We get together with a group of like-minded missions couples (formally) every week for prayer and Bible Study, and informally several times a week simply for "chillin". We've been on a fairly simple and straightforward quest this semester: to find out who Jesus is from the Gospels (...definitely not simple...). Our friends Travis and Cara picked Luke 16: 1-14 for our text last night, and it had us pulling our hair out (especially the parable part of Jesus' teaching). We had the Greek text out, the Gospel Parallel book on the table, several versions of the Bible, and eight bright Bible scholars, and the best we could do was guess what this seemingly contradictory parable has to say to us.
OK, people: What are some possible interpretations for this passage??
1 Jesus told his disciples: "There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. 2 So he called him in and asked him, 'What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.'
3 "The manager said to himself, 'What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I'm not strong enough to dig, and I'm ashamed to beg - 4 I know what I'll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.'
5 "So he called in each one of his master's debtors. He asked the first, 'How much do you owe my master?'
6 " 'Nine hundred gallons [a] of olive oil,' he replied.
"The manager told him, 'Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.'
7 "Then he asked the second, 'And how much do you owe?'
" 'A thousand bushels [b] of wheat,' he replied.
"He told him, 'Take your bill and make it eight hundred.'
8 "The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. 9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.
10 "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 12 And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own?
13 "No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."
14 The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. 15 He said to them, "You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God's sight."
5 comments:
Mitchell - I knew this subject was familiar, but I couldn't remember why. Thanks for reminding me.
this parable is part of a long series of parables, many of which also deal with riches. like your dad, i try to break it down to the essentials.
what do we first know about the man? he has been dishonest and unfaithful in his relationship with his master.
the man realizes his error and his plight... he is forced to adopt the "golden rule".
the master commends the servant.
it seems that, as with us, adversity changed the servant's attitude and he became generous with his debtors. sure, it was selfishly motivated, but was it inauthentic?
everything we do is ultimatly selfish... that is why God makes no bones about offering rewards.
i think what Jesus is trying to say is "use the resources of the Master to win friends, not to please yourself."
thats my best shot... let me know what you think.
looking back, i should have fleshed that out more, but i'm too slothful this AM.
peace
i think it has something to do with treating others how you want to be treated . . . if you have shown others that all you care about it getting your fair share and not showing them grace (i.e. holding people to the exact debt that they owe), then when you are down on your luck, you will receive the same treatment from them. rather, be graceous to others and when you loose your job or are in need, they will be more willing to help meet your needs.
this manager could have gone to all who owed him and demanded that they give it so he would have some money after he lost his job, but he didn't.
so many times the gospel is about taking the things of this world that seem to make the most sense, turning them on their heads and saying "in the kingdom, this is the way it should be."
when we show to others that money is not #1 in our lives but rather relationships are, they will know that we care about the deeper things. god sees the heart and knows this as well . . . i think that has something to do with the verse about "trusting you with greater things" . . .
that's all i have for now . . .
Very simply... I read this passage in reverse.
No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
That is the thrust of the story, but the moral is different. The main idea behind all of this is that you cannot value money and God, and the story highlights which one is more valuable. God says to love Him and love each other, and it is those relationships that we have that make life both bearable and worth living. Living for money and power leaves you lacking in relationships and isolates. Living for God and building relationships with people blesses your life and others around you.
This parable highlights the "in-crisis" transformation of someone who realizes that money and power have gained him nothing in the end.
Those are my two cents...
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