So non-Christians are wiser...

[sport123]

So non-Christians are wiser and smarter than Christians in this world, based on(Luke16:8). Man, thats not fair. How can we protect ourselves from their lies and deception? We don't have a chance. We want be able to know if they are saying the truth and will be constantly taken advantage of. No wonder they have it all in this world

[EricH]

This is actually a very interesting parable that on the surface appears to condone the dishonesty of the servant. The cultural setting of the parable is a landed estate with a "manager" who had the authority to carry out the business of the estate. The debtors were renters, who had agree to pay a fixed amount of produce for the yearly rent. It appears the "manager" has been skimming funds from the renters, but has not been including this amount in the bill that was reported back to the estate. The owner of the estate was a man esteemed in the community for his integrity and noble character.

The owner of the estate calls the manager in to give an account for what he has done. A key element in the passage is the silence of the manager when confronted by the master in verse 2. He is fired by the master and gives no defence for his actions. His failure to answer the charges of the master indicate:

1. The manager knows he is guilty

2. The manager realizes the master knows that he is guilty

3. The manager realizes that the integrity of the master demand that the master punish the transgression

4. The manager does not bother giving excuses, since he knows they will not get him his job back.

The manager also discovers another thing about the master. In the culture of the time it would have been expected that the master would not only remove the manager from his position, he also would have had him jailed. This failure to jail the offender also reveals something else about the master. He is merciful.

It appears from the story that the community is not yet aware that the manager has been fired. He develops a plan that gambles on the mercy of the master, and the character of those in the community. Basically he calls all the renters in and collects the rent. But in this case, he lowers the amount thay they have to pay. Rather than skimming a percentage for himself, he simply lowers the amount that each renter owes by the amount he would have skimmed. The fact that the manager "summoned" (Luke 16:5) the renters, means that the renters would assume that he was acting on the authority of the master. They would assume that the manager had notified the master of his idea, and had his approval.

As the manager carries out the plan, the text reveals that he called them in quickly a did the transaction as quickly as possible so that the renters would not get wise to the situation. That is because he knew that if they did get wise, they would immediately report it to the master, even though it benefited them. This would have been considered a huge breach in the social norm of the time.

The steward now completes his plan by taking the adjusted bills and showing them to the master. The master immediately realizes the predicament he is in. Undoubtedlly, a celebration has commenced in the estate celebrating the generosity of the master and the manager for suggesting it to the master in the first place. If the master steps in now and takes the pirce break back, he will be remembered as the stingy guy who took the rent back. If he jails the manager, he will be attacking the popular guy who arranged with the master for the act of generosity.

Basically the story is talking about the steward gambling on the mercy of his master. So, the statement in Luke 16:8 simply means that unbelievers understand the nature of those around them better than believers understand the nature of God. Unbelievers know that it is dog eat dog, and they live that way. We know that God is a God of mercy, yet frequently we slip back into legalism.

Luke 16:9-10 summarizes the idea:

And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the mammon of unrighteousness; that when it fails, they may receive you into the eternal dwellings. He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.

Luke 16:9-10 NASB

Basically we should use our money in a way the reflects our understanding of the character of God. This is what will lead to our being "commended" by the master.

[Bolts]

This is actually a very interesting parable that on the surface appears to condone the dishonesty of the servant. The cultural setting of the parable is a landed estate with a "manager" who had the authority to carry out the business of the estate. The debtors were renters, who had agree to pay a fixed amount of produce for the yearly rent. It appears the "manager" has been skimming funds from the renters, but has not been including this amount in the bill that was reported back to the estate. The owner of the estate was a man esteemed in the community for his integrity and noble character.

The owner of the estate calls the manager in to give an account for what he has done. A key element in the passage is the silence of the manager when confronted by the master in verse 2. He is fired by the master and gives no defence for his actions. His failure to answer the charges of the master indicate:

1. The manager knows he is guilty

2. The manager realizes the master knows that he is guilty

3. The manager realizes that the integrity of the master demand that the master punish the transgression

4. The manager does not bother giving excuses, since he knows they will not get him his job back.

The manager also discovers another thing about the master. In the culture of the time it would have been expected that the master would not only remove the manager from his position, he also would have had him jailed. This failure to jail the offender also reveals something else about the master. He is merciful.

It appears from the story that the community is not yet aware that the manager has been fired. He develops a plan that gambles on the mercy of the master, and the character of those in the community. Basically he calls all the renters in and collects the rent. But in this case, he lowers the amount thay they have to pay. Rather than skimming a percentage for himself, he simply lowers the amount that each renter owes by the amount he would have skimmed. The fact that the manager "summoned" (Luke 16:5) the renters, means that the renters would assume that he was acting on the authority of the master. They would assume that the manager had notified the master of his idea, and had his approval.

As the manager carries out the plan, the text reveals that he called them in quickly a did the transaction as quickly as possible so that the renters would not get wise to the situation. That is because he knew that if they did get wise, they would immediately report it to the master, even though it benefited them. This would have been considered a huge breach in the social norm of the time.

The steward now completes his plan by taking the adjusted bills and showing them to the master. The master immediately realizes the predicament he is in. Undoubtedlly, a celebration has commenced in the estate celebrating the generosity of the master and the manager for suggesting it to the master in the first place. If the master steps in now and takes the pirce break back, he will be remembered as the stingy guy who took the rent back. If he jails the manager, he will be attacking the popular guy who arranged with the master for the act of generosity.

Basically the story is talking about the steward gambling on the mercy of his master. So, the statement in Luke 16:8 simply means that unbelievers understand the nature of those around them better than believers understand the nature of God. Unbelievers know that it is dog eat dog, and they live that way. We know that God is a God of mercy, yet frequently we slip back into legalism.

Luke 16:9-10 summarizes the idea:

And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the mammon of unrighteousness; that when it fails, they may receive you into the eternal dwellings. He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.

Luke 16:9-10 NASB

Basically we should use our money in a way the reflects our understanding of the character of God. This is what will lead to our being "commended" by the master.

This is SOoo COool EricH. I feel like I've just had church!!