting commentary from Jesus. He is accused of effectively mishandling what the Pharisees value: the Word of God, the Torah. The clients knew what they owed; Jesus' listeners, tax collectors and sinners, have no doubt what they owe and how they are not welcomed in the Pharisees' version of God's kingdom.

Jesus' listeners are like the clients--their debt is lessened and they go away happier than when they first showed up. The burden they now carry is less because of the way Jesus handles the Word. It's the same "debt"--the Word of God--but in Jesus' managerial capacity, the Word is not so burdensome, as it is when the Pharisees handle it.

He then zeroes in on the real issue of the Pharisees: where their hearts truly are. They are the "rich man." They are the accusers of this "manager." They demand an accounting.

Then Jesus says, just like He did with the rich young man, 

Give it away, gentlemen. Even the ungodly know how to use wealth to gain friends and influence people. You claim to be godly; OK, then, why not use it to further the good? You are not handling the blessings you have with much honor and care; you just want more and the status it brings.  I, as God's Manager, am now calling YOU to account for what you have.

You have been blessed with much, yet give so little. You claim to be rich in God, yet you are miserly with what is, after all, His. You really have two masters above you and you must choose. The object of your devotion is evident, and it must change. You can't serve both.

Whoa: Look at the reaction of the Pharisees: "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 others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.'" (Luke 16:14-15)

This Manager will go one step further than the one in the story: He will climb upon a cross to fully pay the debt of sin and shame we all carry. No reduction of the debt. It will be a full remission.

When we wave the "bill" in God's face, look at it carefully: It says "paid" and is written in the blood of Jesus: "So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed." (John 8:36)

You First? No, God First: The Disgruntled Workers (II)

 Let's do a quick review!

We have just been unpacking the parable of the workers in the vineyard, who despite being hired at different times of the day, receive the same pay, in Matthew 20:

For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.  About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went.  He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’

 ‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.

 He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’

 When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’  The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner.

‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’

But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius?   Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you.  Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’

So the last will be first, and the first will be last.  (Matt. 20:1-6)

After His resurrection, Jesus taught His followers deeply from the Scriptures, as He has sought to do throughout His ministry, but now it had an urgency: 

'This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.'

Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, 'This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.' (Luke 24:44-9)

In other words, the whole sweep of the Old Testament applies to the Messiah, and He is the Anointed One. He connected the scriptural dots, and with the advent of the Holy Spirit, these men and women went out and turned the world upside down.

He is also the fulfillment of the covenant to King David. He is the King who will reign forever, out of the house of David. So, tucked away in this parable, could there be a veiled reference to a story that happened to David and his men?

In 1 Samuel 30, David and his men are waging war on the Amalekites. These unpleasant folks had raided an area and took away the wives and children of David and his men. The men and David are utterly shocked, and cry to where "they had no strength to weep." Their anguish turns to anger with David, and they consider killing him, but "David found strength in the LORD his God." He seeks of God whether or not he should pursue this raiding party, and receives the divine green light.

He gathers his 600 men, and away they go. Some 200 stay behind at the ravine, for they "were too exhausted to cross the ravine." No worries--David heads out with his 400. They happen upon an Egyptian slave, left behind in a field by an Amalekite when he grew ill. David feeds him and this man leads him and his men to where the raiding party is.

David wins the day and recovers all that had been taken. As he is returning, some malcontents say that the plunder shouldn't be shared among the men who stayed behind. They should receive back only their family members.

David's response is quite similar to the words of the vineyard owner in the parable: 

'No, my brothers, you must not do that with what the Lord has given us. He has protected us and delivered into our hands the raiding party that came against us. Who will listen to what you say? The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle. All will share alike.' (1 Sam. 30:23-24)

Notice that David is effectively the "owner" of the plunder and has the right to distribute the goodies as he sees fit; the owner of the vineyard in the parable can pay the workers what he chooses. It is God's plunder, as David reminds everyone.

Jesus implies that the vineyard is the Lord's as well.

Coincidence? I think not. What we have here are unemployed vineyard workers and men who were emotionally exhausted...not involved from the word "go," but still part of the community. This is a community where preferences are not given. Fairness is the hallmark of the Kingdom of God, and it was exemplified in David's attitude towards his men, and the vineyard owner's attitude to the late-comers.

It is this equality that is so unlike the world and how it sees things. Even those who are religious get testy when the "least of these" receives high praise from Jesus. Remember the disciples and their reaction to the children brought before Jesus?

In the parable, the owner distributed the wages equally to all. The malcontents say, "‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’" Yes, in the world's economy, they deserve more. But not so in the Kingdom of God. The owner says, "Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’" Ouch.

It was King David's plunder and it was the owner's vineyard, but all of it was ultimately in the hands of God. We need to shift away from the values of the world that say that those who do more deserve more. And yet, how many people complain about all of the wealth and resources being in the hands of the few? The few would argue they deserve it, because they have worked hard; they were born to it; they are entitled to it because of their superior intelligence.

But in the Kingdom, we are God's children, all standing equal before Him not because of anything we have done, but because of what He did for us. The plunder and the pay are ours because of His Son and His willingness to die for the good, the bad and the ugly.

Those who are exhausted, tired, late, or early are all invited to come.

Why? He paid the price of admission. We just walk in with joy and thankfulness for His bounty and pull up a chair.

You First? No, God First: The Disgruntled Workers (I)

 Here we go!

For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.  About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went.  He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’

 ‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.

 He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’

 When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’  The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner.

‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’

But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius?  Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you.  Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’

So the last will be first, and the first will be last.  (Matt. 20:1-16)

Jesus' encounter with people was one of contrasts.  In Matthew 19, we see little ones being brought before Him.  You can just imagine the scene:  mothers, hovering around on the fringes of the crowd, trying to keep their children from being too loud or too wiggly.  Jesus has just finished a discourse on divorce with the Pharisees.  His view is that divorce is only allowed because of men's hardened hearts.  That must have been refreshing to the ears of His women listeners, who more often than not felt responsible for their husband's displeasure, and deeply feared that ugly word if they failed one too many times.  Did Jesus words encourage them to move from the outside of the crowd to the inside? 

As the mothers brought forth their little ones, the disciples "rebuked those who brought them."  (Matt. 19:13)  How come?  Was it unseemly for a man of Jesus' importance to interact with children?  Did the disciples see the Master's time as too valuable to be wasted on children?   After all, He just squared off against the religious leaders--now that's really important!

Jesus always had time for the "least of these."  He says, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (Matt. 19:14)

I bet the disciples, in their desire to honor Jesus, felt rather abashed by what He said.  In their effort to protect His status in the community's estimation, they lost sight of His message.  The Kingdom of God is not about putting arrogant authorities in their place; it is about swinging the gates wide open for those who are eager to be with God.

Next, we see a man inquiring of Jesus what he must do to gain eternal life.  After his admission that he keeps the commandments, Jesus asks him to sell what he has, thereby gaining "treasure in heaven." (19:21). Jesus then invites the young man to follow him.  But the young man declines, "because he had great wealth." (19:22) So, Jesus comments to the disciples how wealth is a hindrance for entering in the Kingdom.  

Why?  Wealth makes us feel self-sufficient.  We don't pray for our daily bread because, Hey! We own the bakery.  We don't thank Him for the morning, because, Hey!  It's another day to make a profit.  We don't thank our Father for His bounty and blessings, because, Hey!  We earned that by the sweat of our  brow.  

The disciples are disturbed and Jesus then reminds them that “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (19:26)  Exactly.  Our self-importance must be set aside.  We must humbly enter the narrow gate of the Kingdom with the Holy Spirit working in our spirit, bringing us to that place of child-like wonder and trust.

 Peter then pipes up with an observation that the disciples have left everything to follow Him..."What then will there be for us?"  (19:27)  Peter always says what the others are thinking.  I love that quality about him.  He doesn't silently muse on Jesus' teachings; he goes for broke and blurts out his thoughts.

Jesus then reminds them that whatever they have left behind on this Earth to follow Him will more than be made up for when He returns.  But, a hallmark of the Kingdom is humility:  "But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first." (19:30)  Jesus essentially answers Peter's question by  saying, 

Be like those children earlier, Peter, who came to Me without seeking anything other than My love.  No strings, no compensations for perceived loss, just a sincere desire to bask in the sunshine of My love. 

Then, on the tail-end of all this, He speaks our parable and ends with the momentous line:  "So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” (Matt. 20:1-6)

Wow.  Those who have labored long and hard are equal to those who come to the vineyard late.  Why?  Because in the Kingdom of God, no one gets a preference.  All come and sit at the banquet table as equals: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Gal. 3:28)

Put this teaching back into what Jesus recently encountered:  The Pharisees wanting to "test" Him, probably in order to discredit Him before the crowds; Jesus blessing the little children; Jesus asking the rich young man to love God more than his wealth and encouraging the disciples that in the Kingdom's  economy, a loss is a gain.

Authority, wealth, knowledge, rules, regulations, knowing one's place...in our world, these things mattered then and they matter now.  In the Kingdom of God?  No.  None of it.

Only the children are commended by Jesus as already being in His Kingdom.  Why?  They waited until all of the adults were done discussing and debating the Law with Jesus.  They were "brought" to Jesus with no demands nor questions.  They simply gazed into His eyes and saw His love radiating back to them.  They were the "last," the "least" in the society of the day, and yet, they were first in His Father's Kingdom.  This parable comes in like a flood, to wash away any doubt about how to enter the Kingdom of God.

Humility is the price of admission.  Everyone who accepts the ticket from Jesus' hand is welcomed.