Luke 16:1-15
September 21, 2025
Several years ago a friend of mine worked for a United States Congressman, but he left his position when he saw how the Congressman appeared to be willing to say or do almost anything to get elected. The Congressman would often tell the story of how when he was growing up his parents would often drive over to his grandparents’ house and take them to worship at the local Baptist church. One day as he was campaigning for reelection to the House of Representatives, he went to a small town to give a speech and was told a few minutes before he was to give his speech by one of the community leaders that there were a lot of Catholic voters in the audience. As the Congressman concluded his speech, he told the story once again of how he and his parents would drive over to his grandparents’ home every Sunday morning and take them to the local Baptist church for worship; but this time he went on to say that after his parents brought his grandparents home from worship, they would then turn around and take his other set of grandparents to mass at the Catholic church every Sunday.
At the end of the day the local community leader complimented the Congressman on his great speech and he expressed surprise at learning that the Congressman had grandparents who were Catholic. Apparently the Congressman responded by saying, “Don’t be ridiculous. I don’t have grandparents who are Catholic, in fact, all of my grandparents died before I was born.” By the way, the Congressman went on to win the election.
I would guess that the Congressman probably could have related well to the shrewd dishonest manager in our Gospel lesson for today. The story that Jesus tells involves a crooked, dishonest financial manager who appears to be commended for his dishonesty. In the story, the financial manager had cheated his boss and was being fired. But before he lost his job, he thought about how he would take care of himself. He was used to living a comfortable life and couldn’t bear to
dig ditches or beg for a job. So he decided that the people who owed his boss money would be grateful to him if their bill could be reduced. So he invites the debtors who owed money to his boss to come see him, he asks them how much they owe, and then tells them to reduce the amount they owe. Surprisingly though when his boss finds out about it, he doesn’t seem to get angry, even though what the manger did caused him to lose even more money than what the manager had already squandered. Instead, he commends the man for thinking fast on his feet and acting shrewdly, so that he might be able to get a job with the other debtors when he left.
Initially this story appears to be somewhat confusing. We never hear of the manager apologizing to his boss for his dishonesty; instead he is complimented by his boss for the way he acted after he got caught ripping off the company. Jesus, though, does not hold up this dishonest financial manager as someone to admire. But He says that we can learn some things from this crooked man.
Namely, if the people of the world are so focused on looking out for themselves, if they can act so decisively about things that really don’t matter, then why do Christians seem to be so casual about the care of their souls and the souls of others? If some people will stop at nothing to make money, then why aren’t we, who are followers of Jesus, as committed to Him with such passion and dedication?
For example, imagine if you learned today that a close friend or relative had no health insurance. Would you be concerned? Sure, and you would probably give some assistance or advice to make sure he or she got some coverage. But if you found out that the same person had no plan for eternal life, no assurance of life in heaven, no personal relationship with Jesus, shouldn’t we be even more concerned? Jesus calls us to represent Him to the world, and after everything Jesus has done for us – namely by giving His life for us on the cross so that we can live forever with Him in heaven, we should be motivated to want to do the things He asks us to
do. Not because we feel obligated or guilty if we don’t, but because we love Jesus and we want to be the greatest followers of Jesus that we can be. So Jesus uses this story of a dishonest financial manager to teach us that if dishonest people will put so much effort into their work, then we ought to be willing to try as hard as we can to serve Jesus since He served us.
Think of it this way. I’m sure you’ve seen stories and articles about the work professional athletes do to become some of the best in their sport. Athletes will talk about how they get up early every morning and practice their sport over and over again until they hands, shoulders, and legs hurt. And when their hands start to throb and their knees start to ache, they push themselves even harder. In light of this text how many of us have ever had throbbing hands, because we had them folded in prayer for so long and with such intensity? Do we have such a drive to grow in our relationship with God and serve others, as athletes do in trying to be the best?
What Jesus is saying in this parable is that since the people of the world are so intense in their way of life, then why aren’t my followers? If the thieves of this world will stop at nothing to make money, if a professional athlete will practice long and hard to become good at their sport, when why aren’t we as followers of Jesus as committed to Him with such passion, ambition, and dedication?
This parable is not about money or commending a person for being dishonest. This parable really deals with one’s commitment toward Jesus. Jesus wants our lifestyle to be committed to Him. He wants the way we act, the way we think, the way we make decisions, and the way we interact with others, all to be influenced by our commitment to Him. Jesus doesn’t want us for only one hour a week on Sunday morning. He wants us every hour of every day. He wants an intensity in our relationship with Him that comes before anything else in this world. He wants us to actively participate in this relationship so that we can take the love and mercy He gives to us and give it to others, especially those who do not know Him.
In Matthew 5:14-16 Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” I bring this up to show you that from the beginning you and I are God’s plan to reveal Him to the world. Jesus said when we serve Him and share His love and mercy with others, they will see our good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. This means we have the opportunity to point people to Jesus through what we say and do. So on your bulletin insert we have listed all kinds of ministries that we have in the church where together we can share the love of Jesus with others and be the light of Christ to our community. These are ways that you can actively share your joys and your challenges with others as you grow in your faith.
In verse 9 of our text Jesus says, “Make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.” This verse sounds really strange, almost like Jesus is saying to use your money to buy friends and to buy your way into heaven, but that is not what He is saying at all. What Jesus is saying is to use your money to build relationships that are going to last forever – eternal relationships. Whenever we use our money to help people become followers of Jesus, then those people are going to be in heaven someday, and that’s what giving money to the church is all about. It’s not about buildings or a budget, it’s about people – meeting together and sharing together what God gives to us.
There are two things in this world that are going to last forever. One is the Word of God and the second is people. People are going to live forever in one of two places – heaven or hell. So where we spend our time and money may determine where some people spend eternity. So let’s get with God’s plan to serve others and to value what He values – faithfulness, generosity, and love.
