Part 1 of 2: The Shrewd Manager and
Eternal Investment (Luke 16:1-8)
Let's be honest, this
parable makes us uncomfortable, and it should. Jesus tells the story of a
manager who's about to be fired for wasting his master's money. Before he loses
his job, this cunning steward calls in all his master's debtors and rewrites
their contracts, slashing what they owe, fifty percent off here, twenty percent
off there. Why? He's securing his future. He figures that when he's jobless and
desperate, these people will owe him a favor and take him in. The shocking
part? When the master finds out, he actually commends the dishonest manager for
being so clever. And Jesus holds up this schemer and says to His disciples:
"Learn something from this man."
So, what's the
lesson? Jesus isn't praising dishonesty; He's pointing to something that should
convict every Christian heart. "The sons of this world are more shrewd in
dealing with their own generation than the sons of light." Think about
what He's saying. Worldly people show more creativity, more urgency, more total
commitment to securing their earthly futures than believers often show in
securing their eternal futures. They scheme and sacrifice for investments that
will crumble to dust in eighty years, while we who possess the promise of
eternal life often drift along with spiritual laziness. The dishonest manager
faced a crisis and acted with desperate ingenuity. We face eternity itself, and
yet how often do we hit the snooze button on our souls?
Here's where the
theology gets beautiful. Jesus is teaching us about the nature of true wisdom
versus false wisdom. The children of this world may be shrewd about temporal
things, but their shrewdness is built on a foundation that cannot last. As
we'll see in Part Two, Jesus calls money "unrighteous wealth" not
because earning or having money is sinful, but because all earthly wealth is
part of this passing, fallen world. It will fail. It will vanish. Every dollar,
every possession, every earthly security we cling to is destined for the grave.
The manager's cleverness secured him a few comfortable years at best. Jesus
wants to teach us a shrewdness that secures forever.
Consider how this
connects to our devotional life, particularly the rhythm of the Rosary. When we
pray the Joyful Mysteries, we contemplate Mary's immediate and total
"yes" to God's will, no calculation, no backup plan, just radical
trust. When we meditate on the Luminous Mysteries, we see Jesus transforming
water into wine, revealing His glory without holding anything back. Each
mystery calls us to the same wholehearted investment in eternal things that the
dishonest manager showed for temporary things. If he could be shrewd enough to
sacrifice his integrity for a few years of security, how much more should we be
shrewd enough to sacrifice everything for an eternity of joy?
The master commended
his steward for acting shrewdly, and there's something almost playful in how
Jesus uses this moment. It's as if He's saying, "You see this scoundrel?
Even he understands urgency and decisive action when his future is at stake. Now
let Me show you what real shrewdness looks like, the kind that doesn't just
postpone crisis but eliminates it forever." This sets up everything Jesus
will say in Part Two about using our earthly resources for eternal purposes.
The dishonest manager made friends who could give him temporary shelter. Jesus
is about to show us how to make friends who will welcome us into eternal
dwellings. The contrast is everything: one man's cleverness bought him a few
years, but Jesus’ wisdom offers us endless ages in the presence of God.
©2025 James Dacey, Jr., OFS
