Man, your questions about Luke 16 and the Shrewd Manager on Sunday morning were great. After reviewing the passage for a brief moment on Sunday I was intrigued. To be honest I have read the story of the Shrewd Manager before but many times the end of the chapter (Luke 16:10-15) is so amazing and convicting that we pass by the story that is a little confusing.
The secret to understanding this passage is identifying that Jesus tells a story of the corruption use of wealth to inspire his disciples (and us today) to use their money in a way that grows the future kingdom. It was common practice in that day for wealthy people to have a person who managed their money. This allowed the rich person to evade the paperwork but still keep tabs on their cash. Also, it was the job of the Manager to use the rich persons money to make more money. Sort of like a modern day financial planner/accountant.
The wealthy man discovers that his funds were being wasted and decided to fire the manager. This is seen as an unwise decision because it ended up costing the rich man even more. Cleverly, the manager looks out for his own future by reducing the debts owed to his master and indebting the debtors to the manager making them friends that he could use in a future time of need.
Here is where things get a little difficult. Verse 8 says that the rich man commended the manager because he acted shrewdly. The Rich man is not commending the manager for doing an unjust thing, but the rich man realizes that he has been outwitted and he his applauding the cunning of the manager. By applauding the managers criminal heart the rich man is showing that he to has evil tendencies.
Jesus shows the application of this story in verses 16:8-13. In the same way that the Manager used money to make worldly friends, we should use material things for future spiritual benefit (Verse 9). We are to use our wealth in a way that leads people to Christ and we will see the fruits of this wisely spent money in heaven (Welcomed into eternal dwellings v.9). He gives a second application in verses 10-12 saying that those who use their money wisely and can be trusted with earthly wealth will be trusted with spiritual wealth, a.k.a true wealth. Then from this he gives one more application by saying that it is impossible to serve both God and money.
So the short answer to your question is that God uses a story about the improper use of money to show us how we are to use our wealth for the good of the kingdom. Sorry this is so long. If you have any more questions let me know.
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Finances are one of the greatest detriments to living a live totally sacrificed to God. We should evaluate everything that we do with our finances.
In Christ,
