April 22, 2025 Morning Devotional
Morning Devotion: Read Luke - The Parable of the Dishonest Steward
Luke 16:1 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. 10 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. 11 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12 And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own? 13 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
God tells His disciples and us to be wise in this world. Matthew 10:16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
This Parable is one that gives trouble if misunderstood. It is a parable of an unjust manager, steward or superintendent. It is one about two people, the steward and the master who were both crooked.
The steward was cooking the books, then and either charging the customers too much or giving them too little for what they paid for. Once found out the customers complained and the master found out. He was about to lose his job.
The steward knew he had to prepare for the inevitable of being without a job. He goes to those who have been cheated and makes thing right having one person change his bill to 50 percent and the other to 20 percent setting the books right and pleasing the customer and the master.
His master was happy that and commended to unjust steward. Luke 16:8 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.
The lord, the master of the company, was happy with the results, because he retained his customers.
Our Lord gives His disciples and us some wise advice. He tells us to make friends of the unrighteous mammon, meaning do right with what you have in this world. Be right when dealing with others and their money. When you operate that way, both the unsaved and the saved will receive you because of your testimony.
Don’t step into eternity (everlasting habitation) with a bad testimony concerning the money you were entrusted with.
Our Lord never said love the money, he said do right with the money you have.
1Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
1John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
Finally, keep your testimony right with those around you.
The choice is still yours,
Pastor Cook
