Please read the passage before the commentary.
This is a story about a steward and his master. Two thousand years ago, the steward was more than an employee, he was a member of the household, much as a nanny or caretaker would be in our homes. To dismiss the steward was to make him homeless with little chance of being hired by someone else. Hence, the supreme urgency of the steward’s position.
How would his scheme work? He apparently did not cheat the rich person of his investment. Rather he remitted to debtors either the master’s profit or the money the steward had levied for his own use. By restoring to the debtors what was originally theirs, the steward hoped to receive some help in the future.
Okay, the steward should not have been embezzling the master’s or the debtors’ money. We could commend the steward for covering his tracks and easing his losses, but we should not suggest this was a good moral decision. I should say to you, not to do as the steward did because it is wrong and harmful.
Our problem may not be that of stealing or embezzling funds from work. Ours may rather be that of not using well the good thing we have. God wants us to let our light shine for all to see and praise God for the light we have. We have to act well with the resources we have, not let them lie unused. The steward misused someone else’s treasure, but we are entrusted with our own treasures for us to use well.
We do no injustice when we use God’s gifts well. We do much injustice when we refuse to use our gifts well or when we misuse others’ gifts.
The Lord praised the steward for acting wisely in providing for himself. We act widely if we make good use of or talents to give glory to God, for this is our ultimate purpose.