A Tough Parable

[498 words] Most of Jesus’ parables are easily understood; they cut straight to the heart of his point. For example, the message of the parable of the wise and foolish builders (Matthew 7:24-27) is simple and clear: foolish people hear only, while the wise ones hear and do. But a few of Jesus’ parables leave us scratching our heads. One of these for me is the parable of the dishonest manager (Luke 16:1-9). First of all he was caught squandering his master’s possessions and was being fired. So, he decided to cheat his master for selfish purposes by making deals with the master’s debtors. When the master found out what he did, he commended the dishonest manager for being shrewd. That’s as far as the story goes, but on the surface it sounds like Jesus was commending a crook: “For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing…