I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.
Facing dismissal and unable to work and too proud to beg, the steward deliberately decides to use his brief remaining authority to make others obligated to take him in once he loses his place. He does this by falsifying what his master's debtors owe, buying their favor with property that is not his own so he will not have to labor or beg. His cunning forethought is set forward as an example, but his cheating is not approved; what is held up is planning for the future rather than living for self. Christians are therefore to use money and goods entrusted to them now for good to others and for God's work, so that when earthly things fail they will be welcomed into lasting homes by Jesus and the angels. That preparation can be made only by seeking others' good in this life and putting God's means into bringing people to readiness for eternity, instead of spending it selfishly or trusting in riches.
The Steward's Plan
Faced with a call to give an account and the word that he might be steward no longer, the man takes stock that he cannot dig and is ashamed to beg, and deliberately resolves to use his remaining position to secure reception into houses after he is put out. He carries out that resolve by tampering further with his lord's accounts, reducing the debtors' bills with his master's property so that they gain advantage, become indebted to him, and feel bound to welcome him as friend into their homes, and thus he escapes having to work or beg. His keen foresight in providing for the future is set forth for attention, but his fraud receives no approval, for what is held up is foresight and ceasing to live for selfish interests, not the dishonest dealing itself.
That instruction belongs to a time of intense worldliness, when men subordinated the eternal to the temporal and the claims of the future to present affairs, mistaking phantoms for realities and realities for phantoms. They did not behold the unseen world by faith, while the things of this life were made all-attractive and all-absorbing. The teaching works to change that order, 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.
Publicans saw their own dishonest practices mirrored in the story, and many drew from it a lesson of spiritual truth. The steward had used goods entrusted for others' benefit for himself, but now gives them to others to secure a welcome after his stewardship ends. In the same way Israel and the Pharisees had misused gifts entrusted to them to bless others and bring glory to God, and their stewardship was soon to be taken away, so that they could prepare for the future only by seeking the good of others and using God's gifts in this life to provide for eternity.
Faithful Use of Means
All wealth is entrusted for benevolent use in God's work and in doing good and helping others, not for selfish purposes or personal advantage. It is not to be trusted in or merely accumulated, nor taken as godliness or as proof of divine favor, yet that demand is one many resist. The steward had received his master's goods to benefit others but had used them for himself, and then resolved to use what remained to secure welcome after his stewardship ended. Israel and the Pharisees did the same, misusing gifts entrusted to them to bless others and bring glory to God. His worldly foresight in providing for the future is set forth for attention, but his conduct itself is not approved.
Christians are to use earthly means now to God's glory to make friends for eternity and lay up treasure in heaven. When earthly possessions are all gone, the faithful steward will have Jesus and angels for friends to receive him home to everlasting habitations. That future can be prepared for only by seeking the good of others and using God's gifts in this life to provide for eternity. The steward, having used the goods for himself, now gave them to others so they would receive him into their homes, and the Pharisees whose stewardship was soon to be taken away could likewise prepare only by sharing God's gifts for eternity. God's money is to be invested in gospel work to bring people to prepare for the eternal home Christ has promised, rather than wasted on display or speculation.
The steward's selfish resolve exposes selfishness and avarice that serve mammon instead of making mammon serve the interests of God's kingdom on earth. So it was with the scribes and Pharisees and the Jewish nation in impenitence, pride, and covetousness. Tampering with dishonest practices leads onward into greater evil, and riches obtained by robbery and unjust dealing bring no lasting gain, so that had those on such a course seen where it was leading they would have changed. The verse rebukes those in peril of being put out of stewardship by God for not realizing their danger, while men in financial embarrassment set to work with foresight to provide for themselves afterward. If the danger were seen, the order of things would change from selfish grasping of riches and selfish use of them. Such selfish use proves a steward unfaithful to trust and disqualifies him for higher trusts, for unfaithfulness in little things means unfaithfulness in larger matters, and all are on trial over whether worldly ambition, greed, and grasping every advantage for self alone will characterize their lives.
Being put out of stewardship results from deliberate choice and not from God-given inability. Inability for Christian work is produced by personal inactivity and kept up by continued refusal to act, so that loss of the entrusted gift is already realized in character. Continual misuse quenches the Holy Spirit who is the only light, and final rejection into outer darkness only seals the choice already made for eternity. Luke 16:1-9 pictures professing Christians who neglect the claims of God without feeling any wrong, who think themselves Christians because they enjoy religious services and love to hear the gospel preached while spending their lives caring for themselves. They mistake enjoyment of blessings for the use they should make of them, as the Jews did, and though they know the blasphemer, the murderer, and the adulterer deserve punishment, they like the unfaithful servant will be surprised to hear the sentence that the talent be taken from them and to stand in judgment with evildoers under the same condemnation.
Facing dismissal and unable to work and too proud to beg, the steward deliberately decides to use his brief remaining authority to make others obligated to take him in once he loses his place. He does this by falsifying what his master's debtors owe, buying their favor with property that is not his own so he will not have to labor or beg. His cunning forethought is set forward as an example, but his cheating is not approved; what is held up is planning for the future rather than living for self. Christians are therefore to use money and goods entrusted to them now for good to others and for God's work, so that when earthly things fail they will be welcomed into lasting homes by Jesus and the angels. That preparation can be made only by seeking others' good in this life and putting God's means into bringing people to readiness for eternity, instead of spending it selfishly or trusting in riches.
The Steward's Plan
Faced with a call to give an account and the word that he might be steward no longer, the man takes stock that he cannot dig and is ashamed to beg, and deliberately resolves to use his remaining position to secure reception into houses after he is put out. He carries out that resolve by tampering further with his lord's accounts, reducing the debtors' bills with his master's property so that they gain advantage, become indebted to him, and feel bound to welcome him as friend into their homes, and thus he escapes having to work or beg. His keen foresight in providing for the future is set forth for attention, but his fraud receives no approval, for what is held up is foresight and ceasing to live for selfish interests, not the dishonest dealing itself.
That instruction belongs to a time of intense worldliness, when men subordinated the eternal to the temporal and the claims of the future to present affairs, mistaking phantoms for realities and realities for phantoms. They did not behold the unseen world by faith, while the things of this life were made all-attractive and all-absorbing. The teaching works to change that order, 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.
Publicans saw their own dishonest practices mirrored in the story, and many drew from it a lesson of spiritual truth. The steward had used goods entrusted for others' benefit for himself, but now gives them to others to secure a welcome after his stewardship ends. In the same way Israel and the Pharisees had misused gifts entrusted to them to bless others and bring glory to God, and their stewardship was soon to be taken away, so that they could prepare for the future only by seeking the good of others and using God's gifts in this life to provide for eternity.
Faithful Use of Means
All wealth is entrusted for benevolent use in God's work and in doing good and helping others, not for selfish purposes or personal advantage. It is not to be trusted in or merely accumulated, nor taken as godliness or as proof of divine favor, yet that demand is one many resist. The steward had received his master's goods to benefit others but had used them for himself, and then resolved to use what remained to secure welcome after his stewardship ended. Israel and the Pharisees did the same, misusing gifts entrusted to them to bless others and bring glory to God. His worldly foresight in providing for the future is set forth for attention, but his conduct itself is not approved.
Christians are to use earthly means now to God's glory to make friends for eternity and lay up treasure in heaven. When earthly possessions are all gone, the faithful steward will have Jesus and angels for friends to receive him home to everlasting habitations. That future can be prepared for only by seeking the good of others and using God's gifts in this life to provide for eternity. The steward, having used the goods for himself, now gave them to others so they would receive him into their homes, and the Pharisees whose stewardship was soon to be taken away could likewise prepare only by sharing God's gifts for eternity. God's money is to be invested in gospel work to bring people to prepare for the eternal home Christ has promised, rather than wasted on display or speculation.
The steward's selfish resolve exposes selfishness and avarice that serve mammon instead of making mammon serve the interests of God's kingdom on earth. So it was with the scribes and Pharisees and the Jewish nation in impenitence, pride, and covetousness. Tampering with dishonest practices leads onward into greater evil, and riches obtained by robbery and unjust dealing bring no lasting gain, so that had those on such a course seen where it was leading they would have changed. The verse rebukes those in peril of being put out of stewardship by God for not realizing their danger, while men in financial embarrassment set to work with foresight to provide for themselves afterward. If the danger were seen, the order of things would change from selfish grasping of riches and selfish use of them. Such selfish use proves a steward unfaithful to trust and disqualifies him for higher trusts, for unfaithfulness in little things means unfaithfulness in larger matters, and all are on trial over whether worldly ambition, greed, and grasping every advantage for self alone will characterize their lives.
Being put out of stewardship results from deliberate choice and not from God-given inability. Inability for Christian work is produced by personal inactivity and kept up by continued refusal to act, so that loss of the entrusted gift is already realized in character. Continual misuse quenches the Holy Spirit who is the only light, and final rejection into outer darkness only seals the choice already made for eternity. Luke 16:1-9 pictures professing Christians who neglect the claims of God without feeling any wrong, who think themselves Christians because they enjoy religious services and love to hear the gospel preached while spending their lives caring for themselves. They mistake enjoyment of blessings for the use they should make of them, as the Jews did, and though they know the blasphemer, the murderer, and the adulterer deserve punishment, they like the unfaithful servant will be surprised to hear the sentence that the talent be taken from them and to stand in judgment with evildoers under the same condemnation.