BEING SHREWD

1. What is the meaning of being 'shrewd'?

a) A shrewd person is wise and insightful, can interpret nuances and inferences in both written and spoken text. A shrewd person can 'read between the lines' and has much world and street knowledge. Such a person makes astute (clever; cunning) decisions.

b) Someone with a keen awareness, sharp intelligence and often a sense of cunning and artful practice. Someone who does good business deals and takes advantage of every situation he can.

2. What is this story of a shrewd manager?

a) 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.

b) 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.’

c) 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.

d) 4Ah, I know how to ensure that I’ll have plenty of friends who will give me a home when I am fired.’

e) 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?’

f) 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.

g) 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. ’

h) 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. (Luke 16:1-8 NLT)

3. What are lessons to be learnt?

a) 9Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your earthly possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home.

b) 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.

c) 11) And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven?

d) 12And if you are not faithful with other people’s things, why should you be trusted with things of your own?

e) 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.” (Luke 16:9-13 NLT)

4. Commentary

a) The unjust steward is not set before us as an example in cheating his master, or to justify any dishonesty, but to point out the careful ways of worldly men. It would be well if the children of light would learn wisdom from the men of the world, and would as earnestly pursue their better object.

b) The true riches signify spiritual blessings; and if a man spends upon himself, or hoards up what God has trusted to him, as to outward things, what evidence can he have, that he is an heir of God through Christ? The riches of this world are deceitful and uncertain. Let us be convinced that those are truly rich, and very rich, who are rich in faith, and rich toward God, rich in Christ, in the promises; let us then lay up our treasure in heaven, and expect our portion from thence.

c) The manager's goal didn't change - he wanted a comfortable lifestyle without working too hard - and used his Master's resources for his own purposes. Even when he was caught - and was about to lose the position that enabled him to achieve his nefarious goal easily, he made another plan, a very clever plan, and tried to win the affections of his master's debtors by slashing their debts - probably guaranteeing that someone would give him free board and lodging for a while.

d) Jesus is certainly not holding this man up as a shining example of morality, but of using his brains to try every possible method of achieving his aim. The aim was not noble, but his persistence and shrewdness in pursuing the aim was. What should we take from this then? We should learn from anyone - even those we want to label as "worldly" or "sinful" - to work hard and be shrewd in how we pursue God's aims.

f) The other aspect is using the stuff of this world for eternal purposes - In the first fraudulent scheme the manager was simply skimming the master's funds and putting them in his own pocket. His thinking was entirely in the pleasures of the here and now. Once he saw his cushy position coming to an end he started using the money to make friends to provide for him at the end of his present "life" when he no longer had any control.

5. Prayer focus

a) Pray that we will be faithful in little things so that larger things will be trusted to us.

b) Pray that we will be shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves" as Jesus has said.

i) "I (Jesus) am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves." (Matthew 10: 16 NIV)

b) Pray that we will only put God first in our lives.