The Lost Job

Often called the parable of the unjust steward, this story teaches a profound spiritual truth: you don’t have to be holy to be clever.

Luke 16:1-8

• What should a rich man do when he discovers that one of his servants has been cheating?
• What would you do if you had been caught cheating your boss?
• Would you be able to dig a ditch? Would you be humble enough to beg?
• The unjust servant hit upon a plan whereby he would immediately increase the cash flow of his employer. Of course it meant revising all of his master’s accounts and accepting much less than was owed. Further, by rewriting the purchase agreements, he both made himself responsible for less and he gained favor with the debtors.
• ard (v. 8).

Meditation Points:

1. Today’s debt collectors often discount the balance to get some money from an otherwise dead account.
2. Do you think the unjust steward saved his job?
3. The “master” who commended him was the rich man, not Jesus. He is commended for his worldly-wise shrewdness. Even in the end of his employment he was unjust still. But he was clever.
4. Jesus concluded that unsaved people can be wiser about the things of this world than believers are about the things of God.

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