Spiritual Accounting 101...Continued from page 1
Steve D. Eutsler
Jesus told this Parable of the Shrewd Manager to His disciples, while the Pharisees eavesdropped (16:1, 14). Most scholars agree that this is one of the most difficult parables in the Bible to interpret, because Jesus seems to condone the manager's unethical behavior. At the very least, this parable teaches us that by leveraging our resources on earth we'll improve our futures in heaven (cf. 16:9). After spending several weeks studying this Parable of the Shrewd Manager, I want to analyze it with you today and then look at some applications.
Jesus begins the parable with, " 'There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions.' " The Greek term for manager is oi-ko-no-mos, which according to the lexicon means, "(house) steward, manager."
The problem results from serious accusations (16:1-2). " 'So he [i.e., the owner] called him in and asked him, "What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer." ' " One way or the other, the accusations appeared to be serious enough to demand an accounting. Apparently there were enough discrepancies in the record books that whether or not money was missing intentionally, the owner demanded the manager's resignation. However in his defense, at least one Greek scholar of yesteryear, A.T. Robertson, suggests that the accusation against the manager was slanderous and unfounded.
Whatever the case then, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce today, American business suffers the loss of over $50 billion per year due to employee theft today. And the U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates that 75 percent of all employees steal once, and half of these become repeat offenders. Furthermore, the chamber reports that one out of every three businesses that fail does so as a result of employee theft.
Well-known business writer Jim Collins talks about the lack of ethics in the workplace after the bankruptcies at Enron and Worldcom. He explains how otherwise good business people gradually condition themselves to the point they'll do something that they would have sworn never to do before it happened. They rationalize that everyone else is doing it. It happens so imperceptibly one small step at a time until they have gone from point A to point Z. They never even realize when they cross that proverbial line in the sand between what's right and what's wrong.
Next, the solution results from shrewd administration (16:3-7). The manager comes up with a plan. " 'I know what I'll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.' " The manager quickly sized up his employment possibilities and found himself desperately lacking marketable skills. He was physically unable and emotionally unwilling to dig for a living. And he was too proud to beg for alms on the corner. So, this "bright" idea occurred to him; he could win some important friends and influence his insecure future. In a somewhat similar vein, God gives wisdom to those who ask Him (James 1:5). And He provides a specific gift of wisdom in cases of emergencies (1 Cor. 12:8).