I think we might find this to be an interesting Scripture.
Again we need to go back to the Greek for the understanding.
The title in most English translations is:
The Unprofitable steward:
My question: Is Unrighteous Steward the subject of the Scripture,or is there something else that is Unrighteous?
Remember context when reading this in Greek.
Luke 16:1-9
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.
If the steward is unrighteous,why does his 'Boss' commend him in his stewardship?
Why does Christ tell us to use the mammon to make friends?
Could we have bad translations out there?
Maybe even people teaching and proclaiming things not found in the Scriptures,hmmmmmmmmm
Of course there are many life lessons in this parable for daily living, but one that this parable is teaching is how to be a faithful and a honest steward over the little things that are entrusted in our care. When you veiw verse 10 -13, Jesus makes this plain.
The second lesson, we see that the steward made his wrong right by REDUCING the debts of those who owed his master, as he had OVER charged them, and this was a sign of repentance when the steward realized that he would be kicked out of his master house. He knew he would not be able to find another position, because no one would hire him and he would be known as being dishonest therefore, he made his wrong right, and his master praised him for doing the right thing.
Jesus teaches us that we should be faith over the litte things and be diligent in caring for what we have, and this will rpove that when we gain more we can be trust to care for those things given to us.
