“Trying To Serve Two Masters”
Luke 16:1-13
Dan Miller in his book “No More Dreaded Days” tells a delightful story about a farmer many years ago in a village in India who had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to the village moneylender. The old and ugly moneylender fancied the farmer’s beautiful daughter, so he proposed a bargain. He would forgive the farmer’s debt if he could marry the farmer’s daughter.
Both the farmer and his daughter were horrified by the proposal, but the cunning moneylender suggested that they let providence decide the matter. He told them that he would put a black pebble and a white pebble into an empty bag. The girl would have to reach in and pick one pebble from the bag. If she picked the black pebble, she would become his wife and her father’s debt would be forgiven. If she picked the white pebble, she need not marry him, and her father’s debt would still be forgiven. If she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into jail until the debt was paid.
They were standing on a pebble-strewn path in the farmer’s field. As they talked, the moneylender bent over to pick up two pebbles. The sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two black pebbles and put them into the bag. He then asked the girl to pick a pebble. Now, imagine that you were the girl standing in the field. What would you have done? If you had to advise her, what would you have told her?
Careful analysis would produce three possibilities: (1) the girl could refuse to take a pebble, but her father would then be thrown into jail. (2) The girl could pick a black pebble and sacrifice herself in order to save her father from debt and imprisonment. Or (3) the girl could pull out both black pebbles in the bag, expose the moneylender as a cheat, and likely incite his immediate revenge.
This is what the girl did. She put her hand into the money bag and drew out a pebble. Without looking at it, she fumbled and let it fall onto the pebble-strewn path, where it immediately became lost among all the other pebbles. “Oh, how clumsy of me,” she said. “But never mind, if you look into the bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I picked.” Since the remaining pebble was black, it would have to be assumed that she had picked the white one. And since the moneylender dared not admit his dishonesty, the girl would have changed what seemed an impossible situation into an extremely advantageous one.
Don’t we all love stories where the good guy uses his or her wit and cunning to defeat a villain? It may disturb us when a villain uses that same wit and cunning. And yet this morning Jesus share with His disciples a parable about a dishonest man who did just that.
You may remember that a parable is a story that has just one point. Jesus, of course told many parables, many of them designed to disturb those who heard them. These parables were designed to get people to think outside the box of their upbringing. That’s hard for most people to do. It’s much easier to view life as you’ve always been taught.
Our text begins by stating that Jesus told His disciples this parable. By this point in His journey to Jerusalem it’s important to note that there would have been a large crowd following along so He’s probably speaking to more than just the Twelve and the crowd would have also included many of the Pharisees who continued to look for ways to entrap Him.
This parable He shares contains an anti-Pharisee theme which was the inevitable conflict between divine love and human legalism. It is directed against the special faults of the Pharisees: hard exclusiveness—self-righteousness—and their contempt for others.
To be very clear, the interpretation of this parable remains very difficult. Theologians have puzzled long over this parable. Preachers have puzzled over this, and I’m included in that list. Some Bible scholars even believe that Luke was embarrassed by it. What do you suppose the Master was trying to do with this parable?
What He says here is very troubling to many people. Jesus seems to be giving approval to a shady character. This parable has been troubling to people ever since Jesus told it and had probably given Him a chuckle over the centuries. After all, Jesus often seemed to have a twinkle in His eye when He told His stories. He knew they were upsetting.
The manager that Jesus speaks of was a steward who handled all the business affairs of the business owner—a sort of business manager for his master. The word literally means “house-manager.” In those days stewards carried great responsibility and were held in high esteem.
This particular steward squandered his master’s possessions and was forced to do some quick thinking. He knew that he was too weak to dig and too proud to beg so he came up with the bright idea by which he would make his master’s many debtors obligated to him so that when he lost his job as he surely would they would receive him into their homes.
Was he giving away what really belonged to his master, or was he forgoing interest payments his master had no right to charge? Originally the master may have overcharged the debtors, a common way of getting around the Mosaic Law that prohibited taking interest from fellow Jews. “Do not charge your brother interest, whether on money or food or anything else that may earn interest. You may charge a foreigner interest, but not a brother Israelite, so that the Lord your God may bless you in everything you put your hand to in the land you are entering to possess” (Deuteronomy 23:19-20).
So, to reduce the debts, he may have returned the figures to their initial amounts, which would both satisfy his master and gain the good favor of the debtors. It has also been suggested that the reduced bills may have represented the correct amount, that the steward may have been “padding” them for his own profit. This kind of dishonesty was very common. In any event, the point remains the same: He was shrewd enough to use the means at his disposal to plan for his future well-being.
So, what is Jesus’ point with this parable? Well, in all of my reading and research this week I’ve discovered many points that could be considered but I’d like to share three that make sense to me.
First, He is explaining the wise use of worldly wealth. Do you know that one of the wisest things you can do with your money is give it away—which with today’s economy isn’t a problem! It’s not the only thing but it’s one of the wisest things. Why? Because, and this may sound a bit strange, gaining friends through generous gifts means you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. In a word, if you give here, you’ll be welcomed there.
There was once a very wealthy man, who died, went to heaven and was met by St. Peter. After he welcomed him in, he told the man he would take him to his new home. As they walked together, they passed palatial estates—mansions—large homes—smaller homes—condos—apartments—shanties—and finally they arrived at a lean-to.
St. Peter said, “Here’s your new home.” The man was of course furious and demanded answers as to why this would be his new home. St. Peter looked at him and very matter-of-factly said, “Sir, we did the best we could with what you sent ahead.”
That leads us to Jesus’ second point. Trustworthiness is measured by character. I think Jesus speaks for all of us when He says that the person who can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much. Watch how someone handles the little things, and you’ll know how they handle the big things of life.
Faithful in little—faithful in much. That’s the principle. If you haven’t been trustworthy with worldly wealth who will trust you with true riches? How we use earthly things tells our Lord how we will use spiritual things—what he calls the “True Riches.”
And that is why, third, our service must be singular. Jesus said it this way: We cannot serve both God and money. The family and friends and resources we have been entrusted with are only temporary—God is eternal!
We live in a temporary world that has eternal consequences. Use your wealth wisely—be faithful with the little things—and devoted only to God.
At first reading of our parable this morning it may look as if Jesus is praising the steward for his dishonesty. I don’t think Jesus is praising the steward’s worldliness. I believe, rather, that Jesus is using this opportunity to teach His disciples an important lesson. After all, they and many more in the crowd probably thought and acted just like the dishonest manager. Jesus was turning the tables on them, like He did often.
I came across the following quote this week: We come into this world with nothing, we spend our lives trying to earn something, and we leave this world with nothing. That quote is attributed to Paul’s instructions to his young protégé, Timothy: “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (1 Timothy 6:6-10 NIV).
As stewards we will all be required to give account of our life. The day of reckoning is every day, and our handling of this world’s goods is stewardship. Make no mistake folks, God owns it all; that’s the beginning and the end of the story.
This place we find ourselves in today doesn’t belong to us—it’s not ours to consider ownership in—it’s all God’s. What we must do is try to find out what He wants done with everything He’s given us.
God owns it all and He’s looking for people to steward His funds for His purpose—honor—and glory. Will we be found faithful in little so that we will be entrusted with much? We aren’t going to take it with us, but we will give an account as the steward was required in our parable, reminding us that we can only serve one master.
He paid a debt that He [Jesus] didn’t owe
We owe a debt we cannot pay
Which Master will you serve? I have three questions for you: If not me than who—If not here than where—If not now than when.
As the deer pants for the water,
so my soul longs after You.
You alone are my heart’s desire
And I long to worship You.
You alone are my strength, my shield,
to you alone may my spirit yield.
You alone are my heart’s desire
And I long to worship You.
Eastman First Methodist Church 