For many years the meaning of the parable of the dishonest manager (found in the Book of Luke Chapter 16) was unclear to me.
One of the reasons I was confused was the fact that I heard two pastors commenting this chapter with words that were totally in contradiction with what the Lord has taught us.
Could our Lord being telling us to be dishonest? Of course no! Is this an invitation to follow worldly people in their way of making money? I doubt it!
So I kept on inquiring of the Lord who is the only one who can give us understanding and reveal to us the meaning behind the Word.
One evening, while I was doing the dishes and chatting with my husband, I started to think about this parable again. Then I heard a word, just one word: Retirement. Then, I realized this was the profound meaning of the parable of the shrewd manager.
Retirement can be defined as the act of ending a professional career and permanently leaving the workforce (in old age).
In our daily lives, we all work very hard not only to provide for our personal and family needs, but also to save enough money for our old days, when we will no longer be able to work.
Thus, we make various investment to multiply our income sources, buy and sell stocks, build houses, and prepare our children’s future (so they can start life well equipped, move toward a bright future, and be financially independent – giving us some peace of mind).
We also learn to build assets, save portions of our paychecks, watch over our money and look after it.
This is what the world teaches us; and this is exactly what we should do as Christians and stewards for the Lord Almighty: Prepare our retirement by acting shrewdly, meaning with intelligence and discernment.
“I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourself, so when it is gone you will be welcomed in eternal dwellings” Luke 16:9. Of course no friend on earth can assure us eternal life, only God can through Jesus His son. However, by sharing our worldly, perishable, and ephemeral riches with others, we can please God and prepare a golden and glorious retirement with Him in heaven.
The Lord Jesus says in Matthew 6:20- 21: “but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
How then can we lay up treasure in heaven?
Simply by remembering that we are only God’s stewards, and also taking this advise from Paul: “Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.” 1 Timothy 6:18-19.
Many times the Lord has spoken to His people about who He called the least of these: “The poor, the widow, the orphan, and the alien” Zechariah 7:10. Proverbs 19:17 even states: “He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord and He will pay back what he has given”.
Indeed no act or charity is a waste. As an example Acts 10:4 recalls that an angel came to Cornelius the roman centurion and said to him “Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God.” This is how steadfastly and discreetly we can use worldly wealth to store for us treasure in heaven. Using what is ours for the sake of the Kingdom; and when we don’t know how to do it wisely, we can simply inquire of the Lord and ask Him to lead us.
Luke 16 is not about praising and exalting crooked behaviors; it is about making wise choices today that will impact our eternity.