Commending The Unjust Steward

Today’s Gospel isn’t the easiest of our Lord’s parables to understand.  We have the story of the unjust steward who wastes his master’s goods.  When he’s told he may no longer be steward, the man has to think fast to avoid financial ruin.  So he changes the figures on the bills that people owe to his master, reducing the amount in their favor.  When the master of the house discovers his deception, he commends the steward “because he had done wisely.”  And this leaves us feeling just a little bit uncomfortable…

The first thing we need to realize, though, is that our Lord, in this particular parable, is not describing wholesome characters who represent God.  Both the steward and his master are not particularly wholesome characters.   Both of them either do or say bad things.  When we realize this, it should alert us to the fact that our Lord is not exhorting us to follow their example, but is rather pointing out to us a larger principle hidden behind what they do and say.

What did the steward do?  He’s not accused of fraud but of mismanaging his master’s resources that have been entrusted to him.  The master of the house had trusted him to look after his money and possessions, giving him complete authority over all the finances and general management of the estate.  It was a position that demanded complete trust of the servant by the master of the house.  But this steward had betrayed that trust, or at least had displayed a lack of loyalty and commitment to the task assigned him.  Small wonder then, that the master would demand an immediate accounting and terminate his services.

At this point, the steward descends from mere negligence to outright fraud.  In exchange for what he hopes will be their future protection, he sets about some dishonest dealing with his master’s debtors, reducing on paper the money owed they owe him.  Immoral yes, but in the short term at least, let’s face it, it was pretty smart!  And sure enough, the master of the house is impressed—“the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely.” Don’t be put off by the word “lord” in this context.  It does not refer to our blessed Lord, nor to a character who is meant to represent our Lord.  This “lord” is simply the wicked master of a corrupt household, and his commendation of the steward’s deceitful deeds does not imply any kind of approval from God.

So what exactly does our Lord mean here, and why does he seem to hold up the unjust steward as a kind of example we should follow?  Our Lord points out that the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.  This is by no means an exhortation for us believers to stoop to the level of the unbelievers, and act immorally like the unjust steward.  What he means is that unbelievers are wiser in their dealings with the natural things of this world, than believers are about the things of the world to come.  The Devil’s legions, for example, are supremely well organized, and since the French Revolution have managed to take over national and international politics and finance, the education system, all branches of the media, and worst of all, even the Church herself.  Take a leaf out of their book, the Lord seems to be telling us—don’t do the bad things they do, but use their wiser methods to get good things done.  Learn from your enemies—if they’re succeeding while we’re failing, is there perhaps something about what they’re doing that we could do to produce a good result.  Be careful though, we may never do something sinful so that something good can come of it.  Remember last week’s message about good fruit never coming from a bad tree.  But if we can emulate what is wise in the dealings of our enemies, improving our organizational skills for instance, or learning to be more tolerant of conflicting opinions—so that we can work together for the desired result, this is what our Lord is counseling us to do here.  To work more effectively for the result God wants, to be a bit more “smart” when it comes to achieving our goals.  And if that means making friends for a time with the mammon of unrighteousness, then so be it.  Because the ultimate goal of all of us simply must be achieved!  That goal is our eternal salvation, and we must do whatever it takes to attain it.

Just to give you one small example of how we may make friends with the mammon of unrighteousness.  We’re told that earthly wealth is not good for our souls.  It’s harder for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.  But what if we make friends with that mammon of unrighteousness and turn it into something good.  What if we use our wealth for the benefit of others and for the advancement of God’s kingdom.  There has been many a good man who has spent his wealth lavishly on the building of churches, the support of the missions, the welfare of the poor and oppressed.  Thus, as our Lord tells us, we will lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven.

Let us engrave in our minds the thought that all good things come from above, from the Father of lights.  Not just money, but everything we have is a gift from God. Our good health, our looks, our talents.  We have been entrusted with all these things, we have been made stewards, entrusted with the righteous care of these gifts.  Are we going to be like the unjust steward, betraying the trust God has in us to take care of his gift?  Or will we be faithful and just stewards, who, because our Master is God, will employ that wealth in building up God’s kingdom?  And if we are at times negligent in our stewardship, if we do let God down from time to time through our own weakness, or even malice, let us act wisely in our struggle to regain our good Lord’s favor.  Let us use by all means use firstly his other righteous gifts to restore our soul, gifts like the Sacrament of Penance, the graces that flow from his Sacred Heart, the mercy that he has promised to show to every sinner that repents.  Let us boldly reduce the amount we owe to God by our heartfelt penance and firm resolution to do better.  But let’s not forget either that we’re allowed to make use, even to befriend, the mammon of unrighteousness—to use our good looks to draw people to God rather than entice them to sin, to use our money to alleviate suffering rather than to indulge our own pleasures, to use our talents to spread the faith, to give good example to our family and friends, to bring light where there is darkness.  All these things God gave us along with the free will to use them wisely.  Let’s be sure to do so, thereby helping to bring more souls to heaven so that, if and when we fail, those same souls may receive us into everlasting habitations.