Luke 16:3
Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed.
The verse belongs to the parable of the unjust steward about the mammon of unrighteousness, which urges faithful use of entrusted wealth for God's work rather than selfish purposes. It shows a steward who had misused what was entrusted to him for himself facing discharge with no provision for the future and nothing to call his own, asking within himself what to do to save himself from utter ruin. Saying he cannot dig and is ashamed to beg, he seeks to avoid both working and begging and determines while his master's goods are still in his hands on a shrewd dishonest plan to secure a future welcome by calling his lord's debtors and reducing their bills. His dishonesty is not commended, but his foresight is held up as worldly wisdom to urge wise provision for the future and the securing of heavenly treasure. Earthly means are least and are lent by God on probation to prove worthiness for eternal life, so using them to God's glory to advance His cause lays up treasure in heaven and friends to receive the faithful into everlasting habitations, while he who withholds what was lent him is unjust in the least and will never be given the immortal inheritance.
Steward's Plight in Parable
This verse belongs to the parable of the unjust steward about the mammon of unrighteousness, which urges faithful use of entrusted wealth for God's work rather than for selfish purposes. The teaching was given at a time of intense worldliness when men subordinated the eternal to the temporal and the claims of the future to the affairs of the present, mistaking phantoms for realities and realities for phantoms and failing by faith to behold the unseen world because the things of this life were presented as all-attractive and all-absorbing. It was spoken to change this order of things, to break the spell by which men were infatuated and ensnared, to adjust the claims of heaven and earth, to turn thoughts from the present to the future, and to call men from pursuit of the things of time to make provision for eternity.
The steward had misused what was entrusted to him, for his lord's goods had been intrusted to him for benevolent purposes and for the benefit of others but he had used them for himself and thought only of the present. He pictures Israel and the Pharisees, whom God delivered from bondage in Egypt and intrusted with sacred truth and the living oracles as depositaries of light for the blessing of the world, but who used these gifts to enrich and exalt themselves for their own importance and self-righteousness. Their stewardship was soon to be taken from them.
The verse shows the steward facing discharge and the taking away of his stewardship with no provision for the future and nothing to call his own, asking within himself what to do to save himself from utter ruin and how to provide for the future. He says he cannot dig and is ashamed to beg, believing he cannot do manual labor and refusing hard work, so he sees three paths before him: labor, beg, or starve, and seeks to avoid both working and begging. Those who held that he saw only two options before him present them as labor or beg. Publicans recognized their own dishonest practices in the parable, and the story drew their attention to a lesson of spiritual truth.
While his master's goods are still in his hands he determines on a new plan to secure himself against future want and a welcome into houses when put out: instead of gathering for himself he will impart to others and give to secure friends who may receive him later. He resolves on a shrewd dishonest policy of defrauding his lord to benefit his lord's debtors, calling them and reducing their bills, oil from a hundred measures to fifty and wheat from a hundred to fourscore, making them sharers in his dishonesty so that by accepting the advantage they are placed under obligation to receive him as a friend. Christ does not commend the steward's dishonesty, but commends those who do not live for selfish interests. The steward's foresight is an example of worldly wisdom, not conduct Christ commends; Christ uses the story to urge wise provision for the future and the securing of heavenly treasure.
Faithful Stewardship for Eternity
Earthly possessions are the least things, and they belong to God and are only lent for a time of probation to prove worthiness for eternal life, while the redemption purchased by Jesus and the immortal inheritance are the true riches and the things that become one's own. Using means to God's glory to advance His cause lays up treasure in heaven, so that when earthly possessions fail the faithful steward has Jesus and angels as friends to receive him into the everlasting habitations. He who is faithful in earthly possessions by making a judicious and free use of what God lent him will be true to his profession, and God can entrust him with the immortal inheritance. He who withholds from God what was lent him is unjust in the least and unjust in much and unfaithful in every respect, and if unfaithful in unrighteous mammon he will never be given the immortal inheritance. Such selfish grasping proves unfaithfulness to trust and disqualifies for higher trusts, for unfaithfulness in little things leads to unfaithfulness in larger matters.
No one can serve God and mammon, and if any man loves the world the love of the Father is not in him. Men may be so deceived as to suppose that gain is godliness and that wealth is evidence of favor with God. The steward's self-questioning exposes the selfishness and avarice of the scribes and Pharisees and of the Jewish nation in impenitence, pride, and covetousness, who served mammon instead of making mammon serve the interests of God's kingdom. Tampering with dishonest practices advances a person in evil, and riches gotten by robbery and unjust dealing bring no lasting gain, so that seeing where such a course leads should bring change.
The lesson is that people entrusted with God's gifts must seek the good of others and use those gifts in the present to provide for eternity, and only by imparting God's gifts in the present life could they benefit themselves. Money entrusted by God is to be invested in His work, not wasted on display, speculation, or buildings that do not honor Him. Its use can help people prepare for the eternal home Christ has promised. The steward's plea of inability to work excuses himself, but that inability is not made by God but is produced by his own inactivity and kept in place by deliberate choice. Continuing to misuse what is entrusted quenches the Holy Spirit, the only light, and already brings on him the result of having the talent taken away, with final casting into outer darkness sealing the choice he himself has made for eternity.
The surprise of the unfaithful steward when his stewardship is taken from him after a life of caring for himself means professed Christians who neglect the claims of God but enjoy the services of religion and love to hear the gospel preached, thinking that makes them Christians, will be just as surprised at judgment to lose what was entrusted to them. Like the Jews, they mistake the enjoyment of their blessings for the use they should make of them. Men in financial embarrassment set to work to save themselves from ruin, while those in peril of being put out of their stewardship by God do not realize their danger. Could they see their danger they would change the order of things, turning from selfish grasping of riches and selfish use of them, for all are on trial to prove whether worldly ambition, greed, and selfish grasping of every advantage for self alone will characterize life.