Shrewd As Serpents Series

In Matthew 10:16, Jesus advised us to “be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.” Was Jesus telling believers to be two-faced hypocrites? Was He saying we need to be unjust in our daily activities and dealings, and then turn right around and act like model Christians on Sunday? No. Jesus was communicating how we should be as “cunning” as the serpent who deceived Eve in the garden; or rather, be “strategic” in our business activities. However, at the same time we need to be “harmless” and “above reproach,” seeking God’s justice in everything we do. In Romans 16:19, in the New International Version, Paul summarized this thought, saying, “I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.”

We are not to be as the ungodly by employing their methods, but by using their creative capacity. Allow me to provide you with an example of how cunning people can be when it comes to something like illegal activity. I once knew a man who would scour parking lots looking for lost receipts. When he found one, he would then enter the store and pick up the items listed on the receipt, and then go to the service desk and say he had purchased them recently, and he wanted to return them for a full refund. He would then have cash in hand. This practice is dishonest; but look at the level of creativity involved! We, as believers, should put forth this much thought and care into helping people come to know Christ; and this is the message that Jesus wants to communicate in this parable.

A Poor Steward of Another’s Welfare (vv. 1-2)

1 He also said to His disciples: There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods. 2 So he called him and said to him, “What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.”

Jesus told the story of a rich man who had a steward; one who, according to Warren Wiersbe, had forgotten “that he was a steward and began to act as if he were the owner. He became a ‘prodigal steward’ who wasted his master’s wealth. His master heard about it and immediately asked for an inventory of his goods and an audit of his books. He also fired his steward.”(1) A good place to start in the exposition of this parable is to ask, “What was the understanding of the word ‘steward’ during the time in which Jesus lived?” The New Bible Dictionary shares the following information:

In the Old Testament a steward is a man who is ‘over a house.’ In the New Testament there are two words translated as steward: 1.) epitropos, is one to whose care or honor one has been entrusted, a curator, or a guardian; and 2.) oikonomos, is a manager, or a superintendent [we get our term “economics” from this word]. The word [oikonomos] is used to describe the function of delegated responsibility, as in the parables of the laborers, and the unjust steward.

More profoundly, it is used of the Christian’s responsibility, delegated to him under Christ’s kingly government of His own house. All things are Christ’s, and Christians are His executors or stewards. Christians are admitted to the responsibilities of Christ’s overruling of His world.(2)

In verse 1, we are told that the steward was wasting the master’s goods. We see in verse 2, that because he was irresponsible with what had been entrusted to him, the master took away everything he had been given. We just discovered that a steward is over someone’s household, and that we as Christians are responsible for the household of God. Therefore, if we waste our Master’s resources then, like with the unjust steward, what we have been entrusted with will be taken away. Henry Blackaby speaks about God removing our stewardship responsibilities, saying this:

If you or your church are not faithful with what God entrusts to your care, don’t be surprised if He refuses to give you more. Don’t be surprised if He even takes away what He gave you.

For instance, suppose God gives a church several new people who join on profession of their faith. If the church just leaves them to grow and mature on their own, these new believers may get discouraged and drop out. Have you ever heard a church say something like, “We are bringing people in the front door, and they are leaving out the back door?” If God is giving them, and a church is loosing them, the church would do well to take a serious look at the stewardship of those lives God is giving.(3)