We come to the strange parable of the shrewd manager (Luke 16.1 – 9) which ends:

The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings. (Luke 16.8, 9, ESV)

The dishonest manager was commended for his shrewdness! Really? And verse 9 leaves us confused – “make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth.” What does that mean? I like Eugene Peterson’s take on verses 8 and 9 as recorded in The Message:

Now here’s a surprise: The master praised the crooked manager! And why? Because he knew how to look after himself. Streetwise people are smarter in this regard than law-abiding citizens. They are on constant alert, looking for angles, surviving by their wits. I want you to be smart in the same way—but for what is right—using every adversity to stimulate you to creative survival, to concentrate your attention on the bare essentials, so you’ll live, really live, and not complacently just get by on good behavior. (Luke 16.8, 9, MSG)

He was commended for his shrewdness. For his creativity. His shrewdness was illegal, but Jesus apparently thinks shrewdness and creativity are better than always “coloring within the lines”! We need to engage in “creative survival” not just “good behavior.”

What’s the application? Jesus was outside the lines. That’s what the Pharisees criticized him for. He didn’t meticulously obey every law at the expense of meeting needs. “Good behavior” is attending synagogue. “Creative survival” is healing someone while there, even if it is the Sabbath. 

And there might be a connection between the opening of Luke 16 with the dishonest manager and the closing of Luke 16: the story of the rich man and Lazarus the beggar. Stay tuned.

You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5.13 – 16, ESV)