The Hardest Parable ~ Luke 16:1-13 (Short Stories Jesus Told series)

Over a week ago, the Governor of Georgia shocked and thrilled many when he ordered that drivers who only took the written test, could be awarded driver’s licenses without taking the actual driving test. While it made many 16-year-olds happy it was not welcomed by everyone. The concern, of course, is that you can have the knowledge and yet still not know how to drive or drive well. And good test will test what you’ve learned, of course, as well as how to apply it. That’s what Jesus’ parable of the Dishonest Manager suggests to us today. That you might talk a good game and revel in grace but still not know how live it out – generously and abundantly. And the test for grace might surprise us. The driving test for grace isn’t so much a test about your prayer life, or a theological exam, but a test about money, generosity and welcome. Let’s take a look at Jesus’ “hardest” parable.

The Parable of the Dishonest manager is a prodigal parable.

Vs. 15:1-2 is the setting for three parables that we are very familiar with  - the lost sheep, the lost coin, the lost boy or Prodigal son and then immediately following our parable today. Jesus, according to Luke, doesn’t take a breath and wants to tell us not three but five stories about God’s generosity and grace.

It’s amazing to consider that when Jesus wants to talk about the grace of the kingdom – “money” or something of material value features prominently – sheep, coins, paid labor, lavish parties, etc.. Furthermore, the Prodigal and our manager are linked because both “wasted” or “squandered property” (c.f. 15:13 & 16:1). Both are guilty and their prodigalness is expressed by self-centered selfishness and wasting money only on themselves. And both characters also experience welcome through generosity (c.f.  15:29-30 & 16:9).

I guess the truth I’m trying to suggest that Jesus’ parables seem to unmask us with an unexpected question. How often do you imagine that your story of faith or testimony is best answered by the question: “Tell me your story about money.” The context for our discipleship is not merely prayer and Bible reading, Jesus tells us time and time again, but also dollars and generosity.

When we return to our parable today it’s a doozy. And I want to confess that I have more questions than answers, more puzzles than pictures, more wrestling than well-thought out theology. And that part troubled me until I remembered – that’s the point.

If the parable of the Dishonest manager is a prodigal parable then it’s a puzzle and test is about how well we understand and express grace on the other side of discipleship. Jesus tells this story specifically to “disciples” in vs. 16:1 - a crazy story about a dishonest manager. It was intentionally meant to shock. So what does “grace” look like on the other side for those of us who follow Jesus? And let me spare you any doubt – this manager IS dishonest. Jesus will reiterate that in vs. 8 so we can’t, as some commentators are want to do, explain away his actions as merely reducing his own extravagant percentage on top of what is owed. And that has freaked out a lot of Christians who don’t like the thought –because they imagine that Jesus is encouraging dishonest or fraudulent behavior – he’s not. He’s connecting our use of money toward others with our understanding of the welcome of salvation. But here’s the rub – I am the dishonest manager, you are too. I have “wasted” possessions, I have. And I will give account – you will too. The “give an account” (16:2) in the New Testament is language for two things: both testimony and judgment (Romans 14:12; 1 Peter 4:5; Hebrews 13:17; 1 Peter 3:15). – Our Christian witness, in other words, and God’s assessment of our lives involve a look at our money. It is the fact that we will stand before the God of the Good Samaritan, the God of the Workers of the Vineyard, the God who owns thousands of cattle on a thousand hills, the God of the Poor, and give an account on how we used his stuff and treated ones he loves. Our use of money is worship and evangelism and testifies to the world what we believe. And if that puts a pit in your stomach – that’s okay. It does me too.

If you are worried – listen to Jesus. I know that vss. 8-9 are strange. Is Jesus telling us that we earn our salvation by being generous to the poor? If you follow a certain logic it can almost seem that way. However, I think it’s helpful to remember that he is telling this to disciples who are already believers. So maybe the wisdom Jesus want us to attain is the realization that it’s not so much that money saves but that how you handle money reveals how well you understand salvation by grace. If every day people understand that giving money helps create friendship and welcome then how much more should those of us who are believers understand the power of money given graciously. What if the real enemy of grace might not be works but greed? That’s the very suggestion of Jesus’ ending statements about wealth and spirituality. By the way, friends, as far as I’m aware of, Jesus never talks this way about Bible reading or prayer! When the kingdom is our treasure, we switch from hoarding to giving. When we elevate kingdom priorities and keep our end in mind we liberally share our wealth. And in the process we not only restore and liberate the poor but also ourselves. Grace is fully understood when we recognize that we are also responsible for being generous to others as friends. We begin to realize that the enemy of grace is greed.

I know it’s hard. Don’t laugh.

That’s what the Pharisees do when Jesus finishes his story, it tells us in vs. 16:14-15. They made fun of such an idea to “justify” themselves. Friends, I don’t believe that this parable is so difficult to understand – that grace, money, and our belief about the next life work and flow from the same place. This parable is hard for one reason. I don’t want to do it. I’m not even sure always what to do. I certainly don’t want to connect my spending to my spirituality. I want my Christianity to be about my Bible not my wallet, my worship on Sunday and not my budget on Monday.

But this is still a parable. It’s okay to be troubled, perplexed, off-kilter, even a bit unsure. Jesus does not offer us a rule, a guideline or even policies that we can either follow slavishly or utterly dismiss. He tells us a story that reveals how interconnected and complicated following God can be. Wrestling is a proper response of anyone who would wish to live such a story. Clearly Luke understood that the issues of wealth and poverty are complex, that anxiety about money is a disease among both those who have it and those who do not, and that a generous sharing of one’s goods can free one from the danger to the soul which money can be. So you can struggle with it – just don’t laugh. Struggling means you’re on the right track. Scoffing doesn’t.

But what can you do? What’s one thing that you might do as a disciple who believes that money and theology connect?  What’s a regular act that would show you don’t love money and that surprises people with money as an act of grace? Can you imagine what our world would be like, think of us, if the church acted like that? So be a disciple. Be like Austin Perine (pee-rhine). This is my “living commentary” for you. Below is a link to a short 3 min. YouTube video. I want to encourage you to watch it, to inspire you to be generous as God is generous. If we live as the shrewd manager we will befriend our city with the grace of God regularly in ways that show true sacrifice, real love and gracious dollars. No one, not even a Pharisee, can truly scoff at that.
 To watch the Austine Perine video click HERE.