The parable of a shrewd accountant 

Luke 16:1-18 (New Living Translation)

1Jesus told this story to his disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a manager handling his affairs. One day a report came that the manager was wasting his employer’s money. 2So the employer called him in and said, ‘What’s this I hear about you? Get your report in order, because you are going to be fired.’

3“The manager thought to himself, ‘Now what? My boss has fired me. I don’t have the strength to dig ditches, and I’m too proud to beg. 4Ah, I know how to ensure that I’ll have plenty of friends who will give me a home when I am fired.’

5“So he invited each person who owed money to his employer to come and discuss the situation. He asked the first one, ‘How much do you owe him?’6The man replied, ‘I owe him 800 gallons of olive oil.’ So the manager told him, ‘Take the bill and quickly change it to 400 gallons.’

7“‘And how much do you owe my employer?’ he asked the next man. ‘I owe him 1,000 bushels of wheat,’ was the reply. ‘Here,’ the manager said, ‘take the bill and change it to 800 bushels.’

8“The rich man had to admire the dishonest rascal for being so shrewd. And it is true that the children of this world are more shrewd in dealing with the world around them than are the children of the light. 9Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your earthly possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home.

10“If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities.11And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? 12And if you are not faithful with other people’s things, why should you be trusted with things of your own?

13“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

14The Pharisees, who dearly loved their money, heard all this and scoffed at him. 15Then he said to them, “You like to appear righteous in public, but God knows your hearts. What this world honors is detestable in the sight of God.

16“Until John the Baptist, the law of Moses and the messages of the prophets were your guides. But now the Good News of the Kingdom of God is preached, and everyone is eager to get in. 17But that doesn’t mean that the law has lost its force. It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the smallest point of God’s law to be overturned.

18“For example, a man who divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery. And anyone who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.”

What  does  the  parable  mean?

Jesus  does not recommend  the  dishonesty  òf the  manager  but  his  shrewdness in dealing with the Worldly  resources. At the  end of the  parable  Jesus  clearly  states that, If you cheat even  a little, you won't  be  honest  with greater responsibilities. And  if you are  untrustworthy  about worldly wealth, who will  trust you with the  true riches  of heaven?  And if you are  not  faithful  with  other people's money, why should you  be  trusted  with  money  of your own? Obviously,  the  dishonest  manager failed in  all  the  above  values Christ  was  talking about. But   in his  desperate  situation of  losing  his  job, knew  how to  use  the  unjust  money  wisely on people who will help him later.