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The purpose of Christ's teachings in this chapter is to instruct us all to use and not abuse the things of this world and to manage our possessions in such a way as to bring enjoyment in this world and credit in the next. These teachings are to encourage us to be charitable to those who stand in need of anything that we can supply for them. The parable in these verses represents all the "children of men" as the stewards and God as the "rich man".
Notice the charge against the steward: "He wasted the Lord's goods." He embezzled them, carelessly misapplied them. We are all accountable for all that the Lord has given us. It has been given to us for a purpose thus we must use it judiciously, or be subject to the Lord's judgment.
Here the Lord calls the steward to account for his stewardship. The Lord had heard that the steward had not been faithful in those things which He had given him. The word was that he had wasted them. Sense the steward could not deny the charges, he was ordered to put his affairs in order and be gone. This is designed to teach us that all of us shortly will be discharged from our stewardship in this world and with it, the opportunities we now have of doing good. Death is a reality that we cannot ignore. That this discharge forms our stewardship at death is just for we have wasted our Lord's goods. That when our stewardship is taken from us, we must give an account of it to our Lord.
Notice his "hindsight". "What shall I do?" He would have done well to have considered this solution sooner, but better late than never. Sense we all have received notice that we shall be turned out of our stewardship soon, we need to consider what we will do then. Notice this steward decides that he cannot earn a living by digging ditches. It does not appear that he is physically unable to dig, but rather that he is too lazy. This teaches us that we cannot save our souls by labor even if we wanted to, which we do not, for we are too lazy.
Work was out, but what about begging? He was too proud to beg. Finally he resolved to use his position as the Lord's steward and some trickery to gain a living, at least for a time. Though he had been turned out of his house because he had dealt dishonestly, he resolved to continue to do so.
Notice the solution. Sense he no longer had a home of his own, he would go to his masters tenants, one at a time, and forgive them of half of what they owed the master, and thus have them indebted to him and eager to return the favor by letting him live with them, for a time. When he had over-extended his welcome, he would go to the next tenant and do the same.
This solution leaves us with mixed emotions. How would you have felt about this if you had been the master? Notice a strange twist in the story, "The Lord commended the unjust steward because he had done wisely." He did not commend him for being honest but for knowing how to do well for himself, how to improve a bad situation and how to provide for his future. Notice also that the master gained in that he at least received half of what the tenants owed him and the tenants gained also by having their debts wiped clean at half of their value.
Notice the application of this parable and the inferences drawn from it. "I say unto you my Disciples, make friends for yourself of the mammon of unrighteousness." Learn the wisdom of this world in the management of money for that it will multiply and grow, increasing our ability to do good, thus giving us a better life in this world and the world to come. This is using the talents that the Lord gives us for our own benefit and the benefit of others.
Notice how He further expounds the argument. If we do not make rightful use of the gifts of God's Providence, how can we expect to get future gifts of His Grace. He concludes that those who are faithful in little things will be faithful in much. He that serves God and does good with his money, will serve God and do good with spiritual things. The riches of this world are uncertain and are the "unrighteous mammon" spoken of here which are quick to leave us and if we are to take advantage of it, we must do so in haste for they are not ours, they belong to someone else. We cannot take them with us, we can but use them for a little while.
Thus, since it is not ours, we must use it for the comfort and care of others. It must become a tool for good in our hands, it must become the object of our lives and energies for it then becomes that which we worship and serve. No one can serve two masters. You cannot serve God and mammon.
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