Lessons from the parable of the dishonest steward

Let’s read about the parable of the dishonest steward which was mentioned by Jesus in Luke 16:1-13:

¹ [Jesus] also said to his disciples, ‘There was a rich man and he had a steward who was denounced to him for being wasteful with his property.

² He called for the man and said, “What is this I hear about you? Draw me up an account of your stewardship because you are not to be my steward any longer.”

³ Then the steward said to himself, “Now that my master is taking the stewardship from me, what am I to do? Dig? I am not strong enough. Go begging? I should be too ashamed.

⁴ Ah, I know what I will do to make sure that when I am dismissed from office there will be some to welcome me into their homes.”

⁵ ‘Then he called his master’s debtors one by one. To the first he said, “How much do you owe my master?”

⁶ “One hundred measures of oil,” he said. The steward said, “Here, take your bond; sit down and quickly write fifty.”

⁷ To another he said, “And you, sir, how much do you owe?” “One hundred measures of wheat,” he said. The steward said, “Here, take your bond and write eighty.”

⁸ ‘The master praised the dishonest steward for his astuteness. For the children of this world are more astute in dealing with their own kind than are the children of light.’

⁹ ‘And so I tell you this: use money, tainted as it is, to win you friends, and thus make sure that when it fails you, they will welcome you into eternal dwellings.

¹⁰ Anyone who is trustworthy in little things is trustworthy in great; anyone who is dishonest in little things is dishonest in great.

¹¹ If then you are not trustworthy with money, that tainted thing, who will trust you with genuine riches?

¹² And if you are not trustworthy with what is not yours, who will give you what is your very own?

¹³ ‘No servant can be the slave of two masters: he will either hate the first and love the second, or be attached to the first and despise the second. You cannot be the slave both of God and of money.’

Jesus was well aware of the sinful behaviors of the people, especially towards the use of money. He knew that some sinners are sly enough to avoid a nasty outcome due to being caught in their sins. However he wanted to highlight that even if a sinner seemingly escapes punishment while on earth, there’s no such escape in the afterlife. No wonder Jesus used this parable to rebuke the love of money which leads to sin and which in turn leads to punishment in hell forever. This is also a calling by Jesus to give up all greed towards money and give up all dishonesty even those that might seem small sins.

Here are a few lessons we can learn from this parable:

1. You are accountable for whatever has been entrusted to you, so do not misuse things for you will need to given account for it. For example, this can be money, resources, privileges etc.
2. Even while on earth its possible for sinners to be asked by the earthly authorities to give an account for their sins and face the due consequences.
3. The eternal consequences of your sin will take you to hell unless you repent in the name of Jesus.
4. The children of this world are more astute in dealing with their own kind than are the children of light. Therefore a child of light must learn to interact in a wise and holy way with another child of light instead of avoiding each other for the sake of it.
5. Even if sinners are able to get favorable outcomes in their dealings with fellow sinners, they will only end up increasing their punishment and fellow friends to accompany them in hell.
6. Money that is gotten by dishonest means will eventually fail you.
7. Anyone who is trustworthy in little things is trustworthy in great; anyone who is dishonest in little things is dishonest in great.
8. If then you are not trustworthy with money, that tainted thing, who will trust you with genuine riches?
9. And if you are not trustworthy with what is not yours, who will give you what is your very own?
10. No servant can be the slave of two masters: he will either hate the first and love the second, or be attached to the first and despise the second. You cannot be the slave both of God and of money