Rich In Friends

Read Luke 16:1-9.

There are some things in the Gospels I wish Jesus hadn't said, stories I wish he hadn't told. This is one of them. It's a confusing and convoluted parable that seems to affirm dishonesty. (To me, though, passages like this do affirm the validity of the Gospel accounts—no one would include stuff like this if they were making it up!) Let's see what we can squeeze out of this story Jesus told.

First of all, remember that Jesus, in his parables, doesn't intend to broadly affirm everything that happens in the story. He's using an occurrence from everyday life (did he know a manager and a master like this?) to make a point. This is not a parable telling us we should be dishonest to get whatever advantage we can. Rather, it's a parable reminding us of the shrewdness of the world, and a call for God's people to be even more faithful (more than we usually are) in using what we have toward a good end.

The manager in the parable has been cooking the books. He's been stealing money from the manager, and now he's been caught. (It's a parable that's still all-too-real in our world today.) The manager knows a change in career is coming up, and that his future in management is dim at best. He doesn't want to beg, he can't dig, so what should he do? Then he thinks of a plan. He'll cheat the manager again by reducing the bills of the clients. That will, at least, gain him some friends. So that's what he does, and he even gains a commendation from his (presumably) former employer for his actions. (If we did what he did, I doubt we would get a commendation from anyone!)

Here's Jesus' point: if even someone who is dishonest can find himself surrounded with friends, how much more should the children of the light be able to become "rich in friends" by using what they have—honestly and meeting needs, touching lives. Jesus often tells these "how much more" parables, though he doesn't use those words here. If someone like this can make friends through dishonest means, how much more can God's people do so by using what we have to meet needs, touch lives and offer God's love. The implication here is that this "earthly" example is one way people live; Jesus' people are called to live higher, better, more honest lives. Then we will be "rich in friends" and "welcomed into eternal dwellings" (something, by the way, the dishonest manager is not promised).

As I said, it's a strange parable, but it's even one more reminder that we're called to use whatever we have for the sake of God's kingdom, for the sake of eternity—all of our resources, placed in his hands, for his sake.