Sunday, November 16, 2014

The Parable of the "Wicked" Steward

I got a flash of insight into this this morning. 
Luke 16 King James Version (KJV)
1 And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. 
2 And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward. 
3 Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. 
4 I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. 
5 So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? 
6 And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. 
7 Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore. 
8 And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. 
9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. 
10 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. 
11 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 
12 And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own? 
13 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

We start out wrong by calling him wicked.
A steward has complete control over his masters goods.

Step back and imagine that you are a Christian, a steward of God. 
Imagine that God is the master.

God has given you the power to administer His gospel, the forgiveness of sin. 
Men owe God for their sin. 
You offer them the forgiveness of that sin. 
Your Master doesn't feel cheated. 
He credits you. When you "fail" (cease) they will welcome you into eternal habitations.

It finally makes sense to me. 


4 comments:

  1. Where there be paradoxes, beware my friend.

    About comprehending a more recent paradox was stated by its discoverer, Niels Bohr: "Anyone who thinks he understands quantum mechanics, doesn't understand quantum mechanics."

    Maybe you can help me comprehend the double negatives and separate them properly from the single negatives? Then we may both feel secure in our alleged illusion.

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  2. Only one can be served, up to us to decide which...

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  3. Thank you for the info that you were/are AF--and than you for your service-
    C-CS

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