Luke 16:1
And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods.
The verse opens a parable in which a rich man has left all his possessions in his steward's hands, and the steward is accused of wasting them and robbing his master, so the master is convinced of the waste and calls him to an investigation and account of his stewardship before dismissing him. God is the rich man who lends means to men, and every person is a steward entrusted with his Lord's goods, possessing nothing of exclusive right, not even himself, with blood-bought powers, talents, influence, and property to be improved and used in His service. Life here is probation in which God proves people by trusting them with earthly possessions, the least things that belong to another, to see if they will prove worthy of eternal life and the true riches and immortal inheritance. Christ does not commend the steward's dishonesty but warns against selfish living and dishonest practice, for selfish grasping and selfish use proves unfaithfulness in little things and disqualifies for higher trusts. The faithful steward makes judicious use of what God has lent him and imparts it freely to advance God's cause and benefit others, laying up treasure in heaven and a good foundation, so that when earthly possessions fail he is received to everlasting habitations and entrusted with the immortal inheritance, while the unfaithful who withholds from God what was lent him will never receive it.
Story and Context
The opening presents a rich man who had left all his possessions in the hands of his steward, and that steward was accused of wasting his goods and was unfaithful to his trust. The master became convinced that he was being systematically robbed, determined to keep the steward in service no longer, and called him to an investigation of his accounts and to give an account of his stewardship in preparation for dismissal. The dismissal call because he might no longer be steward opens a warning against dishonest practices and selfish living, for the dishonesty itself is not commended but those who refuse to live for selfish interests are. The same image exposes unjust stewards who misuse responsibility and means entrusted to them for selfish power, whose evil works will be laid open to endanger God's people and bring reproach on His cause.
The verse introduces Christ's teaching to His disciples about the mammon of unrighteousness, concerning the use of money entrusted to people. It turns attention away from the things of this life to the future, calling men away from pursuing temporal things when worldliness subordinates the eternal to the temporal, mistakes phantoms for realities, and treats this all-attractive and all-absorbing life as everything. It teaches stewardship of temporal means and the use of what people have to make provision for eternity, warning against keeping or using wealth for selfish purposes and urging its use to advance God's kingdom and lay up treasure in heaven. It belongs together with teaching on systematic benevolence, the talents, co-partnership with unbelievers, and careful rather than slack management of worldly matters.
The parable reflects a case known among the publicans, who recognized their own dishonest practices in the steward accused of wasting his master's property. Their work exposed them to temptation, in which an initial wrong step could lead quickly to greater dishonesty and crime, and the steward's misuse of his lord's entrusted goods for his own advantage rather than their intended benevolent purposes warns that a first step toward dishonesty leads to greater wrongdoing. Christ used the story to help them learn spiritual truth and turn toward higher aims and nobler principles, and to teach wise provision for the future.
The steward pictures Israel, the scribes and Pharisees, and the Jewish nation in selfishness, avarice, and serving mammon instead of making mammon serve the interests of God's kingdom. Israel was chosen as the seed of Abraham, delivered from bondage in Egypt, and made depositaries of sacred truth and the living oracles to bless the world and communicate light to others. Yet like a steward entrusted with goods for benevolent purposes for the benefit of others who used them for himself and thought only of the present, they used God's gifts to enrich and exalt themselves and made no provision for the future when the stewardship would be taken away. Tampering with dishonest practices advances in evil, and continuing in impenitence, pride, and covetousness brings no lasting gain, for riches obtained by robbery and unjust dealing do not endure; the Pharisees were misusing what God had lent them for His glory and must recognize and correct this misuse.
Stewards of God's Goods
God is the rich man who lends means to men as His stewards to be used in helping and blessing humanity. Earthly possessions are the least things, only lent by God and belonging to another, while the true riches and the immortal inheritance purchased by Jesus are what will be our own. Selfishly hoarding what was lent, making only feeble efforts for others and diverting means into wrong channels, is wasting His goods and makes men unfaithful stewards.
Every person is a steward entrusted with his Lord's goods, possessing nothing to which he has an exclusive right, not even himself, for he has been bought with blood. The trust is blood-bought powers, abilities, influence, talents, skill, tact, capabilities, possessions and property, lent by God to be improved to the utmost and put to the very best use. All skill, tact, ability, capabilities and possessions are the Lord's gift to be used in His service for the salvation of sinners, and the moment a man loses sight of this he wastes and embezzles his Lord's goods and acts the part of the unjust steward. To pervert abilities, use influence unwisely, and misuse and misapply talents is to prove false to sacred obligations and to rob God.
The goods were entrusted for benevolent purposes for the benefit of others and to advance God's kingdom, but the steward had used them for himself and thought only of the present. He used his lord's entrusted goods for his own advantage rather than for their intended benevolent purposes. His stewardship was about to be taken from him, and he had made no provision for the future and had nothing of his own to rely on.
Life here is probation in which God proves people by trusting them with earthly possessions to see if they will prove worthy of eternal life. Life is a trial proving whether worldly ambition, greed, and selfish grasping of every advantage for self alone will characterize a person. A selfish grasping of riches and a selfish use of them proves unfaithfulness to trust, for unfaithfulness in little things means unfaithfulness in larger matters. Such unfaithfulness disqualifies for higher trusts.
Faithfulness Proved and Judged
Christ does not praise the steward's dishonesty but opens with his accusation and call to account to warn against dishonest practices and selfish living. Gain is not godliness and wealth is no evidence of divine favor, for those determined to be rich fall into temptation and a snare and into foolish and hurtful lusts that drown men in destruction and perdition. The love of money is the root of all evil, causing men to err from the faith and pierce themselves through with sorrows, and tampering with dishonesty advances steadily in evil. Those rich in this world are therefore charged not to be highminded nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, to do good and be rich in good works, ready to distribute and willing to communicate, laying up a good foundation against the time to come that they may lay hold on eternal life. Those commended are not those who live for selfish interests but those who turn from them.
The accused steward pictures those who profess Christianity yet neglect the claims of God while enjoying blessings and religious teaching. They excuse themselves from Christian effort by pleading inability, yet that inability was never made by God but was produced by their own inactivity and perpetuated by deliberate choice. They will be held accountable for failing to use faithfully what they received. Their continual misuse brings the sentence to take the talent from them, quenches the Holy Spirit which is the only light, and ends with the unprofitable servant cast into outer darkness, sealing their own choice for eternity.
All are stewards entrusted with God's goods and stand accused of wasting them in peril of being put out of their stewardship. Those in financial embarrassment bestir themselves to escape utter ruin, but those in danger of losing God's stewardship often do not realize their danger, though if they saw it they would change the order of things. People who possess wealth and leisure but live without purpose or benevolence waste what is entrusted to them when they forget their Creator's claims and His purpose in creating humanity. Selfish interests lead them to forget God, and a selfish grasping of riches and selfish use of them proves unfaithfulness to trust and disqualifies for higher trusts, for unfaithfulness in little things means unfaithfulness in larger matters. Life is a trial proving whether worldly ambition, greed, and selfish grasping of every advantage for self alone will characterize a person.
Wasting His goods includes leaving the colored race uncared for and uneducated, making only feeble efforts and then diverting means into wrong channels and selfishly hoarding what was lent. God's money is to be invested in the work of the gospel and the salvation of souls, not wasted on show, speculation, or buildings that do not serve His work. The steward's later calculation in managing his master's estate teaches using entrusted means wisely to prepare for the future. Unjust stewards who misuse responsibility and the Lord's means for selfish power will have their evil works exposed, and their conduct endangers God's people and brings reproach on His cause. Selfish and deceitful use of what is entrusted to people helps make others poor. Unless there is repentance for refusing the plain duty pointed out in His Word, men must answer for such neglect at the bar of God, where God will pronounce it unfaithfulness, hold men responsible, and settle an account with them.
God makes people His stewards and partners in advancing His kingdom and calls them to handle His goods faithfully and not misrepresent Him in character. Every man possesses nothing to which he has an exclusive right, not even himself, for he has been bought with blood, and all blood-bought powers, abilities, influence, skill, tact, capabilities, possessions, property and talents are lent by God to be improved to the utmost and used in His service for the salvation of sinners. To pervert abilities, use influence unwisely, and misuse and misapply talents is to prove false to sacred obligations, to rob God, and to waste his Lord's substance, which is no small offense and disqualifies a man from sacred, holy trust. Those who act selfishly or love money may lose the privilege of serving, while God can continue His work without them. That unfaithfulness provokes the Lord to transfer His goods to more faithful hands. God will judge the world in righteousness and with righteous impartiality and will demand His own with usury and settle an account, so condemnation will be passed on everyone who wasted his Lord's substance, and to him He cannot say, Well done, good and faithful servant.
Earthly possessions are least, only lent by God and belonging to another, while the true riches and immortal inheritance purchased by Jesus are what will be our own. God places people here on probation and proves them by trusting them with earthly possessions to see if they will prove worthy of eternal life. The faithful steward makes judicious use of what God has lent him and imparts it freely to advance God's cause and glory here, laying up treasure in heaven and a good foundation against the time to come, true to his profession. Then when earthly possessions are all gone Jesus and angels are his friends to receive him home to everlasting habitations, and God can entrust to him the immortal inheritance. The unjust steward withholds from God what He lent him and is unjust and unfaithful in the things of God in every respect, and if unfaithful in unrighteous mammon he will never be given the immortal inheritance.