WHEN SLICK GOT CAUGHT
Text: Luke 16:1-13
The parable of the unjust steward (Luke 16:1-13) is a parable that has been awkward for some to understand. It is awkward because, it seems, that the unjust steward gets rewarded for his crookedness. But, the truth of the matter is that he got “called on the carpet” because he wasted his master’s possessions and got caught. Ol’ Slick got caught. So to amend the situation, he had to use money (Mammon) the way that God intended for it to be used in the first place. God never intended for money to become our master. When money becomes our master, then it becomes idolatrous. It seems that his “earthly treasures” were the master of the unjust steward. That is what the word Mammon means---treasure in the form of “money”, “wealth”, “property”, and/or “profit”. (George A. Buttrick. ed. The Interpreter’s Dictionary Of The Bible. 17th Printing. D. M. Beck. “Mammon”. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1987, p. 235). The steward in this parable had a hang up with “Mammon”.
I once read where someone (Halford E. Lucock) made a wise observation about money and its design to be a servant. “Everyone is familiar with the solemn words of the marriage ceremony: “What God hath joined together, let no man put asunder”. That of course reaches into many more things than the marriage ceremony. … God has joined together work and happiness. When we try to separate them, we run into great trouble. These words, however are also true in reverse. We can truly say “What God hath put asunder, let no man join together.” A great deal of the evil in the world has come from man’s effort to join together things that God separated. Jesus said: “You cannot serve God and Mammon.” He has put asunder the service of money as an end in itself, and the service of God”. (Halford E. Lucock. Unfinished Business. New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1956, p. 137). Money is meant to be a servant, not a master.
The time had now come when the unjust steward--- “Ol’ Slick” got caught. It was time to face the music. The crooked deeds were done. Now it was time for the inevitable---to face the unavoidable consequences---to give an account. He had no defense because he could not justify his actions. Yet, he seized the opportunity of the time before he would be unemployed to prepare for his future by making some friends.
FAILURE VERSUS FAITHFULNESS
The steward had been hired to be trusted with managing his master’s money but he failed. To give you an idea of the kind of trust that he had in his role as a steward it is helpful to define what a steward is and does. A steward is supposed to be a person of integrity who is both a caretaker and a watchman. 1) Consider the following stewards, Adam and Eve. When Adam and Eve failed to take of the Garden the way they were supposed to they were banned from the garden. They were banned because they messed with the forbidden fruit (Genesis 2:15 –17, 3:6, 24-25). 2) Consider also when Joseph was a steward to Potiphar (Genesis 41:41-44). Unlike Adam and Eve, Joseph proved to be a good steward because he had had the God-given foresight to save Egypt starvation (Genesis 41:46-49). As a steward, Joseph stuck to his duty and never deviated from it. 3) Someone pointed out (Herbert Lockyer) as it relates to this parable the Pharisees were stewards because they were the interpreters of the Law who failed to do what they were supposed to do with what was entrusted to them. (Herbert Lockyer. All the Parables Of The Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1963, p. 290). Naturally, they were disturbed when Jesus told this parable.
The steward failed because much was expected of him and he had performed his duties way below what was expected of him. The same word for wasting or squandering that was used in the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32) is used in Luke 16:1. Was it possible that he was guilty of being incompetent because he did his job half-heartedly? As someone has noted (S. MacLean Gilmour) “The steward’s conduct was characterized in the beginning by incompetence and in the end by flagrant dishonesty”. (George A. Buttrick. ed. The Interpreter’s Bible. Volume 8. Thirty-sseventh Printing. S. MacLean Gilmour. “Luke: Exegesis”. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1988, p. 280). We know that his master notified him of his pending termination. In the general sense we are told that he was wasteful in his duty but we are not told how he was wasteful specifically. It seems that the practice of “unrighteous mammon” was the charge that he was guilty of. We will look at the meaning of “unrighteous mammon”. The unjust steward [Slick] had failed to be faithful with the responsibilities that were given to him. Jesus said in Luke 16:10: "He who is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and he who is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much” (RSV). We can safely conclude that the steward was both unfaithful ---“incompetent in the beginning and dishonest in the end” before he was fired.
How do we fare as stewards with what has been entrusted to us? “The thief says, “What’s yours is mine---I’ll take it!” The selfish man says “What’s mine is mine I’ll keep it!” But the Christian must say “What’s mine is a gift from God---I’ll share it!” We are stewards and must use our abilities to win the lost, encourage the saints, and meet the needs of hurting people”. (Warren W. Wiersbe. The Bible Expostion Commentary. Volume 1. Wheaton: Victor Books, 1989, p. 239). How well do we handle our stewardship---our responsibility? The biblical understanding of stewardship is about being faithful with all that we are and all that God has entrusted us with in our time, talents, sharing the good news of the gospel and money in glorifying His name.
FAULT VERSUS FIDELITY
It seems that the steward in this parable had false fidelity. By fidelity, I mean allegiance and loyalty. Loyalty and allegiance are about being consistent in responsibility in little things as well as big things. As Benjamin Franklin once put it ….
For the want of a nail,
a shoe was lost.
For the want of a shoe,
the horse was lost.
For the want of a horse,
a rider was lost.
For the want of a battle,
a battle was lost.
For the want of a battle,
a war was lost.
For the want of a war,
a kingdom was lost.
(Roy B. Zuck. The Speaker’s Quote Book. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1997, p. 231).
Or as someone else put it, “Little things are the hinges on which great results turn”. (Roy B. Zuck, p. 231). No one can genuinely fake the results of true, consistent, diligent and competent work. The results of our work, good or bad, reflect the quality of our work in our stewardship as it really is. The same was true for the unjust steward---[Slick], in this parable. When Slick got slack, Slick eventually got caught.
Genuine fidelity---loyalty, allegiance is what God wants from us. God wants us to give Him our best. Our relationship with our possessions effects the quality of our work. Do we own our possessions or do they own us? When our possessions own us, instead of us being in ownership of our possessions we might as well say it is “fool’s gold”. When our possessions own us, they become idolatrous. Coveting is a bad thing because it takes the way that God intended for money to be used as a source of blessing and turns it into “fools gold”. A Roman proverb says, “Money is like sea water. The more you drink, the thirstier you get.” (Roy B. Zuck, p 258).
It seems that the unjust steward was guilty of usury. Usury is the greedy practice of lending money at an interest that is excessively high. It is a form of the exploitative practice of “predatory lending”. The term “unrighteous mammon” was a practice that was forbidden when it came to having business dealings with fellow Jews according Exodus 22:25-27, Leviticus 25:36 and Deuteronomy 23:19-20. Although charging interest was permitted in business dealings with foreigners, a Jew could not charge interest to another Jew on any kind of loans. “This man …” the master “… through his steward was charging his neighbors interest, and this illegal interest was the “unrighteous mammon to which Jesus refers.” (Bruce Larson. Mastering The New Testament: Luke. Dallas: Word Publishing, 1983, p. 233). The unjust steward, it seems, was therefore making his master look bad. In any event, the unjust steward [Slick] didn’t have an alibi.
FORESIGHT VERSUS FAVOR
The unjust steward mismanaged his master’s business affairs and was soon to be terminated. His master could have fired him on the spot, but he showed his manager mercy. He tells his manager to give an account of his management because he will no longer be managing his master’s affairs. So after he got the news of his upcoming termination, he imagined what his future would be like. He has an opportunity to make changes but he must now act fast. He will not have this opportunity again to make changes that will make a difference in his future.
The unjust steward [ol’ Slick] was a rascal, but he was also shrewd. “He considers that his most promising course is to place others in his debt by granting them favors [discounts on their debts] while he can still exercise authority under the master so that when he is out of a job they will “owe him something. He did not hesitate a moment on this plan, he made changes so that he could make friends whose help he would need later. The unjust steward [Slick] said to himself: “I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. And calling to him each one of his lord's debtors, he said to the first, How much owest thou unto my lord?” (ASV). By the time he gave his account, Slick had already met with his master’s debtors and given discounts on their debts. He did not want to have to dig ditches and did not want to beg (Luke 16:3) so he shrewdly bargained his way out of trouble. He made these friends accomplices. At first, Mammon had apparently been his god because of how he idolized money and its power. Then, he found how he could make the money work for him to his advantage when he exercised generosity through his business sense---savvy. Generosity liberated him where his greed had imprisoned him.
The master in this parable commends [Slick] the unjust steward. This is the place in the parable where it seems like the unjust steward is being rewarded for being a crook. He had abused the power that was entrusted to him and had acquired ill-gotten success. Now he had to make a choice with the small window of opportunity that he was given. He used his possessions to gain the very future he allowed to be jeopardized by possessions acquired by ill-gotten success. (Fred B. Craddock. Interpretation: Luke. Louisville: John Knox Press, p. 1990, p. 190). His master commended him on his “shrewdness”, not his “rascality”. (Clovis G. Chappell. Sermons From The Parables. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1933, p. 145). As someone (Paul N. Benware) sums up well “The master praised the steward not for his theft but for his foresight. The steward had used his present opportunity to provide for his future”. (Paul N. Benware. Everyman’s Bible Commentary: Luke. Chicago: Moody Press, 1985, p. 109). Imagine how he would have been in a jam if he had not amended his ways.
How many withhold possibilities who have the means to make the world a better place because of their position? 1) God has endowed (gifted) everyone with talents and resources. 2) Many use there talents while forgetting the source of those talents and abilities that God gave them. 3) Others use their talents and resources for God’s glory yet they sometimes withhold reaching their potential in God’s service. 4) God wants us to use our talents and our resources to forward His kingdom here on earth. The moral of this parable is for us to be as prudent (careful) as we can be. The “children of the world” use heavenly things for earthly goals and objects. And we as “children of the light” should use our earthly things for heavenly goals and objects. ( R. C. Trench. Notes On The Parables Of Our Lord. Twenty-fifth Printing. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1990, p. 155). We should be as shrewd for God’s kingdom on earth as children of the world are for the things of earth.
There is the story of a wealthy religious man who was bridling (restraining) his potential to make more happen in the mission field. One day a minister (Campbell Morgan) was visiting with a wealthy man who was a wealth devoted church member. That church member was also elegant in prayer. He prayed for the success of missionaries. One of his children commented on the eloquence of his prayer and then told him that if he had his father’s check book he could answer half of his daddy’s prayers. (Herbert Lockyer. . All the Parables Of The Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1963, p. 291). We may not be wealthy like this man. We do not have to be wealthy to be faithful in our service and if we are faithful to God, God helps us to be fruitful.
