kjv@Luke:16:1@ And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods.
kjv@Luke:16:2@ And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.
kjv@Luke:16:3@ Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed.
kjv@Luke:16:4@ I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.
kjv@Luke:16:5@ So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord?
kjv@Luke:16:6@ And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty.
kjv@Luke:16:7@ Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore.
kjv@Luke:16:8@ And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.
kjv@Luke:16:9@ And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.
kjv@Luke:16:10@ He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.
kjv@Luke:16:11@ If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
kjv@Luke:16:12@ And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?
kjv@Luke:16:13@ No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
kjv@Luke:16:14@ And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.
kjv@Luke:16:15@ And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.
kjv@Luke:16:16@ The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.
kjv@Luke:16:17@ And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.
kjv@Luke:16:18@ Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery.
If I understand the illustration enough, debts are being settled with God which is good. Debts up till now have not been settled because of the mis-deeds of the steward. Now that the matter has been called out by the master, the steward feels more urgently that it is in his best future interest with others to settle all the accounts given him. The accounts were of course valued much higher, higher than anyone could pay, but, they were settled none the less. When concerning mens debts to God that is a very good thing even if done for the stewards selfish reasons. Who then have you been set to steward over? Have those peoples account with God been settled? What would be wise for you to do right away?
Let's take this unjust steward up a level further. What makes the unjust steward unjust? I would suggest un-forgiveness. The Lord has forgiven him his debt and yet he holds others accountable for what they owe him in full. Why does the Lord's cutting him off make him feel that he must suddenly settle with the others? He is put back down on their level to fend for himself. Therefore he is shrewd in meeting the others halfway or more (all the way if need be). Why doesn't the Lord take offense to this exchange? Because it is closer to what He has called for all along. Does the Lord actually cut off the suddenly not so unjust steward off? You be the judge.
2012 - pBiblx2 Field Wise Bible System Version 2.0.9d - GPL3
