Honestly, Though

Some lessons are hard to learn, or at least to understand.

Then Jesus said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property. So he summoned him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Give me an accounting of your management, because you cannot be my manager any longer.’ Then the manager said to himself, ‘What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.’ So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He answered, ‘A hundred jugs of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.’ Then he asked another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘A hundred containers of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill and make it eighty.’ And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes. “Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” - Luke 16:1-13

This parable, for me, is one of the most difficult to understand.

I believe that is because I tend to look for the meaning behind the message and not take the message at face value.

The dishonest man knew his manager was being dishonest, so he asked him for an accounting of his dealings.  The dishonest manager knew he was going to lose his job, so he made deals with all who owed his boss money, hoping one of them would take him into their homes when he got booted.

But who wants a dishonest manager, even if that person made a deal for your benefit?

If the manager was willing to be dishonest once, why would he not do it again?

Jesus tells this parable to get the disciples thinking.  If I do what is right always, I will have a good reputation and will be more valuable to everyone.

If I am willing to cheat and lie with a little, won't I do the same with much?

So, remember the story as one where the cheat hurts himself.  The rich man's reaction was to complement the manager, not because he was honest in his dealings, but because he showed he could be shrewd, and that meant he would now be even more beholding to the rich man who could use this against him.

You see, the rich man knows how his dishonest manager thinks, and he also knows no one who is honest will hire him.

More to come...