Am I reading this right?

by cameo-d 3 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  cameo-d

  Luke 16

  1 Jesus told his disciples: "There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. 2 So he called him in and asked him, 'What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.'

  3 "The manager said to himself, 'What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I'm not strong enough to dig, and I'm ashamed to beg— 4 I know what I'll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.'

  5 "So he called in each one of his master's debtors. He asked the first, 'How much do you owe my master?'

  6 " 'Eight hundred gallons [a] of olive oil,' he replied.
  "The manager told him, 'Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred.'

  7 "Then he asked the second, 'And how much do you owe?'
  " 'A thousand bushels [b] of wheat,' he replied.
  "He told him, 'Take your bill and make it eight hundred.'

  8 "The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. 9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

  This is supposed to be a parable told by Jesus. I don't quite understand how this can be a"Christian teaching". This guy is about to get fired, so while the boss is still out, he falsifies the paperwork cancelling debts to get in good with the bossman's debtors. He's looking out for himself so in case he's down and out in the future they will owe him a favor. Then the boss comes in and finds out and praises the crook for being so clever. (normal reaction would be a bop on the head and a lawsuit) And then this verse where it seems that Jesus advocates premeditated ulterior motives. (and justifies it by alluding that the person you are stealing it from was using it in "wrong ways" anyway?)

  9 "I tell you, make friends for yourselves by using the riches of the world that are so often used in wrong ways. So when riches are a thing of the past, friends may receive you into a home that will be forever.

  Am I reading this right? Can anyone explain to me the sense of this? It doesn't seem to fit with "righteousness".
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  bob1999

  You need to keep reading. Don't stop at verse 9. Verse 10 and beyond is clear. "...he who is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much."
  
  Verse 13 "....you cannot serve God and mammon."
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  cameo-d

  You need to keep reading. Don't stop at verse 9. Verse 10 and beyond is clear. "...he who is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much."
  
  Verse 13 "....you cannot serve God and mammon."

  I did read the whole thing. Verse 10-13 is in direct conflict with what is said above.

  How do you justify this (below)? It is directive. It is also quoted as Jesus speaking. The whole idea of it is filled with selfish motive and deceit. It advocates obligating people so they have to return favors to you. It is a concept of "buying" "friends", too.

  Verse 9

  9 "I tell you, make friends for yourselves by using the riches of the world that are so often used in wrong ways. So when riches are a thing of the past, friends may receive you into a home that will be forever.
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  Rivington

  Here's my take on this one: The clue is in what is actually owed - i.e. commodities, not money. So a possibility is that suppliers to the household who have needed payment up-front have been given the payment for what was originally require by the household. But in exchange for this favour, the manager has demanded additional supplies which he will then cream off for himself. A nice little earner. When he is found out, all he can do to regain favour, at least with the suppliers if not with his employer, is to reduce to debts to what they should have been in the first place. This underst5anding of the parable puts it in line with other stories in the gospels of repentance followed by restitution for wrongs committed. E.g. Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-8) Rivington P.S. Can anyone tell me how to insert paragraph breaks?