The parable of the steward continues in Luke 16:4.

Luke 16:4-6 (NKJV)- 4 I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.’ 5 “So he called every one of his master’s debtors to him, and said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?” 6 And he said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ So he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ 7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ So he said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’

The steward is basically saying, “Ah, I know how to make sure I have plenty of friends to take care of me when I’m fired!”

Let me explain what’s going on. The going interest rate on borrowed oil was 100%. The interest rate on wheat was 25%. The steward is essentially transforming these debts into interest-free loans. By doing so, he immediately makes friends he can count on in a pinch. He now has IOU’s he can call in, because these people owe him one. He lost one thing, his salary, but he gains something more important: friends. Talk about clever!

Now that you understand what the steward has done, you can understand his master’s reaction.

Luke 16:8a (NKJV)- So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly.

The owner admired the steward’s shrewdness. But why was he commending him? Because, by using what his master had given him today, he ensured he would be taken care of tomorrow. He was getting ready for the time when his job would end. He knew he would need somebody to fall back on for help. In other words, he did what he did today in order to be prepared tomorrow.

Think about what this steward has done. He has made a future for himself with someone else’s money. He didn’t even have to put up any of his own resources. You would have to agree that it is a wise man who uses what he has today to make a future for tomorrow- especially if he uses someone else’s money to do it.

Are you getting the picture? Everything you have right now belongs to God. You are an owner of nothing and a manager of everything. At the end of the day or at the end of your life, it is all going back to the owner.

Many of us have money deducted from our paychecks to go to a pension plan or retirement account, and there is nothing wrong with that. I believe we ought to save for retirement. But what I don’t understand is why we don’t take the same care to set money aside to invest in God’s Kingdom and God’s work. I don’t understand why we have savings plans and retirement plans, yet don’t think we need to have giving plans.

You have a chance, right now, to use what God has given you today to make sure that it works for you tomorrow, in eternity. We are responsible for using God’s money wisely.