November 10: Luke 16:1-8
Key Verse: Luke 16:8
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.
Devotion:
This parable may sound a bit strange when you first read it because the rich man was scolding the manager for doing a bad job, but then the manager went round all the debtors and halved their debt and the rich man then commended the manager!
But they key is in this last verse where Jesus separated the master from the dishonest people which now included the manager. The rich man knew he had people who owed him money and he was using his staff to go out and try and get the money back, maybe even raising the interest on the loans or debts. When the manager did dishonest things by halving the debts he probably inadvertently allowed many of the people to be able to pay back the debts!
The rich man had probably not thought of things like that because he was honest and kept the debts up to date and had them chased as well. But the manager showed his true colours by being dishonest about all the debts because he was acting like the people who still had outstanding debts. Dishonest people attract dishonest people…
Jesus wants us to see how different people of the world are and to try and make ways in which they can be invited in to see how different Christian life is. If we stand up as staunch Christians many people will stay away from us because they don’t want to be shown up. But if we allow them some room to change, they may just do that and surprise us all!
Points to Ponder:
Do you always make sure the law is upheld?
Would you be willing to allow others to show you why they are different?