Lesson 92: Shrewd Stewardship (Luke 16:1-13)

A rich man who commends his dishonest manager? Jesus always told parables in such a way that more was required of his listeners than just an appreciation for a nice story. In the present account, he puts before us a man who found himself in a desperate situation; he needed to do some really good planning pronto, or the rest of his days would be a mere matter of day to day survival. Jesus then uses this parable to call His disciples to faithfulness with all that God has entrusted to them in this short life. We, like the dishonest manager, find ourselves in a situation where we have to make decisions right here and now over what is truly more valuable; how then will we invest accordingly? Pastor Daniel helps us to transition this story into the kingdom focus Jesus was aiming at by emphasizing that we, “practice shrewd, God-centered stewardship.” He maintains that our use of material possessions 1) reveals our investment strategy, 2) reveals our ability to handle truly important things, and 3) reveals our master.

Summary by Seth Kempf, Bethany Community Church Staff