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Parable #32 ~ Luke 16:1-8 ~ The Shrewd Manager ~
Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of
wasting his possessions. So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear
about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager
any longer.’
“The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking
away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg— I know
what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their
houses.’
“So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How
much do you owe my master?’
“ ‘Eight hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied.
“The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four
hundred.’
“Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’
“ ‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied.
“He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’
“The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted
shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own
kind than are the people of the light. I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends
for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal
dwellings.
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