New Thoughts (02/22/10-02/25/10)
This is quite possibly the most difficult portion of Scripture I have yet encountered, so far as understanding the intended message is concerned. It will help if I remain mindful that this is parable, not allegory. The details are not to be pressed too hard. The whole of the image is set forth as a commonplace in the experience of those listening by which to illustrate but one point. But, what exactly is that point? If it were not for the continued commentary which follows immediately after the parable, I should be inclined to come away with an understanding totally at odds with the body of Christian revelation.
If I stopped with the end of the story in verse 8, I should suppose Jesus was instructing us to go ahead and make our dishonest gains, but just be a bit wiser in how we use those profits. Be as usurious as you like, but don’t trust in the windfall. Use it to feather your nest for later. Use it to buy off those you have ripped off. Now, the very clearly cannot be the message Jesus is delivering, and the amplifications He adds on at the end make this clear.
Likewise, I cannot stop at verse 9, for the tone of that verse is lost to our ears, and were I to take it at face value, I should still come away with a wholly unrighteous understanding as to Jesus’ point. Go make friends with my ill-gotten gains? Bribery is acceptable, Lord? Who knew? But, as we continue into subsequent verses, it’s clear that this is not what He is advocating. We must suppose that there was a high degree of sarcasm in His voice as He declared that first point.
The one key that should quickly inform us that this conclusion is not to be taken as the real point, is that he is talking about the ‘mammon of unrighteousness’. Now, Zhodiates suggests that He was also speaking of the ‘steward of unrighteousness’ back in verse 8, as opposed to the unrighteous steward. I am beginning to see some sense to that reading of the text.
But, before I continue, let me just stress this main point: Neither the rich man nor his steward are being recommended to us as fine examples by which to live. That much should be very clear. The steward, having been caught out for his deceitful ways, does nothing by way of repentance. He does nothing to make things right with his employer. By reducing those debts, he has not helped restore the books. Quite the opposite! One could argue that he has increased the likelihood of those debts that remained being paid off, but that’s probably pushing the parable too hard. No. His actions have done nothing for his boss. They have only sought to ease his own predicament.
Likewise, the rich man’s reaction upon learning of these activities is telling. He finds the attempted deceit of his employee commendable. Why, such an accountant could perhaps prove useful in dealing with the taxmen, clever sod that he is. He may not be doing much by way of looking after my affairs, but he’s doing a fine job of looking to his own. But, what is there that is commendable here? He has added sin upon sin. He was unfaithful with the task entrusted to him and when he was found out, rather than repent, he sins the more, stealing from his master once more in order to ingratiate himself with those he used to deal with.
There is some suggestion that perhaps he was only cutting his own share out of the debts, relieving the debtors of his commission. But, by what right did he take such commission in the first place? And, if his cut was that extreme – 50% in the case of the oil – how well is he likely to be received by these whom he has as much as admitted to ripping off? They may thank him for the lowered bill, but they are unlikely to welcome him with open arms, knowing what he tried to take from them. Will we really offer room and board to the thief just because he failed in his attempt to rob us? I think not.
Yet, the boss praises his activity. Fine bit of work, there. What’s to praise? He didn’t even do the job well enough to avoid detection by his boss! Perhaps those whose debts had been reduced had come to thank the rich man for his kindness, assuming the steward must be operating on his own orders. Perhaps he didn’t get rich by being negligent, and had been checking the books pretty regularly. As such, he would surely notice the sudden reduction in outstanding debts without an equivalent increase in his balance. No, he’s perfectly aware of what his steward has done, and finds it praiseworthy. This would suggest to me that ‘steward of unrighteousness’ is indeed an apt description of that employee, and that his boss was wholly complicit in his general mode of operation. In other words, so long as his thieving ways were profitable to the rich man, the rich man had no complaints. Fine accountant he had there, keeping the coffers full. If he was skimming off the top, that was no big thing. Just the cost of doing business. Ah, but when charged with wastefulness! When charged with investing poorly! Well, now he’ll have to pay for his evil.
Why does this put me in mind of recent reactions to the investment community in our country? So long as our investments were making good returns, we had no issue with how such returns were being generated. It’s only as the losses mount that concern over the justness of their methods suddenly arises.
Returning to the parable, if I stick with this material, earthly perspective in trying to understand the point, I am almost assured of drawing the wrong conclusion. If my mind is still on the balance sheet, on profits and losses, then I may find myself nodding in agreement with the rich man. Why, of course! You use your money to your best advantage, and if that means a bit of dishonesty? Well, as they say, the ends justify the means. Then, hearing Jesus seemingly confirm our opinion! “I say to you, make friends for yourselves with your unrighteous profits!” Woe! I’m going to like this new sect!
Listen! We have to hear the last half of verse 9 as the hammer blow it is. Right up through that “I say to you” part, nobody’s batting an eye. They may be a bit surprised that Jesus would condone such actions, but, it’s to their advantage to accept His viewpoint. If they can get away with this and remain righteous, why, maybe this ancient faith isn’t so hard, after all! But, then, comes the reversal. “Maybe they will welcome you into eternity.”
Now, I know I have formed my view on this verse in part due to previous parts of this study of the Gospel, not too far back. I recall looking at this verse as it came up paralleling another text, and thinking that the welcome Jesus mentions here is not good news. Eternity, after all, is not restricted to the righteous. There is an eternity for the wicked as well, but an eternity separated from God. We see it depicted in the parable of Lazarus and the rich man. There is the chasm dividing the eternity of the damned from the eternity of the blessed, a chasm none may cross. So, let us understand that, while Jesus appears to condone the actions of the steward and the opinion of the rich man, it simply is not the case.
I realize that we have great difficulty investing the men of Scripture with sarcasm, and certainly it seems ill-considered in contemplating our beloved Lord Jesus. But, it’s not as though sarcasm is sinful in nature. It’s not as though Jesus was somehow devoid of emotions other than love, love, love. Jesus was not a flower child, not a product of the American Sixties. He was a man, full and whole. Quite frankly, unless we can hear this verse with the sarcasm that seems must necessarily have been present in its delivery, that which follows makes no sense, and the parable stands wholly at odds with the remainder of Scripture.
To gather the improbability that what is said in verse 9 is intended to be taken at face value, consider the phrase, ‘mammon of unrighteousness’. To begin with, mammon, while it can be taken as a word for wealth and means in general, has this other shade of meaning that we do well to keep in mind. It refers to that which is trusted in. It’s not the fact of money or the possession of money that is a problem. It’s that we trust in our money. It’s that we have raised up our money as an idol, granted it higher status in our opinion than God. We have allowed provision to usurp the place of the Provider.
Add to that the specific qualifier of unrighteousness. Not only have we allowed our means a higher place than is right in our thinking, but we have obtained our means in ways that violate justice. They are unjust gains. Look again at our illustrious steward. The complaint against him is, tellingly, not that he has been using his position for his own advantage. The complaint is that he has not used his position to the advantage of his boss. “You have been wasting my money.” Again: if the profits were accruing to his boss, his boss would have no issue with the profits that were accruing to the steward. What? You’re taking a 20% cut? No problem, so long as I’m making my 100% profit! Everybody wins. It’s dishonest? It’s usurious? Those we deal with are being driven into the poorhouse by our dealings? What’s that to me? The bottom line is the bottom line, and the means mean nothing. Mammon of unrighteousness. Trusting in what is unjust. Raising up evil to the throne of our hearts. And, can we really suppose Jesus is not only condoning such a thing, but actually promoting it? It is unthinkable!
Surprisingly, it seems that only The Living Bible manages to make this clear. There’s times when the simplification of the text is truly to our advantage. Consider: “But shall I tell you to act that way, to buy friendship through cheating? Will this ensure your entry into an everlasting home in heaven? No! For unless you are honest in small matters, you won't be in large ones. If you cheat even a little, you won't be honest with greater responsibilities” (Lk 16:9-10). Again, that we shall enter into an everlasting home is certain enough. The question is where? Heaven or hell? You cannot make your way to heaven by dishonest means. It’s inconceivable. Further, the weight of Scripture stands firmly opposed to such a conception. They shall by no means enter the kingdom who practice such things.
The World English Bible also brings out a particular nuance of this curious verse, making out the last half of verse 9 as follows: “so that when you fail, they may receive you into the eternal tents.” When you fail. Money will fail you. Any support apart from God will fail you. But, the end result is that you fail. It is of a piece with discussions of sin and responsibility. Regardless of the means by which you were enticed to sin, regardless of one’s understanding of predestination or lack of such understanding, the reality is simply this: you sin. You remain responsible for your actions. For, even in the presence of predestination, you have chosen, and you have chosen willingly. You made the call and you rejoiced to do so. If your choice was to pursue the mammon of unrighteousness, then there will be no excuse for your having done so. When you fail, it will by your own doing, not some malicious action on the part of God. When you fail (and let’s be clear: Failure is certain in this case) you will have none to blame but yourself. Perhaps, then, the friends you have bought by your dishonesty will welcome you into their company in eternity. But, God won’t.
You see? It sounded pretty good right up until the point of that last part hit home. And, to make certain that it did hit home, Jesus didn’t just fall silent after delivering that point. He continues. How can you expect to be trusted with things that matter when you can’t even be trusted with the garbage? If this is how you think you should handle another’s goods, who do you suppose will be so foolish as to give you your own goods to look after? Now, I grant, that second point is a bit hard to parse into our own experience. What do you mean, Jesus? Nobody gives me my own. I get my own by my own strength. If I have, it is because I earned. You may not like the means by which I earned it, but I earned it. Nobody gives it to me.
Oh, and right there the poorness of our understanding of the true situation is revealed. Right there, the darkness of our soul is exposed. Our possessions, all of them, are not our own, but held in stewardship from God. And yet, we are willing to make such statements about them: that we have earned them, that they are ours by might and by right.
[02/24/10] As important a point as that is, this morning I am more interested in exploring the deeper point of this parable. After all, it would be odd were the king of heaven to be concerned exclusively with the things of the earth. It would be odd were He uninterested in the things of His creation, but the focus of His ministry is ever heavenward, and His concern for man as the pinnacle of His creation is more upon the eternal than the temporal. Therefore, it behooves us to understand what this parable is saying about the ‘true riches’ of eternity. For, if we are focused on those eternal matters, surely the temporal behaviors we exhibit must reflect eternity.
With that in mind, what are those true riches of which Jesus speaks? It is the Gospel itself! It is the marvelous news of God’s mercy and grace being shown to mankind. It is the understanding that One has come and fulfilled the Law, that there is redemption for us, that we are given to become sons of the Most High God in truth, not just in name.
So, then, isn’t it interesting that those who are appointed preachers of God’s Word are described as stewards of the Gospel? They manage the books of heaven, as it were, in regards to God’s dealings with man. No, we do not raise up the preacher to the level of intermediary between God and man, as it was in the old covenant relationship. We have but one high priest, the Man, Christ Jesus. Yet, the preacher is set as a steward over the riches of Christ. Truth be told, this was the case with that old covenant priest as well.
It is in light of this truth that something new unfolded for me this morning as regards the parable before us. Go back to that steward’s behavior upon being accused. He reduced the debt of those who were indebted to his boss. Now, replay that on the spiritual screen. If the steward is the priest, then the rich man is God, and all mankind His debtors. And, what is the debt we owe? It is obedience to the Law He has set forth. Now, consider the actions of verses 6-7. You owed x, but the steward reduced it to x/2. You owed y, but the steward cut it by 20%.
Put that back in the perspective of the Sermon on the Mount. You were told ‘thou shalt not murder’, but I say don’t even think the abusive thought. The I say is the x, but the way it was taught had become x/2. It was only thus that the rich young ruler could suppose he was truly obedient to the Law. The Law had been reduced in the very effort to avoid even the appearance of disobedience. It had become the Codex of the Achievable, as I have often referred to it. We were still deeply indebted to the God of heaven, but we had been told we could get off with paying Him far less than His due.
Again, I point out that the steward in our parable has not done his boss any favors by what he has done. The boss is no richer for his effort, and no least portion of the debts owed him have really been paid off at all. It’s just that his debtors have been made to feel better. Isn’t that the old order? Do this and you shall enter in. Heed these rules and you shall be marked as righteous by the steward. But, though you feel better about your situation, seeing as the debt is not so great as you thought, you aren’t even managing that lesser debt, anyway. Nothing’s been paid down. And, even were you to pay that lower fee, the truth remains that the debt you really owe Him is infinite. You can’t pay it, and the priests who have been convincing you that payoff was within your reach have done both you and God a great disservice.
We must be careful, lest our teaching as regards the very real grace of God leads us to declare an equally empty hope to those who hear us. While we should by no means suggest that our works can earn us a place in heaven, which they cannot hope to do, we must be vigilant to ensure that none come away thinking they can ignore the law of God with impunity under the flag of grace. No! As I have been saying, if our attention is on heaven and heavenly things, our behavior must come to reflect heaven and heavenly things. If our behavior does not do this, then we must question the validity of our conversion. Faith without works is dead. It is not truly faith. It is but wishful thinking. It is painting a rosy picture of a plague-ravaged landscape.
Grace does not bring the Law to an end. Grace but liberates us to take joy in the Law, rather than seeing it solely as an unwelcome restraint. Grace releases us from the fear of Godly retribution for our failures and empowers us to recognize God as our Father, not some remote all-powerful entity set upon our destruction. Grace allows us to accept that God is not some uncaring and frivolous entity such as the Greeks and Romans imagined, not some capricious spirit as ready to do evil as to do good. No! He is our Father. He loves us as only a father could. His every desire for us is good, that we might mature and be a cause for joy to Him. As we come into that love and grace, it gives us every motivation to do those things that are pleasing to Him simply because they are pleasing to Him. Secure in His love, we have no cause to earn His favor, but we have every desire to show our appreciation for the certainty of His love.
In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians we are given an interesting perspective on this matter of being a steward as regards the Gospel. “If I preach voluntarily,” he writes, “I have a reward. But, if this is not voluntary, I am but a steward doing the task which was entrusted to me” (1Co 9:17). He preaches, he says, under compulsion. However much he may concur with the Gospel and with his role, it is still under compulsion, still not entirely voluntary. This, I suppose, comes under that admonition to be ready in season and out of season (2Ti 4:2). He is a steward of the Word, and as such, is called to administer the Word to greatest effect, to greatest benefit to his Lord and Master.
We, too, are stewards of that same Gospel. We understand the truth that our possessions are not our own. We understand that all which we have in this life is ours as a thing held in stewardship from God. It is thus that the Church is ever teaching us to be good stewards of our finances and possessions, and so we should be doing. But, understand this: those possessions we are talking about include salvation, include the Good News that brought us to salvation. The message from heaven is something we have. That grace of God which has poured out within us is our possession. As such, it is also a thing held in stewardship from God. What are we doing with it? What return is our Master gaining from our stewardship?
This is big! How are we spending the Gospel? If there is anything we might take from the steward’s example in this passage, it is that he was mighty free with his master’s goods. We see it in the form of debt, and that’s not a bad model. Each man owes God more than he can ever repay. When we offer the Gospel, we offer the erasure of their debt. Never mind the 20% or 50% reductions from this parable. We are offering 100% write-off. Now, obviously this rendering of the parable must break down at some point. We are not in full control of the offer we make. Yet, that One who is in control is so fully in control that we can comfortably offer it to one and all, knowing that by His providence and His determination, only those to whom He truly extends the offer will accept it. Set aside for now the debate as to whether it is that they choose it, or that He sovereignly moves upon them such that they are compelled to accept it. The end result is much the same. The offer is accepted and the debt erased. In so much as we have had a hand in delivering the message of the Gospel to that debtor, it accrues to our credit as stewards of the Gospel. Not that we thereby earn our way into heaven, no! That is settled. Our citizenship is assured as sons of God’s household. Neither are we preaching for reward. Not at all. That’s the point Paul was just making. We are but stewards doing our job.
Yet, this matter of being stewards of the Gospel must surely be our primary focus as we consider this parable and the point it makes. Let me draw it out a bit by pointing to one of the parallel verses we have for the passage. “Give what is within you as charity, and all things are clean for you” (Lk 11:41). Isn’t that interesting? All the tithes and offerings and contributions to charity that you make? They’re not the point. All the alms in the world will do nothing to expiate your debt of sin. But, give what is within! Oh! It’s all back to motivation again, isn’t it? And what is within? Well, we can point to love, and note that our giving must be from a base of love else it is worthless noise. Yes, but there’s something even more. It is Christ who is within. It is the Gospel. It is salvation. It is redemption. These are the things we have within which are of infinitely greater worth than food and shelter.
No, this is no excuse to cease from doing well by the less fortunate. It is no reason not to perform acts of material charity. But, these are not the primary point and purpose. They are but the natural outworking and reflection of the inward situation. If we feed the poor and clothe them, if we provide for the rebuilding of areas devastated by earthquake, but speak not the Gospel, what have we done? We have preserved life for a day, a week, a year, but an eternity on the wrong side of the chasm yet awaits. Lazarus, having been raised from death, would have been no better off had he not laid hold of the finished work of the Christ. Even he returned to the grave in the course of time. Even he faced the waiting eternity. But, the Gospel received held him on the path towards a heavenly home. As our hearts are moved to aid the poor and hurting, let us bear this in mind: that all the material aid we may offer is nothing without the eternal boon of the Gospel.
In this regard, I would pursue one final thought. I was directed, as another parallel thought to this passage, back to David’s prayer upon receiving the outpoured wealth of the nation given as offering to build the Temple. “Who am I? Who are my people, that we should be able to make such a generous offering? All things come from You, and we have but given to You out of Your own hand” (1Chr 29:14). What an incredible sentiment this is! What a balancing comprehension. When we are empowered to make a significant offering (as we measure things) it is terrifyingly easy to become prideful as to what we have done. Look what I’ve done for You, God! We lose sight of the truth of an instant. We need to hear David’s words bringing us back to reality. We just gave Him back His own goods. What room is there for pride in that? Everything I have to give, I have from You. We’re all proud of giving back 10%, 20%? Yet, apart from Him we would have nothing and give nothing.
But, once more come to the spiritual message: the Gospel work we are called to. The same issues and the same answers apply to those who come to the Lord. If we are active stewards of the Gospel in this most evangelical way, we are inclined to come to the point of saying, “I brought so and so to the Lord.” Maybe we even fall to counting heads, comparing our efforts to others. Maybe we even do this when our own efforts don’t look so impressive to us. The fact of the matter, however, is that it is neither our efforts nor is it the efforts of those others who perhaps impress us. We bring nobody. Unless the Father calls, no one comes to the Son. Unless the Son opens the door, nobody comes to the Father. We are, even in this, only giving back to God what is already His own. Stewardship. We are entrusted with the effort, yes. But, the power and the result are His. He determines the gains we are allowed to take a hand in producing.
Oh, to be sure, we shall one day give account of our stewardship. But, let us not fall into the false pride of taking our own measure. Let us not spoil our efforts by thinking we have done mightily. No! If there is anything good which comes of my efforts, it is because my God and King has done it. If there is any return that He shall have on my life, it is because He has so willed and worked in me as to see that return produced. And, thank You, my Father, for allowing me this hand in Your labors.
