Luke 6:8 says, “And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.”
When the purpose of a thing is not known, abuse or abnormal use is inevitable. The steward received commendation from his master, who was about to fire him for stealing, because he finally got it, he understood the purpose and power of money. Scriptures says he acted wisely. Other synonyms for wise are shrewd and astute. Shrewd suggests a sharp intelligence or sound judgment.
So to act shrewdly means to act with sharp intelligence or sound judgment and with insight.The steward finally realised that the true power of money is to use it to influence the future.
Notice that he had been penciled down for sack because he was taking money out of the pocket of his master, but refused to save, for he said, “I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg”(Luke 16:3). He used the money stolen from his master on his lifestyle.
In this instance, rather than pocketing the stolen money, the manager gave discount on debt owed his master, made debtors to his master, debtors to him and since the debtors were now obligated to him his future was secured. He used money to influence his future.
You see, money does not only give you power to shape your future on earth – it also influences eternity.
Luke 16:9 says “And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.”
The Greek word translated fail in this text is “ekleipō” It also means to die or come to an end.
So this scripture is saying you should use money (mammon of unrighteousness) to make friends who will receive you into everlasting habitation or eternal homes when you die. Put differently, you can touch peoples lives through your giving and when you die those people will be lining up in heaven to say thanks to you.
Emmanuel Emeke Asiwe (Pst) Joint Heir International: 441 Crescent Street Brockton Ma 02302. Worship Hours: Sunday 10 am; Wednesday 7pm.
