Luke 16:1–13 is another one of those strange passages in the Gospels. Jesus tells a story about a manager who mishandles his boss’s money, gets caught, and then cuts secret deals to secure his own future. And at the end of the story, the master actually praises him! This is not the kind of hero you expect in a parable.
But Jesus often uses the unexpected to shake us awake. He’s not saying, “Be dishonest.” He’s saying, “Look at the urgency and foresight this man showed. What if you lived your life with that kind of intentionality, but for God’s purposes?”
So today we’re not talking about money as much as we’re talking about how to manage your life. Your time, your relationships, your influence, your character; these are treasures God has put in your care. Jesus is asking, “How are you managing them?”
Let’s reimagine the story. Picture a wealthy landowner whose fields roll across the hills of Galilee. Tenant farmers grow olives, figs, wheat, and barley. This landowner has a manager, someone we might call a CFO or estate overseer, responsible for collecting rent and keeping the books.
But word gets back that this manager is wasting the landowner’s resources. Maybe he’s careless, maybe he’s corrupt. Either way, he’s in trouble. The landowner calls him in: “What’s this I hear? You’re done. Turn in the books.”
The manager panics. He’s been living comfortably, but now the bottom has fallen out. He says to himself, “I’m too weak to dig ditches and too proud to beg.” Then he hatches a daring plan. Before the news spreads, he calls in each of the landowner’s debtors one by one and secretly cuts their bills. A hundred jugs of olive oil? Make it fifty. A hundred measures of wheat? Make it eighty. By reducing their debts, he wins their gratitude and builds a network of people who’ll owe him favors once he’s out of work.
When the landowner finds out, instead of exploding, he smiles and says, “Well played.” He’s not praising dishonesty. He’s admiring quick thinking, foresight, and strategic action.
Jesus turns to his followers and says, “Do you see this? People in the world sometimes show more urgency about their temporary future than my disciples show about their eternal one.”
In the first-century Middle East, wealthy landowners were absentee landlords. They relied on managers to act in their name. Corruption was common; debts were often inflated with hidden interest or commissions. A manager could take a cut for himself without the landowner ever knowing.
Jesus’ listeners would have recognized the dynamics. This was their world. And because they understood it, they also understood the point: the dishonest manager was thinking ahead. He was willing to take bold action in the present to secure his future. Jesus is saying, “Why aren’t my people living with the same kind of holy urgency?”
The hinge of the parable is Luke 16:10: “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much.” This principle reaches far beyond bank accounts. It’s about your integrity, your character, your use of opportunities.
Think of how God works all through Scripture:
• Moses was tending sheep when he encountered the burning bush.
• David was delivering bread and cheese when he heard Goliath’s taunts.
• Mary was an obscure village girl when Gabriel greeted her.
God delights to take ordinary people, faithful in ordinary tasks, and do extraordinary things through them.
Every choice you make: how you speak to a coworker, how you spend a free hour, how you handle a mistake, is shaping who you’re becoming. These aren’t throwaway moments. They’re the very arena where God is shaping your soul.
Most of us underestimate the small. We think, “If I ever get a big platform or a major break, then I’ll do something significant for God.” But Jesus says the opposite: if you’re not faithful in the small, you won’t be faithful in the big. Faithfulness isn’t a switch you flip when circumstances change, it’s a habit you build one choice at a time.
Think about people you admire. Usually they’re not famous; they’re trustworthy. They keep their word. They do what’s right when no one’s looking. They’re the kind of people you’d give your house keys to without a second thought.
That’s what Jesus is talking about. Faithfulness is the currency of influence in God’s kingdom.
This applies in every arena:
• At work: showing up prepared, treating coworkers with respect, following through on commitments.
• At home: being present with your kids or spouse, listening more than you speak, keeping your promises.
• In the community: volunteering faithfully, helping a neighbor, praying for your city.
None of this is glamorous, but all of it matters. In God’s kingdom, nothing done with love is small.
Jesus calls this “shrewdness.” We usually hear that as a negative word, but it’s not. It’s wisdom combined with foresight. It’s living today in light of tomorrow.
The dishonest manager planned ahead for his next job. We’re called to plan ahead for eternity—to use our time, talents, and relationships now in ways that will echo forever. That might mean investing in a friendship that draws someone toward Christ, mentoring a young person, choosing integrity even when it costs you, or praying for someone who may never know you’re praying.
I knew a woman named Teresa who taught third grade Sunday school for decades. She never made a big splash. She wasn’t on committees. But she showed up every Sunday with Bible stories, crafts, and prayers. Years later, adults came back to tell her she’d been the one to plant the seed of faith in their lives.
She once told me, “I just figured if I kept showing up and loving kids, God would do the rest.” And He did. Teresa’s faithfulness in the small things bore fruit far beyond what she could see.
Jesus begins with shrewdness, living wisely and intentionally. But he’s leading us toward something even deeper: single-hearted devotion. It’s not just about how you live but why and for whom you live.
Luke 16 ends with one of Jesus’ most uncompromising statements: “No one can serve two masters.” In other words, it’s not enough to be clever in how we live; we have to be clear about who we’re living for.
Think of a runner at the end of a marathon. They’re exhausted, drenched in sweat, but their eyes are locked on the finish line. The roar of the crowd fades; all that matters is the goal ahead. That’s the image Jesus gives us: a focused life, a single heart, a clear purpose.
Everyone listening to Jesus that day knew the impossibility of split loyalty. A slave couldn’t serve two owners. A soldier couldn’t fight for two generals. A client couldn’t pledge allegiance to two rival patrons. You had to choose.
Jesus applies that truth to our spiritual lives. We can’t split our hearts between God and self, between the kingdom and our comfort, between Christ and our ego. One will always win out.
Careers, entertainment, politics, possessions, reputation…all of them whisper, “Serve me.” None of these are bad in themselves, but when they become ultimate, they become idols. The question isn’t whether you’ll serve something; it’s which something you’ll serve.
Jesus isn’t calling us to retreat from life but to reorder life. Make Christ the center, and let everything else orbit around him. When he’s at the center, work, relationships, and possessions find their rightful place.
The dishonest manager thought ahead about where he’d live and who would welcome him. Jesus says, “Do the same, but think about eternity. Think about who you’re becoming and where you’ll belong forever.”
Wisdom plus devotion equals transformation. It’s not enough to manage life well. We have to live it for the right Master.
Several years ago my schedule spiraled out of control. I said yes to every invitation, convinced I was doing it all for God. In reality, I was serving two masters: God and my own need for approval.
One afternoon, a friend looked at me and said, “You’re exhausted. And you’re not much fun anymore.” She was right. That wake-up call forced me to pray, step back, and make hard choices. I had to start disappointing people so I could obey God.
That season taught me that allegiance to Christ requires limits. It requires saying no to some good things so you can say yes to the best things.
Jesus promises that faithfulness in little things leads to “true riches.” Those true riches aren’t titles or cars. They’re the joy of shaping a soul, healing a relationship, pointing someone toward Christ.
Think of the people who’ve shaped you most. Their power came from consistency. They showed up. They kept their word. They lived their faith when nobody was watching. That’s the kind of person Jesus calls us to be.
Think of your life like an apprenticeship. You’re learning a craft under a master artisan. Every small task you do, the sweeping, the sanding, the sharpening…is shaping your skill. One day you’ll do the masterpiece, but only because you practiced the basics thousands of times.
Following Jesus is like that. Daily habits of prayer, Scripture, kindness, forgiveness, generosity. These are the “small tasks” that prepare you for greater influence and eternal joy.
Look ahead. Make decisions now with eternity in mind:
• Forgive now so bitterness doesn’t harden later.
• Invest in friendships now so they bear fruit later.
• Serve now so your heart is shaped for heaven later.
Jesus is saying: Don’t drift. Don’t live by default. Live by design. Make every decision a seed for the kingdom.
There was a woman in my church quietly began visiting a nursing home each week. No fanfare, no announcement. Over years she became family to people who had none. When she passed away, the chapel overflowed with residents and staff who came to honor her.
She never preached a sermon. She never led a ministry. She just kept showing up. Her faithfulness in the small things left a mark on hundreds of lives.
I once met a man named Carlos who had been a janitor at the same elementary school for 35 years.
He swept floors, fixed leaky pipes, and put out playground equipment every morning. But his real ministry was listening. Kids told him their worries, teachers vented their frustrations, and he prayed for them all by name.
When he retired, the gym was filled with people who stood to tell how his quiet faith had changed their lives. He never led a committee or wrote a book. But he’d been faithful in the small things, and his influence was immense.
Today, Jesus is inviting you to choose one Master. To move from scattered to focused, from clever to captivated, from survival to significance.
If you’ve been torn between competing loyalties, bring that to God. If you’ve been waiting for a “big” opportunity, start where you are. If you’ve been discouraged because your efforts seem small, remember nothing done for Christ is wasted.
Take a quiet but powerful step today. Decide to be faithful in the small things. Decide to live with kingdom shrewdness. Decide to serve one Master.
Would you pray with me, “Lord, thank you for entrusting me with this life, these relationships, these opportunities. Forgive me for my divided heart. Teach me to be faithful in the small things.
Help me to live with clear purpose and single-minded devotion to you. May my daily choices prepare me for eternity and bless the people around me. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
