Daily Devotional Luke 16:5-9 – The Parable of the Unjust Steward (Part 2) – Should Christians use wealth to gain friends? – Does God love me? – Online Bible Study – Commentary in easy English – Day 321

“So he (the broker/manager) called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ ‘Nine hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied. The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.’ ‘Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’ ‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied. ‘He told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.’ Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’ ‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied. He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’ ‘The master (the enemy) commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. I (the enemy) tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into dwellings.” (Luke 16:5-9 parentheses mine)

While vacationing in the Bahamas with coworkers in the book/movie, The Firm, by John Grisham, Mitch finds out his law firm is in the grips of the enemy’s hands. Feeling vulnerable, Mitch is offered alcohol and a prostitute his firm hired. Mitch accepts them both, and his firm blackmails him, trying to make the enemy his master.

The broker/manager in this Scripture works for the enemy. He begins as an honest man not making as much money for the enemy as the enemy would’ve liked, so he’s fired. In a position of vulnerability, the enemy tells him to move quickly, so he’ll forget to consult God. He cheats his boss (the enemy) by reducing the amount of the bills his boss’s clients owe, so one of them will hire him.  He justifies himself by thinking, “My boss is a bad man.”  The second time the enemy sucks us in is a fatal blow because we’ve sunk to the enemy’s level. The enemy wants us to keep sinking further into his arms by being shrewd more than he wants our money, so the enemy tells us to use worldly wealth to gain friends and commends the broker/manager for being shrewd. 

We’ll be welcomed into eternal dwellings (plural). I think there are only two. The enemy deceives all to keep us from God.  But God still loves and pursues us after we’ve sunk to hellish levels. When we repent and believe Jesus saves us, God still welcomes us into heaven.

Father God, when I feel vulnerable or have fallen into the enemy’s hands, remind me to pray. I know you’re always with me. Reach out and let me grab Jesus’ hand, so he’ll lead me down the path of righteousness. Thank you for saving me and welcoming me into Your kingdom when I don’t deserve it. I love you, too. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Daily Devotional Luke 16:5-9 – The Parable of the Unjust Steward (Part 2) – Should Christians use wealth to gain friends? – Does God love me? – Online Bible Study – Commentary in easy English – Day 321

8 thoughts on “Daily Devotional Luke 16:5-9 – The Parable of the Unjust Steward (Part 2) – Should Christians use wealth to gain friends? – Does God love me? – Online Bible Study – Commentary in easy English – Day 321

  1. Sometimes I feel that people who try and live right are more vulnerable to the enemy because we do not understand how such evil works. I have often thought that scam artists must be bright to figure out the elaborate schemes they use. If they used their intelligence to do good instead of bad the world would be a much better place. I do not understand…should Christians use wealth to gain friends? Is there a deeper meaning?

    1. No, there is no deeper meaning. It is the enemy who says, “Use wordly wealth to gain friends for yourselves.” This parable can be confusing because it follows the parable of the Prodigal son and God was the wealthy man, and we were talking about the kingdom of heaven. In this parable the wealthy man is Satan, and we’re talking about the kingdom of the world in which Satan is the leader. If you can think of a way for me to make it clearer, please let me know. Thanks. The world would definitely be a better place if all intelligence was used for God’s kingdom.

  2. I was definitely confused about who was saying, “Should Christians use wealth to gain friends?” If you just put it was the Enemy in parenthesis that would make it easier to understand.

    1. Thanks for your comment. I always appreciate your telling me when my devotional is confusing. This was a confusing passage and one that doesn’t have many satisfactory commentaries in my opinion. I rewrote my devotional, so please let me know if it is less confusing. Thanks for your help.

  3. I am extremely inspired with your writing abilities and also with the format to your weblog. Is this a paid topic or did you customize it yourself? Anyway stay up the excellent high quality writing, it’s rare to look a great blog like this one today.

    1. Thank you for your encouragement, Swinny, even if it is for the purpose of marketing. I appreciate any encouragement I can get. I said a prayer for you as I do all of my readers. Blessings to you, Jody.

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