Dishonest Debt Forgiveness

May I remind you that we are in a field of what I call, What Nots, meaning that in being told what not to accept, what not to believe, what not to trust, what not to promote and suchlike, we are gathering a treasure, a storehouse of wise actions which will prove highly beneficial. They are all being reaped from this Bible text, as brought again to your full attention.  

And he said, A hundred measures of oil. So he said unto him, Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty. Then said he 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. Luke 16: 6 – 7

Here is the first huge do not warning that has been plucked from the text.

Do not pick fruit from the Lord’s dishonest servants or stewards.

In the parable, which is quite well-known, I might add, we have evidence of the dishonesty of the steward. First, we are told that the master was given information on his steward that was most disappointing. The accusation was that his servant or steward was wasting his goods. Any servants or stewards of our Lord and Master, who have accusations being levied at them as people who are wasting what is our Lord’s, are very dishonest people. Note the attitude and actions of the master in the parable. Jesus tells us that after hearing the accusations, he calls the steward to him and questions him on all the accusations levied against him. After that action, then he tells him, Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward. Luke 16: 2b.

The steward knows that he has not a leg to stand on, as he is called to accountability and therefore knows that he is reaping the wages of his dishonesty. He receives his master’s just dismissal, but he does not learn his lesson. There is no remorse, no sorrow and no repentance of his dishonesty and untrustworthiness. What he does next, confirms the base, wicked, wretched nature of that steward.

Think about this! The steward has just been confronted by his displeased and no doubt disappointed master, because of his dishonesty in wasting his master’s goods.  What does he do when he has been found out and has failed to give a noble account of his stewardship? He conspires against his master by being even more dishonest. He is being doubly dishonest and doubly wasteful of his master’s goods. He goes to his master’s debtors, without the consent or permission of his master, and shares out debt forgiveness plans like nobody’s business.

So he called every one of his master’s debtors to him, and said to the first, How much do you owe my master? And he said, A hundred measures of oil. So he said to him, take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty. 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. Luke 16: 5 - 7

Is that not being grossly dishonest and deceitful to the highest? Is that not deliberately and despitefully using his master’s goods, to his own selfish means?

Here is the second huge warning that has been plucked from the text.

Do not eat or partake of produce from the Lord’s deceitful servants or stewards.

Please do not think that these, do nots, are to be slighted, or not given the utmost attention. If our Lord saw it fit to bring this to us, then how can we not see it fit to listen and heed? His wisdom is treasure beyond all human imagining.

Let us thank our Heavenly Father for His care, concern and unwillingness to have us fall into the arms of any kind of deceit, including these do nots, which have been placed before us. 

With full steam, we press on tomorrow.