Luke 16:2, commentary and pictures

The owner calls his manager to answer for wasting property put in his care and tells him to render a full account because his management is about to end. Everything human beings hold is only lent by God as a test of character to prove fitness for eternal life. Every person must give such an account to God, and the summons will come soon and suddenly and cannot be refused. Only those faithful with earthly possessions, which belong to another, will be entrusted with the true riches and immortal inheritance as their own. Means, time, talents and influence are therefore to be used to bless humanity and save souls and lay up treasure in heaven, not hoarded, wasted on selfish pleasure and display, or turned to personal advantage.

Parable's Confrontation and Demand

The rich man confronts his steward after hearing a report that the goods entrusted to him have been wasted, asking how it is that such a report reaches him. He demands an investigation and an account of how the property has been managed. The demand warns that the steward may be steward no longer, that his service will end and his position be lost. Stewardship is responsibility for what has been entrusted, so unfaithfulness brings accountability and possible dismissal. The charge involves suspected systematic theft, and the prospect of dismissal forces the steward to consider what to do next.

The goods had been entrusted for the benefit of others for benevolent purposes, but he had used them for himself and for his own advantage. They were still in his hands when he learned his position would end. So Israel likewise had been entrusted with sacred truth and the living oracles to bless the world by sharing light, yet used these gifts to enrich and exalt itself. The Pharisees were misusing gifts lent for God's glory for themselves, and their stewardship was soon to be taken from them. They were therefore called to prepare for the future only by seeking the good of others and imparting God's gifts in this life.

The parable calls people away from making present earthly concerns their chief focus and toward wise provision for eternity. The lord's later commendation of the unjust steward does not commend his dishonesty, but commends not living for selfish interests. It holds up his foresight in securing his future as a lesson in wise calculation, showing how worldly people often use greater practical wisdom to secure their aims than those who seek heavenly treasure show in preparing for the future. God's stewards are thus to use His money wisely for the gospel and the good of souls, rather than waste it on display, speculation, or buildings that do not glorify Him. Wealth or material gain must not be mistaken for proof of godliness or God's favor, for the steward must still give an account of his management.

What God Entrusts to Stewards

Everything a person has belongs to God and is only lent as a steward on probation to test character and prove whether worthy of eternal life. Money is lent as a test of whether known evils will be avoided and faithful service rendered, and an account of that stewardship will be required. Faithful stewardship uses means to God's glory here and imparts freely to advance His cause, thereby laying up treasure in Heaven, so that when earthly possessions fail there are friends to receive into everlasting habitations. He who is faithful in that which is least, his earthly possessions, will be true to profession and faithful in much, but he who withholds from God what God lent is unjust in the least and unjust in much and unfaithful in divine things in every respect. If unfaithful in managing the unrighteous mammon lent here, the true riches will never be committed in trust and the immortal inheritance never given, for only if faithful with that which is another man's, the redemption purchased and the possessions entrusted, will the immortal inheritance and eternal life be entrusted as one's own. No man can serve God and mammon, and if any love the world the love of the Father is not in him.

No one owns anything by exclusive right, not even self, for life, breath, skill, ability, property, sunshine and rain, vegetation, health, the ability to acquire means, bodies and spirits are from God's hand and all are bought with Christ's blood. To claim wealth comes by one's own power and to lose sight that capabilities and possessions are the Lord's is to embezzle the Lord's goods and act the unjust steward's part. For this reason means, as well as body and spirit, are to be used to glorify God and help save others, with the tenth claimed with liberal thank-offerings, freewill-offerings and trespass-offerings for the advancement of His cause. Selfishness that spends lavishly on self-gratification and pleasure while bringing to God almost unwillingly a stinted pittance and pretending to fulfill His requirements while withholding part of the price will no more be accepted than the offering of Ananias and Sapphira. The charge is to occupy with temporal means till He comes, and the time is coming when He will call each steward to give an account for the use made of His property and will require His own with usury, rebuking those who claim means as their own with no sense that the property belongs to God. Unfaithfulness provokes Him to require an account and transfer His goods to more faithful hands, while the faithful are called to handle them in His service and for the salvation of sinners and to truly represent His character.

The stewardship covers means, property, talents, time, influence, words, possessions, opportunities for service, minds, affections, strength and mental ability, worldly business, and small and great matters. All that a person possesses or can use is held in trust from God and must be accounted for to Him, lent to test character and to be used in serving and blessing others. This calls for careful economy in small and great matters, carefully guarding small expenses and practicing self-denial, while balanced religious principle keeps economy from becoming covetousness so as to live approved by God. Life is brief and its end uncertain, so the answer for deeds and for how time, influence, words and possessions are used in His service must not be delayed, and a steward may lose his position. God's claims include how minds are used and whether affections are directed toward heavenly things, and when the Master comes each must give account to Him. Property, time, strength, mental ability and opportunities are not one's own, and those who misuse or withhold these gifts are condemned for unfaithful stewardship.

Special trusts rest on shepherds of the flock, who will especially be called to account, and on fathers and mothers as home-stewards trusted with His goods in fashioning and molding the characters of their children from babyhood to years of accountability. Each must answer for talents and abilities and for influence and example, especially to younger people whose characters are helped to shape, with the Master asking what has been returned to God and what improvement has been made of abilities. Parents are stewards of their means and must account for how they use them, for if resources support children's wickedness or are squandered in children's indulgence, God will require those means at their hands. Accountability applies also to physical strength, for those able to work with their hands are responsible for using that ability to support God's cause, and money spent traveling where there is no duty to go is charged to the steward because it could have supported the cause and enabled called messengers to provide spiritual food to souls. God-given time must be used for a good purpose, and young women will have to answer for wasting it in idleness. One entrusted with influence and means will be required to account for their use and should use them faithfully to advance the truth and bring others to it.

Certainty and Scope of Reckoning

Every person must give an account of stewardship to God, and the call to give that account will come soon and cannot be refused. God may call any servant entrusted with responsibility to account at any moment, suddenly, for life and time for His work are limited. Because life is brief and its end uncertain, with only a short time remaining as days and weeks and months pass, the account must not be delayed but preparation for eternal life must be thorough. The reckoning applies to deeds and to the use of time, influence, words, possessions, abilities and opportunities, which must be used faithfully and diligently and not turned to selfish gain or wrongdoing or wasted through idleness. Even wealth and high position cannot make an unfaithful servant clean in God's sight, and one who wastes time will be reckoned with the slothful servant.

The account will disclose every act and action, every word, and the motive behind it, tested by the One who knows the heart, so the record must be such as can bear judgment and be faced with joy. God keeps an accurate account of each person's use of His gifts, including money and every dollar, and requires faithful use for His work rather than for selfish pleasure, display, self-gratification and worldly pleasure. The daily record is carried forward to the judgment, where service and willingness to bear responsibility for God's work are assessed. The account also includes what has been gained through faithful use, for whatever is gained belongs ultimately to the Giver, and faithful stewards credit the Master with providing their means and give God the glory rather than claiming merit for themselves. Each person must answer for talents and abilities and for influence and example, especially to younger people whose characters they help shape, by showing what has been returned to God and what improvement has been made.

God may for a time continue to bless and honor those who selfishly withhold His gifts, without immediate rebuke, and may continue to test them, but they remain answerable. The stewardship includes means to be returned to support God's work and the salvation of others, and bodies and spirits bought with Christ's blood to glorify God and help save others. Though He generously gives blessings that may be selfishly used, a future day of settlement and reckoning will surely come when He will require an account of stewardship.

When Christ calls for the account, those who have buried, hidden, wasted, withheld or misused entrusted means instead of investing it in God's cause and the saving of souls face condemnation, while faithful stewards receive the Master's approval and are welcomed into His joy. The account concerns whether means were used for God's glory and the advance of His kingdom or for selfish purposes and personal advantage, for God's gifts remain His and the steward must act in the master's interests. A stewardship may be taken away from one who has failed in this trust and transferred to more faithful hands, and neglect and deliberate inactivity produce incapacity, quench the Holy Spirit's light, and lead to loss of responsibility and final judgment.

Faithfulness Decides Eternal Trust

Earthly possessions are lent on probation to test whether human beings will prove worthy of eternal life, and a reckoning of that stewardship will be required. Faithful stewardship is to use means for divine glory and impart freely to advance the cause, thereby laying up treasure in heaven, so that when earthly possessions fail Jesus and angels become friends to receive the faithful into everlasting habitations. Whoever is faithful in that which is least, his earthly possessions, will be true to profession and faithful in much, while whoever withholds what was lent is unjust in the least and unjust in much and unfaithful in divine things in every respect. If proved unfaithful in managing the unrighteous mammon lent here, the true riches will never be committed in trust and the immortal inheritance will never be given; only faithfulness with that which is another man's — the redemption Jesus purchased and the possessions entrusted by God — leads to God entrusting as their own the immortal inheritance and eternal life. No one can serve God and mammon, and if anyone loves the world the love of the Father is not in him.

A selfish grasping of riches and a selfish use of riches proves unfaithfulness to trust and disqualifies for higher trusts. Unfaithfulness in little things means unfaithfulness in larger matters, and all are on trial to prove whether worldly ambition, greed, and selfish grasping of every advantage for self alone will characterize life. Those in peril of being put out of stewardship often do not realize their danger, though people in financial embarrassment work hard to save themselves from ruin, and seeing the danger would lead to changing the order of things.

Dishonest practices cannot be tampered with without advancing in evil. Such dealing exposes selfishness and avarice that serve mammon instead of making mammon serve the interests of the kingdom on earth, as seen in the scribes and Pharisees and in the Jewish nation in impenitence, pride, and covetousness. Riches obtained by robbery and unjust dealing bring no lasting gain. Wealth or material gain must not be mistaken for proof of godliness or divine favor.

Neglect and deliberate inactivity produce incapacity, quench the light of the Holy Spirit, and lead to loss of the entrusted responsibility and to final judgment. Every blessing is a stewardship that must be used, not merely enjoyed. Those who profess to be Christians, enjoy religious services, love to hear the gospel preached, and think themselves Christians because they are not blasphemers, murderers, or adulterers, yet neglect divine claims and spend life caring for themselves, are unfaithful stewards. Like the Jews they mistake enjoyment of blessings for the use they should make of them, and they will be as surprised as the unfaithful servant when stewardship is taken from them.

Faithful service — even in a few things — is rewarded, for goodness and faithfulness with earnest toil, unselfish work, and patient perseverance are valued more than the size of the work or its visible results. The Master's approval depends on fidelity and motives rather than magnitude, so the account can be given with joy rather than grief.

Israel's Forfeited Stewardship Warning

Israel was entrusted with sacred truth and the living oracles to bless the world by sharing light, yet used these gifts to enrich and exalt itself. The steward in Luke 16:2 was accountable for goods entrusted for the benefit of others but had used them for himself, and the Pharisees were likewise misusing gifts lent for God's glory for themselves. A steward is summoned to account for management and may have stewardship taken away, with the goods still in his hands when he learned his position would end.

The servant faces loss of position after misusing his master's goods for himself, and must answer to his master. The Pharisees likewise were soon to lose their stewardship. They could prepare for the future only by using God's gifts to benefit others and seeking others' good, imparting those gifts in this life to provide for eternity.

The master confronts the steward over reported misconduct and demands an account because the steward is about to lose his position. In the parable publicans recognized their own dishonest practices in the steward's case, and some learned spiritual truth. The verse belongs to the parable of the unjust steward calling for an account because stewardship is ending, meaning dishonest practices cannot be tampered with without advancing in evil. It exposes selfishness and avarice serving mammon instead of making mammon serve God's kingdom on earth, as seen in the scribes and Pharisees and in the Jewish nation in impenitence, pride and covetousness, for riches obtained by robbery and unjust dealing bring no lasting gain.

The same accountability requires that those entrusted with resources give an account of use, with responsibility proportionate to gifts received whether wealthy or poor, since riches can make people forget they are stewards. The parable of the talents shows even the person entrusted with the least is accountable for wise use, and failure brings judgment. God will one day demand a strict account of how His goods have been used, for all property, sunshine and rain, vegetation, health and ability to acquire means come from His hand to enable giving for His cause, and He claims the tenth with liberal thank-offerings, freewill-offerings and trespass-offerings in return. Selfishness hardens hearts to spend lavishly on self-gratification and pleasure while bringing to God almost unwillingly a stinted pittance and pretending to fulfill requirements while withholding part of the price, which He will no more accept than He accepted the offering of Ananias and Sapphira. Belshazzar had to give an account to God for his rule and wasted opportunities, and his defiance left him with no excuse.

Faithful Use in Daily Life

Means lent for a time are to be put to work for the cause of truth and the warning and saving of souls, bringing in returns by relieving suffering humanity and showing divine generosity, kindness and love, not locked up, tied in worldly enterprises, buried, or sunk where they cannot be used. Handling money as if it were one's own loss or gain, and risking it in speculative schemes for quick profit, is unwise and unfaithful management that displeases the Owner and must be answered for on the reckoning day. Hoarding for greedy keeping, prideful indulgence, needless things, pride, vanity, display and selfish pleasure wastes what was meant for the cause and the needy, while unselfish use lays up treasure in heaven to the steward's credit, for hoarded treasure in the day of trouble becomes an offense that cannot save and is cast to the moles and bats in anguish.

Accountability for every dollar calls for careful economy in small and great matters, guarding small expenses, restraining personal wants, handling capital with integrity, and practicing self-denial, with balanced principle keeping economy from hardening into covetousness. Money in hand is not to be spent at pleasure but as the Lord's capital in human hands, to be used faithfully and wisely so life may stand approved, and it cannot safely be wasted on expensive clothes, furniture, needless display, needless travel, or time, thought and money spent to please self.

What is entrusted is to be used for God while alive rather than kept for self and left for others to dispose of at death, for each is to do the work in person instead of shifting it to children or successors. A will that deliberately deprives the cause after a lifetime of withholding, leaves God only a small bequest, transfers property to unfit children or to an unbelieving wife to avoid conflict or giving, or places means beyond control so ministry is crippled, remains accountable even after death, and intended gifts may be lost through adversity, accident or intrigue.

Worldly business is to be kept square, exact and straight, with means arranged to support the cause so sudden sickness or death does not let the Lord's money slip into enemy ranks and strengthen an opposing kingdom. Stewards of the last days are unwise when they let Satan and his angels have more to do with managing property than the Lord has, conducting affairs in a slack, loose, confused manner, and it is especially the privilege and duty of the aged, the feeble and those without children to settle business and place means where it can be used if they are suddenly taken away.

The reckoning bears on care for the poor, widows, fatherless and suffering, and on seeking and saving the lost, for neglecting that trust to serve self, hoarding while need goes unmet, and diverting gifts into wrong channels is embezzlement. Those who enjoy life's blessings yet leave the colored race uncared for and uneducated, make only feeble efforts and then turn profits from the destitute Southern field aside, and refuse plain duty though the Word points it out, must answer at the bar of God unless they repent, for the final judgment turns on practical benevolence counted as done to Christ.

Those who handle means consecrated to God—tithes, offerings, and funds in the office of publication, the health institute and the ministry—must give account for them, and the demand is near. Laboring merely for wages and through selfishness and mismanagement squandering what self-sacrificing donors designed for God—offerings bought by deprivation of necessaries, clothing and hard labor with closest economy, prayers, tears and joyfulness, by poor widows giving nearly their whole dependence, and by poor families selling their only cow and denying themselves and their children milk—misusing the Lord's funds for selfish ends, spreading falsehood, and diverting means from the work, leaves a record not clean, and stewards weighed and found wanting must free themselves from every blemish, show thorough conversion, or lose responsibility.

The demand reaches sacred work, talents, abilities and opportunities as life and time for serving draw to a close, calling teachers and ministers in particular to diligence, industry, economy and honesty rather than idleness and sloth that leave them unready among the slothful servants. Hiding or misusing talents, treating earthly treasure as one's own, devotion to getting wealth, abandoning sacred work for temporal gain, failing to proclaim truth in places like Washington, leaving London and Europe with one or two struggling where hundreds should labor, concealing fatal illness from patients instead of wisely warning them to repent, and seeking power to control the Lord's means for selfish ends are unfaithful stewardship that must be answered for. Profession without practical godliness is recorded as unfaithful, and misuse that makes others poor brings retribution which riches cannot avert from death.