Amy C Walters

The Parable of the Dishonest Manager | Luke 16:1-15

Jesus has a lot to say about wealth. But one thing he doesn’t say: that wealth in itself is evil. In the Parable of the Dishonest Manager, Jesus tells his followers to use wealth to gain friends who will one day welcome you into heaven. You money and resources should be a tool for sharing the gospel.

Jesus has a lot to say about wealth. Some of the stories that we’ve already seen in the Book of Luke include the Parable of the Rich Fool, where brothers were fighting over an inheritance and Jesus tells a parable of a man who used all of his wealth just for himself.

There is the story of the Pharisee and the dinner party, and Jesus criticizes him for only inviting people who could pay him back. Jesus says that he should instead invite the poor, the lame, the blind and the crippled. 

Next, we have the Parable of the Great Feast, where the master does just that–he invites people who cannot pay him back. 

Even the story of the Prodigal Son touches a bit on money. The older brother gets upset at the expense of the younger son’s welcome back party. 

And then following this story, will be the Rich Man and Lazarus and the story of Zacchaeus. So Jesus has a lot to say about the use of wealth and resources.

Notice one thing that he doesn’t say about money. Jesus doesn’t say that you shouldn’t have wealth at all. This is one of those ideas that people often have about Scripture, misquoting the Bible as saying, “Money is the root of evil.” But the verse, which is found in 1 Timothy 6:10, actually says that “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” So it’s not money itself that is evil, but it’s our attitude toward it. It’s the love of money, the pursuit of it above everything else. 

This is an important distinction. If money itself is the root, only people who have a lot of it are guilty of such evil. But it’s the love of money. So even those who don’t have it can be guilty. 

In this story, Jesus does condemn “worldly wealth.” Other versions like the ESV translate that as “unrighteous wealth.” So while wealth itself is not a problem, it often leads to problems. Money can be a trap. 

I recently started a new job, and it has relieved some of the worry about being able to afford things. We have a little bit more margin. But this can become a problem because I can too easily get comfortable and find my security in my paycheck. 

So in the explanation that follows the parable, Jesus tells his disciples basically to redeem their wealth. “I tell you, use your wealth to gain friends so that when it is gone, they will welcome you into eternal dwellings.” He says use it. Not “it’s evil, get rid of it.” But make it your tool. 

And what is wealth meant to be a tool for? “To gain friends so that they will welcome you into eternal dwellings.” Who’s “they”? It’s the friends you’ve gained. So who is going to be in the eternal dwellings? Those friends are going to be there, and they are going to welcome you there. 

The idea here is that you use your wealth to build relationships with people in order to share the gospel with them so that they will one day be in heaven and welcome you when you arrive.

Our key truth for today is that we must use what we have to point people to heaven. 

We invest in things that spread the gospel. Like missions and missionaries who are going to the far corners of the world. They are sharing the gospel and the people they minister to are someday going to be in heaven because you supported that missionary and sent them. 

It means investing in your church, tithing to it so that its ministry can continue and it can share the gospel with people far and wide who will one day be in heaven.

It means opening your home to people, being hospitable so that they come in and they see the gospel lived out and they’re curious and hungry and want to know more. That’s what’s going on in Jesus’ criticism of the Pharisee who had the dinner party and invited over all the people who could benefit him. Remember, Jesus says to invite the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame, because they cannot pay you back and your reward will be in heaven.

Use your home, your hospitality, your resources. Lend your car to people. Lend what you have to people.

Notice that Jesus is not saying that you can buy your way into heaven. There are many people today who think that’s the case, or at least live like that’s the case. They think that by donating lots of their money to different charities, that they can earn their way into heaven.

Remember, at the end of this story, the Pharisees, who love money, ridicule Jesus’ teaching. And Jesus says to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your heart.” It’s not the things that we do that get us into heaven. It’s our heart’s response to God.