WISDOM FOR LIVING DAILY DEVOTIONAL
JUNE 12, 2020
TOPIC: 7 LESSONS FROM THE UNJUST STEWARD
BY T. O. BANSO
âHe also said to His disciples: âThere 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 stewardââ (Luke 16:1-2 New King James Version).
The parable of the unjust steward is controversial among believers. People have given it different interpretations. Christians have continued to ask questions such as why the rich master of the unjust steward should commend him for reducing the debts of his debtors (the rich manâs debtors) after he had sacked him.
It also baffles many Christians that Jesus could use the negotiation of this unjust steward with his employerâs debtors to teach Christians the use of their money to help people come to Christ.
Nobody understands everything written in the Bible, particularly knowing that the culture of the people in Bible times is different from that of today. We must, therefore, keep learning every day. I have learnt some lessons from this parable.
1.Be faithful with what belongs to others. A steward was someone entrusted with the care of the goods of his master. He acted as his agent, and was, therefore, expected to be faithful. 1 Corinthians 4:2 says it is required in stewards that one should be found faithful. The unjust steward was not faithful. He betrayed the trust of his employer.
2. Donât be wasteful. Luke 16:1-2 says, âHe also said to His disciples: âThere 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 stewardâ” (New King James Version).
The Bible does not tell us how he wasted his employerâs goods. Even when he was confronted,  the Bible does not state if he made any defence or not.
Donât be wasteful. âThere is desirable treasure, and oil in the dwelling of the wise, but a foolish man squanders itâ (Proverbs 21:20 New King James Version). The prodigal son, whose story is told in Luke 15:11-32, wasted his money in riotous living. His brother said he squandered his money on harlots or prostitutes (verse 30).
In John 6:12-13, after Jesus had miraculously fed a huge crowd of over 5,000 men, excluding children and women, He ensured that nothing wasted â twelve baskets of leftover food were gathered. Similarly, after he had fed 4,000, seven large baskets of leftover food were gathered (Matthew 15:37; Mark 8:20).
3. Youâll give account of your stewardship one day. Youâll give account to your employer or the appointing authorities here on earth. You will give account of the performance of your assignments, and how you discharged your duties or managed what has been entrusted to you.
The unjust steward probably had been so deceived by the power of his office that he forgot that he was still an employee accountable to his employer. His wastefulness was reported to his employer and he called him to give account of his stewardship, as he could no longer be his steward.
Donât be so deceived by the power and glamour of any office you occupy, that you forget that youâre accountable to a higher authority and youâll give account one day.
The three servants that their master gave talents, were called to give account when he returned from his journey (Matthew 25:14-30). The same thing happened to the ten servants the nobleman gave one mina each to invest (Luke 19:11-27). One day, youâll give account of your work in your office or business.
More importantly, youâll give account to God one day. Hebrews 9:27 says it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment. What will matter at that time is if you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, and if you lived your life in obedience to His Word. Romans 14:12 says each person shall give a personal account to God.
Jesus said, “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to everyone according to his workâ (Revelation 22:12 New King James Version). You will give account on the Judgment Day.
Paul said, âFor we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or badâ (2 Corinthians 5:10 New King James Version).
4. Ask questions about your life, especially your future. The unjust steward asked himself what he would do after his master had sacked him. It appears his sack had not been made public then. The master still wanted him to give account. “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 begâ (Luke 16:3 New King James Version).
He ought to have examined his life when he was wasting his masterâs goods. Nevertheless, he asked himself a practical or sensible question. Which work would he do after he had been fired? Some people would have done nothing. They would live in denial, keep hoping the sack would be cancelled or go about lying against their employers. Ask questions about your life, especially your future.
5. Make plans about your future. To fail to prepare is to prepare to fail. The unjust steward was proactive after asking himself what he would do after his loss of job. He didnât wait till he would finally leave the job before he decided what to do. He had foresight.
He came up with a plan to reduce the debts owed by his masterâs debtors so âthat when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their housesâ (verse 4 New King James Version). The New Living Translation says, âAnd then I’ll have plenty of friends to take care of me when I leave!â
Think ahead. Prayerfully make plans about your future. Planning is not the same as anxiety or worry. Donât merely say I will cross that bridge when I get to it. Though your future is in the hands of God, you can prayerfully make plans.
Proverbs 3:21 says, âMy child, don’t lose sight of good planning and insight. Hang on to themâ (New Living Translation). âGood planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to povertyâ (Proverbs 21:5 New Living Translation).
6. Execute your plan without unnecessary delay. The unjust steward quickly implemented his plan. He didnât procrastinate. He called each of his masterâs debtors, asked him how much he owed. He told each debtor to change his debt to a lower figure. He reduced their debts.
Many Bible readers have regarded this as dishonesty. Even Bible scholars have divergent views on this. Some Bible scholars believe that if he had cheated his master by reducing the amounts owed his master, he would not have commended him. Some Bible scholars believe that what the unjust steward removed from the debts was the interest, which his master had charged contrary to the law of Moses (Exodus 22:25; Leviticus 25:36; Deuteronomy 15:8; 23:19-20).
Thus, his master was left with the actual amount each debtor owed. Of course, there are other explanations, including the explanation that what the steward removed was his own commission.
However, if the earlier explanation is correct, it means that the unjust steward, who must have been working with his master to charge illegal interest, cancelled the interest in order to gain the goodwill of the debtors and, hopefully, secure employment with any of them thereafter.
Evidently, these debtors cooperated with him, because he had power to do what he did as the agent of the rich man and they, most likely, were not aware he had been sacked.
Furthermore, if it was his commission that he removed, the debtors could have developed a friendly relationship with him, which was his goal.
Execute your plan, but make sure it doesn’t violate the Word of God. Faith without corresponding action is dead (James 2:20). Donât procrastinate. Procrastination is not only the thief of time; it is the thief of destiny.
7. Generously use your worldly riches to bring souls to Christ. Donât be selfish. Be generous. The unjust steward cleverly made friends with the debtors of his employer. He knew he had lost favour with his employer, so he generously reduced the the debts owed by his master’s debtors. As Iâve said, some Bible scholars believe he didnât cheat his employer of what was due to him.
That probably explains why Luke 16:8 says his master commended him because he had dealt shrewdly. “The rich man had to admire the dishonest rascal for being so shrewdâ (Luke 16:8 New Living Translation). Â Jesus noted that the sons of this world are âmore shrewdâ in their generation than the sons of light. Jesus wanted his followers to learn from this unjust stewardâs use of unrighteous mammon (worldly riches) to make friends who would welcome him to their homes after he had become jobless.
Believers should use their earthly wealth to make friends for eternity. They should invest their worldly riches to save lives, thereby making friends theyâll spend eternity together – eternity with God. Jesus didnât commend this steward for wasting his masterâs goods, but for using earthly wealth to make friends.
 “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home. He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own?â (Luke 16:9-12 New King James Version).Â
Jesus ended the parable by saying, âNo servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (verse 13 New King James Version).
Donât be an unjust steward. Be a faithful steward that God will say to, âWell done, good and faithful servantâ and Heâll reward you and youâll spend eternity with Him.
TAKE ACTION!
If you are not born again, you need to give your life to Jesus now. I urge you to take the following steps: *Admit you are a sinner and you cannot save yourself and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life â your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your life. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church. There they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.
Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto you today. I know I am a sinner and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and resurrected the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I surrender my life to Jesus now and invite Him into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank you, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.
I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You will need to join a Bible believing and Bible teaching church in your area where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like the palm tree and grow like the cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The LORD be with you.
PRAYER POINT: I shall not serve God and money; I shall serve God with my money. I shall use my worldly wealth to make friends for eternity. I shall invest my earthly resources in the salvation of souls.
(For over 300 in-depth and insightful messages by T.O. Banso, visit: www.cedarministry.org).
T. O. Banso is the President, Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
Phone No: +2348155744752, +2348033113523
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Email: cedarministryintl@yahoo.com,
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