for it is about to be terminated.’ The steward thought to himself, ‘What am I to do now? My master
will surely dismiss me. I am not strong enough to do hard work, and I am ashamed to beg. I know
what I will do: I must make sure that when I am dismissed, there will be people who will welcome
me into their homes.’
So he called his master’s debtors, one by one. He asked the first debtor, ‘How much do you owe
my master?’ The reply was, ‘A hundred jars of oil.’ The steward said, ‘Here is your bill. Sit down
quickly and write fifty.’ To the second debtor he put the same question, ‘How much do you owe?’
The answer was, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ Then the steward said, ‘Take your bill and write
eighty.’
The master commended the dishonest steward for his astuteness: for the people of this world are
more astute, in dealing with their own kind, than are the people of light.
Reflect:
The parable of the rich man and the steward has perplexed many Christians. Is Jesus
recommending dishonest practices? Of course not. We must note that the protagonists
in Jesus’ parables generally represent God or Christ himself. However, in this parable,
none of the characters represents God or Christ. Both the rich man and the steward are unsavory
people, their actions not worth imitating. Yet, we can still learn something from them! Jesus is
using the parable only to teach his disciples as to the astuteness with which the “people of the
world” approach their worldly affairs and to reflect aloud as to the need for approaching heavenly
affairs with greater astuteness. If we so care for acceptance in this world that we go any length
to ensure it, how much more should we care about acceptance in the world to come, and order
our lives accordingly!
© Copyright Bible Diary 2022