THE PARABLE OF THE CONNIVING STEWARD
Luke 16:1-15
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. Police Officer Robert Marklin of Algonac, Michigan says, “I was in my patrol car by a blinking red light – the equivalent of a stop sign – when I watched an elderly man drive straight through without even slowing down.
2. I quickly hit the siren and pulled him over. “Why did you drive through the red light?” I asked him. “I didn’t,” he said. “I saw you.” He shook his head. “I went through between the blinks.” How many know that excuse didn’t fly?
3. We’re all probably familiar with the crooked manager story of BERNIE MADOFF, the investment advisor and financier who was convicted in 2009 of operating the largest Ponzi fraud scheme in U.S. history. He stole $18 billion dollars. Jesus told about another crooked manager in Luke 16.
B. TEXT
1 He also said to His disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods. 2 So he called him… “Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.” 3 Then the steward said within himself, “What shall I do?...4 I [know] what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.” 5 So he called every one of his master’s debtors to him, and said … “How much do you owe my master?” 6 …“Take your bill, and sit down quickly and [mark it down] 50% or 20%.” 8 So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light. 9 And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home. 10 He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. 11 Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 13 No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. 14 Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they derided Him. 15 And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.
C. THESIS
1. This parable is an expose of the type of materialism that has compromised Christianity in Western world the last 100 years. Money is essential, but it has the tendency to drift, in our hearts, from a peripheral place to the central position.
2. In this parable we look at how our stewardship is similar to his, see the good qualities of worldly wisdom, and hear Christ’s 3 warnings about the dangers of loving materialism.
3. The title of this message is “The Parable of the Conniving Steward.”
I. THREE POINTS ABOUT HIS STEWARDSHIP
A. WE ARE STEWARDS
1. Whatever we have, whether property, resources, time, or talents, it all belongs to God; we have only the use of it.
2. What got this steward into trouble was that he forgot that the resources he had charge of were NOT HIS OWN. He began to use them like he wanted to.
3. This reminds me of most Americans, who had nothing to do with where they were born, but have great resources, and use those resources as if they were their own.
4. But God says the resources are His and we’re supposed to be employing them according to HIS WILL, because we are stewards.
B. THIS STEWARD WASTED HIS MASTER’S GOODS
1. He wasted his lord’s goods, embezzled them, or through carelessness suffered them to be lost. It’s like a Christian skipping church, not praying, or being oblivious to his/her opportunities to witness. We squander those opportunities.
2. We all have mismanaged our Lord’s resources, so when we look at this steward, we’re looking at ourselves. We are all open to the same charge.
3. The Lord speaks as one sorry to find himself disappointed in his steward, and sorry He must dismiss him from his service. Does our Lord feel sorrow about our service?
C. HIS STEWARDSHIP WILL BE TAKEN AWAY
1. This parable teaches us that a). we’re stewards, b). that we’ll give an account for our stewardship, and c). that we will all soon be discharged from our stewardship in this world.
2. This last point should cause us to be sober and to examine our stewardship to see whether it’s satisfactory or not. Our stewardship will soon end and we have an appointment set up with our Master to give an accounting. Wow!
II. THE STEWARD’S CONNIVING WISDOM
A. IN PROVIDING FOR HIS FUTURE
1. Unlike many Christians right now, at least this steward began to give serious thought to what was going to happen after his stewardship was over. How would he survive? So he began to make deals with his Lord’s debtors to curry favor.
2. Have you given serious thought to “life-after-death?” Are you convinced that you’ll be alive in Heaven or Hell forever? Have you met the requirements for Heaven? Are you sending up materials for your mansion?
3. ILLUSTRATION: STONES AT NIGHT
a. An ancient fable tells about three merchants who were crossing a desert. One moonless night they came to a dried-up creek bed. As they approached, they were startled to hear a voice speaking to them out of the darkness.
b. The voice commanded them to pick up stones and then journey on as far as possible before stopping again. The travelers were also told that when daylight came and they saw what they had gathered, they would be both happy and sad.
c. Even though they were confused by what was happening they did what the voice told them to do. Each man picked up some of the rocks and placed them into his bag. When the first gray streaks of dawn appeared in the eastern sky, the men looked into the bags where the rocks had been placed. But instead of stones, they discovered precious jewels.
d. It was then they understood the meaning of the strange yet significant words, “You will be both happy and sad.” They were glad to have the precious stones they now possessed, but they were sad to think they had not picked up more!
e. When we get to heaven, we’ll wish we had done more for Jesus, but then the time for earning rewards will be over.
B. THE LOST MORE LIKELY TO POSSESS THIS WISDOM
1. The Message Version on vss. 8-9; “Now here’s a surprise: The master praised the crooked manager! And why? Because he knew how to look after himself. Streetwise people are smarter in this regard than law-abiding citizens. They are on constant alert, looking for angles, surviving by their wits.”
2. That’s why the ungodly are better at taking advantage of people and situations than the righteous. They are natural “Jacobs” who don’t mind stealing and cheating to get ahead.
C. GOD WISHES GODLY TO GRASP OPPORTUNITIES
1. God doesn’t wish we did evil, but He does wish we were more diligent to take advantage of our opportunities.
2. The lost world is always looking for how to make a buck, but we’re not always looking for how to win a soul. May God sensitize us to the people around us and open our eyes of how to reach them for Jesus!
III. CHRIST WARNS ALL WHO CHOOSE MATERIALISM
Verse 9 is one of the most diversely interpreted scriptures in the Bible. Some believe Jesus is instructing Christians to use their money to make friends in heaven. I believe it’s the reverse: He’s telling those who choose money over God to use it to win friends in hell. Reason? 3 phrases: “unrighteous mammon,” “when you fail,” and the references to being unjust – all indicate he’s talking to the Pharisees & others who love money more than God.
A. GODLESS METHODS CAN WIN GODLESS FRIENDS
1. Isaiah 14 actually pictures the ungodly dead greeting the King of Babylon in the realm of death. Vs. 9, “The realm of the dead below is all astir to meet you at your coming; it rouses the spirits of the departed to greet you—all those who were leaders in the world; it makes them rise from their thrones.”
2. People in Hell will be like prison cell-mates of each other. They will remember their earthly deeds and give honor to those who were the power-brokers on earth. Hell will also be a place of torment (Lk. 16:23); it won’t be a party, as many unbelievers fantasize.
3. So the Lord gives the grim advice that if you’re not going to choose to surrender and serve Jesus, you might as well try making Hell a tiny bit more endurable by using your worldly wealth to curry favor with your future cell-mates!
B. YOU FORFEIT SPIRITUAL INHERITANCE
1. If you’re unfaithful with money now, why would you think God would entrust to you spiritual riches?
2. “Mammon” is the Syrian word for “money” but it’s also a reference to deified Greed. The whole monetary system, operated by the world, is tainted by oppression, greed, fraud, and bloodshed. Many of the clothes we wear were made in forced labor camps; many of the diamonds we wear were dug by slaves in mines.
3. Jesus refers to this money as “unrighteous” because it’s derived from sin and used for selfishness. Those who pursue it forfeit their spiritual inheritance.
C. GOD SEES YOUR HEART MOTIVATION
1. What a contradiction! The “Pharisees,” whose name means “separated ones” – ‘separated from the world’ -- had become dominated by the love of money (vs. 14)!
2. They are examples of how easy it is to think you’re serving God but really have Mammon as your Master. The Pharisees are like many American Christians who have been blinded by the rationale that they’re just providing for their families or laying up for retirement, when they’ve actually become slaves to money.
3. Jesus said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God” (vs. 15).
4. Anytime we start pursuing what the world esteems, we can be sure we’ve gotten off track. Love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and it’s a root that starts so small that it can’t be felt, until it’s so strong it can’t be broken.
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: TOO MUCH STUFF, IMPEDING
1. The army of Alexander the Great was advancing on Persia. At one critical point, it appeared that his troops might be defeated. The soldiers had taken so much plunder from their previous campaigns that they had become weighted down and couldn’t fight.
2. Alexander commanded that all the spoils be thrown into a heap and burned. The men complained bitterly but soon saw the wisdom of the order.
3. Someone wrote, "It was as if wings had been given to them—they walked lightly again." Victory was assured.
4. I wonder if the Church isn’t suffering from the same problem: we’re weighed down by so many material possessions that we can no longer fight the good fight of faith! It’s time to lighten up!
5. JIM ELLIOT, who was martyred by the Auca Indians in Ecuador in 1956 said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”
6. We won’t take anything with us when we die; why let them control us now? Let’s repent and pledge to go on a diet, materially.
B. THE CALL
1. How many would acknowledge that you trust too much in the monetary system? That the laying up of money for legitimate needs has become too strong in your life? Let’s repent and put Jesus back on the throne of our lives.
2. How many want to be better stewards of God’s finances? Or better stewards of your time, talents, and opportunities?
3. Finally, let’s pray that God will open our eyes to the Lost around us and that we will be more sensitive to share the Gospel with them.
4. PRAYER.
