Luke 16 Commentary
We have two titles: “The Shrewd Manager” and the “Rich Man and Lazarus”. We also have a couple of additional teachings in between the two titles. But it is one flowing story.
The ‘bad’ manager used money, which wasn’t even his, to prepare for his future unemployment. The rich man failed to use his money to prepare for his future, his afterlife.
The ‘bad’ manager knew the good times had an expiry date. He needed to prepare himself for times when his income could not sustain him. The rich man never thought about his future. His ‘comforts’ mislead him into thinking all is forever well. He needed to look at the scriptures and take warnings from there.
This chapter is about riches (rich men) and possessions. We may not be rich but we all have possessions. It is about all of us.
In the first section, the rich man represents God. The ‘bad’ manager represents all of us. We are simply managers or stewards of God’s possessions. It matters how we use these possessions.
In the second section, the rich man represents us. These are the times when we think we own things and can use them as we see fit. We forget that there is one item we don’t own – life. It is equivalent to employment or income that wasn’t in the hands of the ‘bad’ manager.
The ‘bad’ manager served two masters hence his dismissal. The rich man also served two masters; people weren’t important to him. The Abrahamic covenant which Moses reduced to the 10 commandments never mattered to him. It is these commandments that compelled men to be generous but the rich man never cared. The same commandments would pronounce him guilty. They are a map to Heavenly treasures.
“What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.” And here we are completely consumed by the cares of this world – money!
Thanks to the Pharisees, we have the story of the rich man and Lazarus. If we don’t listen to Moses and the Prophets, the Old Testament, we will not listen even after the resurrection. Nothing works with stubbornness!
There is an easy take from this chapter: use your possessions to make for yourself a name in Heaven.
We can be honest about it. For all the cash we pray for, how much of it is planned to be spent on God’s work? How much of it is meant to be invested in heavenly bonds?
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