The story tells of a manager who is about to be fired for wasting his master's possessions. Facing imminent loss, he acts with sudden, decisive, and radical intelligence. He uses the brief window of time he has left to leverage his master's resources to secure his future. He forgives portions of others' debts, building goodwill so that when he is cast out, he will be welcomed into their homes.
Jesus then makes the shocking application: "The people of this world are shrewder in dealing with their kind than are the people of the light." He is saying that people of the light, who know about the ultimate, absolute reality of God's kingdom and the coming judgment, live with such complacency. Why do they not use the temporary resources at their disposal—our time, talents, treasure, and relationships—with the same level of urgency and intelligence to secure their eternal future?
Absolute love demands absolute faithfulness.
Jesus draws a direct line from our use of worldly wealth to our capacity for true spiritual riches. Whoever is trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?
God's absolute love has entrusted us with "very little"—the temporary, material possessions of this world. This is our training ground and a test of our stewardship. How we handle the temporary reveals our hearts' readiness for the eternal. If we hoard it for ourselves, we prove ourselves unfit stewards of God's love. If we use it strategically for the purposes of the kingdom—to relieve burdens, build relationships, and spread grace and love—we demonstrate faithfulness.
The ultimate choice presented by God's absolute love is that we cannot serve two masters. We must have an undivided heart. To try to serve both is to be like the path, the rocky ground, or the thorny soil—unfruitful and divided.
Conclusion
A spiritual awakening is prompted by the story of the astute manager. God's love is absolute, and our call is to be managers, not owners. We are called to use every temporary resource at our disposal with intelligence, urgency, and strategic grace for one purpose: to further the economy of heaven, which is built on love, mercy, and forgiveness. Have we been responsibly and faithfully managing what God entrusted to us? (*)