The Parable of the Dishonest Manager, in Luke 16, is an unusual one, in that Jesus is not giving an example of how one should act, or on the nature of the kingdom of heaven, but he is giving and example of how the people of this world are shrewd with their money. His point is not to tell us to do as the manager did–it was a dishonest thing! He is telling us that we should be just as shrewd with our money in the practice of good. When his point is learned, it brings great freedom!

The manager was fired, so as he was leaving he forgave a portion of the debt of each of his master’s debtors so that they would welcome him into their houses when he had no other place to go. In the parable money is neutral. It is not an evil nor a good, but rather a tool.

Jesus is saying that we should take this tool and use it for his kingdom. But how so? The act of the manager was good, though the spirit selfish; he gave money away, and thus made friends, but his motive was so that he himself could be saved later on. In fact, he was serving his own greed and allowing financial cares to worry him.

In verse 13 Jesus makes it clear that this attitude is wrong. No one can have two masters; you can’t serve God and money. Now we know that one who serves money is really just serving himself. He is serving his pride and greed. The spirit of Christ is the opposite; it is a spirit of love and sacrifice. This is the spirit that he desires us to have in our approach to money!

He asks: “If you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?” What are the true riches? Certainly the true wealth, spiritual wealth, is eternal life. And this eternal life has a distinct characteristic: it gives itself away. We were saved so that we might live the life of Christ which is a freedom from selfishness and greed, and a life of self expenditure for the joy and fulfillment of the body of Christ.

What then does it mean to be faithful with unrighteous wealth? It means that we apply that same freedom that we are given spiritually to our money: we become free to give it away! This is the life of Christ in action, that we take the gifts of money that he gives us and use it for the building of relationships in the church and in the world. This is what he means when he says “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.”

It will fail! There’s no doubt about that. But what do we do with it in the mean time? We use it freely so that those who know that we are followers of Christ will be encouraged when they see the joy we have in loving others with our money and they will continue in the faith.

How will a hungry man listen to what you say about the gift of eternal life if he sees you are still holding on to your money as if it were your life? Rather give him the money to fill his stomach so that he might see that the life that you claim to have spiritually is indeed active in every area of your life!

How will a hurting friend hear that Jesus loves him if you cannot bring yourself, in whom Christ dwells, to love him without limit with all that you have? Rather do not hold back from blessing him with your means so that he might experience with his own eyes and in his own heart the love of Christ that you are trying to encourag him with.

This is the financial freedom of love!