We have difficulty with the parable Jesus told of the steward gone bad. We scratch our heads when He finds something to commend. This devotion looks at how God finds something on which He can build in all of us.
Nuggets
- God has called us to be stewards.
- It is important that we manage God’s resources well.
- The steward is going to have to be specific in what he did right and wrong.
- Leave it to God to find that little blip of good.
Jesus told a parable about a steward who found himself in hot water. But the thing is, Jesus found something to commend in the guy.
Oh, we want Jesus to find the good in the bad in us, too. However, we scratch our heads when he tells a parable doing just that. Let’s take a look.
Let's Put It into Context
According to the Holman Bible Dictionary, stewardship is “utilizing and managing all resources God provides for the glory of God and the betterment of His creation.”
Resource
A steward is a person in a subordinate position to God who has been given the responsibility to manage His resources for the purpose of expanding His kingdom.
An Accusation
“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. 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’” (Lk. 16: 1-2 NKJV)
The parable introduces us to a rich man. We know that he has at least one steward managing his goods.
But there is a problem. The steward is accused of squandering the man’s goods.
I thought it was interesting that the man called the steward to give an accounting. However, it didn’t matter what the steward was going to say — he was going to be fired. Since the steward is the manager and not the owner, the steward is dependent on the owner’s prerogative.
Liddon described the office of steward as a trust. The owner had to depend on the steward being ethical and competent in executing his responsibilities.
Apparently, the steward in the parable broke that trust.
God has called us to be stewards. Ketch gave a list of earthly and spiritual goods we are to manage. He listed the spiritual goods as
- the gospel and its ministration
- spiritual knowledge
- gifts
- grace
- the worship of God,
- His ordinances, promises, providences
- care of His holy temple or vineyard
It is important that we manage God’s resources well. That is what is going to last in the end.
We know we are to grow in grace and knowledge (II Pet. 3: 18). We know that God has commanded us to use the gifts He has given us. “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms” (I Pet. 4: 10 NIV).
In the last devotion, we talked about “But someone who does not know, and then does something wrong, will be punished only lightly. When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required” (Lk. 12: 48 NLT). We said those who have experienced conversion but then turn their backs on God will be judged harsher than those who have never experienced conversion in the first place.
We didn’t go on to the end of verse 48. “… When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required” (Lk. 12: 48 NLT).
Stewards have a very important job. They are managers of resources. They have been given much.
Disciples have been given much. These remain God’s for Him to use in us as He requires.
We have to choose to allow Him to use us. We will be held accountable to God when we don’t use our resources correctly.
We know that not all disciples will enter heaven. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven” (Mt. 7: 21 CSB).
To read a related devotion, click the appropriate button below.
A Plan
“Then the steward said within himself, ‘What shall I do? For my master is taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg. I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.’ So he called every one of his master’s debtors to him, and said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ And he said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ So he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ So he said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty’” ” (Lk. 16: 3-7 NKJV)
Ooo, baby. The steward has to give an account to the owner, and he isn’t ready.
But here the steward is — standing in front of the owner, required to give chapter and verse of his actions. No, he is not going to be allowed to gloss over things.
The steward is going to have to be specific in what he did right and wrong.
How do you think the owner would have responded if the steward had left something out? Or tried to lie about something? It would make a bad situation worse.
The steward knows his goose is cooked. So, he tries to work things out in his favor. He tries to set up his next gig.
To seemingly make nice with others, he asks them all the same question. “How much do you owe?”
We are familiar with the concept of sin as debts. Sin is when we disobey God and break one of His laws and commandments. Another word for sin is iniquity.
- “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Mt. 6: 12 CSB)
- “Even if you wash with lye and use a great amount of bleach, the stain of your iniquity is still in front of me. This is the Lord God’s declaration” (Jer. 2: 22 CSB)
The thing is we are all in debt to God. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3: 23 CSB).
Oh, yes. He can establish and collect the debt from us. He is the Sovereign God Who made us in His image.
To read a related devotion, click the appropriate button below.
God is the One who devised the plan of salvation so that we could be restored to Him. He is the one Who sent His Son to die to pay the penalty for our sins. He can require the conditions for our being eligible for forgiveness.
If you have not admitted that your relationship is not right with God,
have not asked Jesus to be your Lord and Savior,
and have not confessed your sins,
please read through the Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
We, like the steward, have a whole laundry list of sins that we have committed. Cadman gave us an overview of this list.
- Laws we have broken
- Duties we have neglected
- Opportunities we have missed
Back to the parable. The steward gives a discount on the debt. The thing is, one debt, he cuts in half; another, he just gives a discount.
Ooo, baby. The steward just went from bad to worse. Remember, we said it seemed like he was making nice with those who owed the owner?
Liddon said the steward was making “… provision for his own future by falsifying the bonds in his keeping, which represent debts due to his employer.”
The steward was going to steal from the owner.
A Commendation
“So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light” (Lk. 16: 8 NKJV)
What? You think, if the steward is a baddie, he should be all bad? It usually doesn’t work that way. There is usually some redeeming quality — no matter how small.
But we know the flip side of that. That means, also, every good person has some bad in them— no matter how small.
Leave it to God to find that little blip of good. He found the virtue of prudence.
I know. I love my old-time words. Prudence is wisdom. Wisdom, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is “ability to discern inner qualities and relationships” and “good sense.”
We know God values wisdom. To Him, wisdom is not only discernment and good sense, but it also leads to goodness and virtue that can be applied to life.
- “I have taught you the way of wisdom; I have led you in the paths of uprightness” (Prov. 4: 11 ESV).
- “The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens; by his knowledge the deeps broke open, and the clouds drop down the dew” (Prov. 3 19-20 ESV)
- “But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere” (Jas. 3: 17 NLT).
To read a related devotion, click the appropriate button below.
Why is this wisdom so important? It reminds us of the future that is coming. Jesus will return. He must find us watching for Him.
So, what was Jesus commending, especially when the steward had not one lick of principles and honesty in him? Seiss wrote that God was praising his “… cunning, skill, calculation, farsightedness, and perfection of adjustment of means to his ends …”
Yes, it would have been better if the steward would have used it for better purposes. But remember, this is a parable. A parable is a story that Jesus told to explain concepts of the kingdom of God.
Oh, yes. The steward was looking toward his future. He knew today was temporary, so he wanted to make sure tomorrow was in the bag. He wasn’t going to let this opportunity slip by him.
Seiss argued that, while we are not to make an idol out of money, the money we do possess can be used for God’s glory. We can gain blessings when we use it for His work.
What have we said before? We learn more from our mistakes than from the smooth sailing. We can learn from the experience of others.
Making the Connections
So, was Jesus condoning stealing? Lying?
No. Jesus’ point was we can’t just sit back and let life happen to us. We have to be diligently working for God’s purposes. Ogle wrote, “Instead of merely hoping, wishing, they put their shoulder to the wheel.”
That may mean we have to give things up sometimes. It always means we have to evaluate ourselves.
We may be the stewards and not the owners, but we are called to be faithful in whatever duties God gives us. Barfield noted that satisfaction was your in that only occurs when we are in Christ.
But I also think Jesus’ point was was aren’t too far gone that He can’t save us. Yes, we have to ABCD. We have to repent. But There is only one unpardonable sin — disbelief.
Jesus loves us enough to save the worst of us — if we ask Him.
Making the Connections to Self-Discipline
In order to be virtuous, we need to know what the virtues are. That takes study. That takes self-discipline to act virtuously when tempted.
We’ve been looking at defending our beliefs when we are witnessing. That means we have to be secure enough to convince someone to accept our beliefs.
Our questions should still serve us to determine on what we need to focus.
- What does the Scriptures say?
- What do I believe?
- Why do I believe the same/differently than the Scriptures?
- What are the talking points when witnessing to a non-believer?
Related Links
I have created a worksheet of the questions above. Click on the button below to access it.
How Do We Apply This?
How do we make provisions for the future. We search for and seek God.
Searching for and Seeking God
Hearing His Word (Rom. 10: 17).
Reading His Word (Rev. 1: 3).
Praying to Him (Heb. 4: 16).
Studying His Word (Ac. 17: 11).
Meditating on His Word (Ps. 1: 1-2).
Memorizing His Word (Ps. 119: 11).
If we haven’t already, we need to ABCD.
The ABCDs of Salvation
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the
Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to
live the way in which God has called us
The Disciple’s Job Description
Satan is going to tempt us to get us to act like the steward. We have to learn how to please God. We need to evaluate ourselves, so we know the areas in which we are falling short.
God expects us to work and to do that work honestly. He does expect us to look holy. He expects us to be holy.
Father God. You love us so much that You provided a way for us to be restored to You. Yes, You insist that there is just one way to You. Help us to submit to You and live the way You wish us to live. Amen.
What do you think?
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