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Source: (consider it)
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Thread: What do we make of the parable of the dishonest manager?
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Ramarius
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# 16551
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Posted
Luke 16:1-9. I have always been intrigued by Jesus's punchline in verse 9 "And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous money so that when it fails, they may welcome you into eternal dwellings."
There's a tad more to the parable - and to the context. And whether these were Jesus's own words or not, Luke was clearly happy to attribute them to Jesus which means both Luke, and his sources, were happy that this was the kind of thing they could imagine Jesus saying.
But what is Jesus saying here? Is he being sarcastic? Is there a missing question mark after v9 (which would change the statement "I tell you " to the question "Do I tell you...?" or is there a flow of thought here that would be more intuitive to a C1 reader than a C21 reader?
Host note: Please provide a link or the text of the passage you want to discuss. Here is the text under discussion.
[ 20. November 2015, 12:36: Message edited by: Moo ]
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Lamb Chopped
Ship's kebab
# 5528
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Posted
Sorry, there's no original punctuation to turn to.
This morning I'm going for "designed to make you think," with a side order of "sarcastic." I don't think Jesus is at all suggesting we should take up dishonesty, but rather pointing out that if the lowlifes of this world can think and plan this shrewdly, the people of God ought to be able to do at least as well. Why they don't is a question that has long frustrated everybody who has ever had to disentangle a church snafu. ![[Disappointed]](graemlins/disappointed.gif)
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Er, this is what I've been up to (book).
Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down!
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leo
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# 1458
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Posted
I don't think the evangelist understood because he gives it lots of different endings, listed here.
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Nigel M
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# 11256
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Posted
The punchline probably occurs a bit later, because Luke flows on into the next piece without a hiccup – so just after the interesting verse 9 we have (NET Bible):
quote:
“The one who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and the one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you haven’t been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will entrust you with the true riches? And if you haven’t been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you your own? No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
This reads as a summary to the parable and, I think, qualifies (even guides the interpretation of) verse 9. In effect, if one acts dishonestly with the resources one is given control of, then one cannot expect to be entrusted with greater things. Verse 9 then becomes a preliminary summary of how 'unrighteous' stewards operate with their 'unrighteous mammon', with Jesus warning against such behaviour in the following verses.
Posts: 2826 | From: London, UK | Registered: Apr 2006
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HCH
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# 14313
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Posted
I notice that this refers to a rich man. Jesus does not usually speak well of rich men. Perhaps he is depicting bad behavior as typical of such and bad advice which we know is bad because it is given by the rich man. The meaning may be implied as the opposite.
Posts: 1540 | From: Illinois, USA | Registered: Nov 2008
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footwasher
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# 15599
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Posted
This has the same lesson to teach as
Luke 14:32"Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace
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Ship's crimp
Posts: 927 | From: pearl o' the orient | Registered: Apr 2010
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TurquoiseTastic
Fish of a different color
# 8978
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by leo:
I don't think the evangelist understood because he gives it lots of different endings, listed here.
I very much like the linked post but don't understand what you mean about the "evangelist giving it different endings" - surely it is the blogger who is saying: "we might draw a number of different lessons from this".
I would definitely plump for number 2 or a variant thereof - the dishonest manager acts in a shrewd way, consistent with his (unrighteous) aims and philosophy. We shouldn't share his aims, but we should share his consistency and shrewdness. We should use money and power righteously and carefully if we really believe that we're accountable to God for how we use them. "Innocent as lambs and cunning as serpents" I guess.
Posts: 1092 | From: Hants., UK | Registered: Jan 2005
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footwasher
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# 15599
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Posted
If worldly people can plan for their future, spiritual believers can too.
Those who haven't given up everything and followed Christ in serving God for eternal treasure rather than Mammon for temporal (the fighting war or building tower challenge), meaning 99% of Christians, should at least use unrighteous Mammon to participate in gathering God's lost sheep (negotiate terms of peace).
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Ship's crimp
Posts: 927 | From: pearl o' the orient | Registered: Apr 2010
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Brenda Clough
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# 18061
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Posted
I think it is saying that you should use your worldly intelligence in matters of faith. If we put as much energy into Christ as we did into, say, selecting a credit card or whether to swipe right, that would make a big difference in our spirituality.
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Science fiction and fantasy writer with a Patreon page
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footwasher
Shipmate
# 15599
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Posted
It's pretty nuanced, detailed, with repercussions that must be assessed.
The parable is offering a solution to a problem. God requires men to be disciples, sell everything, give the proceeds to the poor and follow Christ.
99% of believers in the NT couldn't do this. They had commitments. Even bachelor's had old parents to look after. Believers who didn't look after their parents were worse than unbelievers.
How do you harmonise the two duties?
Think of it this way.
The sovereign king has decided to clean up his land. He sets out to ensure all his vassal are following his rules, justice mercy and love. His requirement is that every vassal unconditionally surrender and align with his cause.
As his army approaches, every vassal must assess his strength, if he can swear fealty to the king and receive everlasting, long lasting, permanent reward or stay disloyal, and enjoy temporal blessings, blessings that rust and wither, BUT face the judgment of the King, for being foolish.
It's a dilemma, because doing the second will definitely cause immediate hardship, maybe even loss of life to him, his family and his city. Against a very hazy, promise of unknown blessings in the distant future.
He needs time to think, needs terms of peace, to avert the immediate wrath of the Sovereign. He will explain his predicament to the latter, and offer to show his sincerity and belief in the good cause of the Sovereign in other ways. He will support the campaign.
Which is good enough for that Sovereign. Whoever is for Him is not against Him. Whoever is not scattering is gathering.
The support of those who have already joined the forces of the Sovereign, who are enjoying eternal life, blessings with substance, will ensure that, if his earthly resources run out before he is ready to fully commit, he will at least have a share of those blessings.
Acts 5:3But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land? 4“While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”
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Ship's crimp
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