Parable of the Shrewd Manager Life Lessons

In the Parable of the Shrewd Manager, a rich man (the master) found that his manager was wasting the rich man’s possessions, so the master fired him. In order to protect his reputation and future business, the manager called in his master’s debtors and negotiated reduced debt to repay.

With the manager’s shrewd plan, the master received payments and the debtors were grateful for the reduced balance to be paid, indebting themselves to the unjust steward. 

Parable of the Shrewd Manager Meaning

1. God is the Rich Man

God represents the rich master. He entrusts us with gifts – our talents, our livelihood (wealth/money), our possessions, etc. Entrusting us with these things means we have full access to them, but ultimately, they still belong to God, in the way the Master’s possessions belonged to him, but the manager had use and access to them.

Everything we have is really God’s and we should steward it (use it) accordingly.

2. We are the Stewards

We are the managers of God’s gifts; that means everything we have, including wealth, which is the main focus of this parable. God expects us to handle these gifts prudently.

There will be a day when we will all have to account for how well we’ve used his gifts.  Did we squander them or use them for good?

Life Lessons from the Parable of the Shrewd Manager

1. Our gifts are not our own

Let’s not kid ourselves that our blessings in life are due to our own efforts and skills. After all, our skills are gifts from God and our efforts are the strength and fortitude he’s instilled in us. When things work out in our favor, it’s not because we’re a superhero.

A Christian-minded perspective considers that everything we have is actually God’s and the way we use these gifts reflects on how we either honor God or we don’t. We either use them for His good or against Him. The choice is ours.

2. We will answer to how well we stewarded those gifts

We have free will, so God allows us to make choices about how we live our lives. However, we will ultimately have to account for how well and justly we have used those gifts, as the manager did when he faced his master.

3. We can change

What if we’ve been squandering and misusing the gifts we’ve been given? If we’ve been greedy with money and selfishly hoard what we have, ignoring the poor and needy? Swindling people? Acting unethically? Etc, etc, etc?

Jesus assured us that our sins are forgiven through his ultimate sacrifice. We are never too far gone to change and turn back to God.

He used parables as warnings to keep us on the right path. If we discover we’ve veered onto the wrong path, we can always turn back to Him, repent, and jump back on the right track.

He will always forgive you. Always.

4. We are called to be shrewd in dealing with others

One point of confusion in this parable is that Jesus says that the people of the light (Christians) should be more like the shrewd man when it comes to the pursuit of our heavenly goals.

He is not condoning the lying, cheating, and stealing behavior. He’s saying the shrewd manager carefully and artfully figured out a plan to save himself from the damage he’d done. Jesus was encouraging Christians to use the same tenacity, creativity, and determination in making our lives right with God and living according to His will.

5. Jesus instructed us to use worldly wealth to gain friends, so when our money’s gone we’ve gained wealth in heaven.

Did Jesus really say to buy off your friends? Did he mean to spend all your money on lavish gifts and treats? If you’ve read the Gospels and heard Jesus describe the life of a Christian, it’s obvious that’s not what he meant.

Using our worldly wealth to gain friends means using our wealth to help people (especially the needy and the poor), thus gaining the recipients as ‘friends’. He assures us that when we give generously – not just from our excess, but until it really affects our wallet – we will gain a heavenly reward accordingly.

We are called to be generous with our money to support the church and all of God’s special people in need.

6. No one can worship money and God

When we love God, the riches we seek are not of this world. Should we be prudent and plan for our children’s education and our retirement? Is it okay to have a nice home? To take vacations? Yes. Jesus doesn’t require us to be poor.

But the caution here is that we need to keep money in its rightful place. When our priorities in life revolve around “things”, there’s a good chance we’re losing sight of God. 

When we truly seek a relationship with God, the material things stop mattering. The size of the house becomes irrelevant. The brand of the car or clothing doesn’t matter.  When we love God, we give freely to those in need. 

It’s not possible to love God and money. If you think you love both, you’re lying to yourself. If you say you love God, is that reflected in how you spend your money? 

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Let’s Reflect More on Shrewdness

1. Shrewdness is skillful and artful persuasiveness

When I reflected on how effectively Jesus used shrewdness in his teaching, I thought of shrewdness only in the sense of his skillful and artful persuasiveness, without the typical negative connotation that the word usually includes. 

2. Jesus welcomed sinners with the hope to convert them

Every person Jesus encountered was a sinner but he didn’t begin conversations with, “You’re a sinner. Repent!” even though that was one of his primary goals. 

Instead, he welcomed everyone. He talked with, listened to, and befriended the worst of the worst sinners. It was through this method that people were drawn to him. The crowds became larger. Word spread about him and his message. People cared about what he said and listened to his teaching. 

3. With persuasiveness, people want to change

Over the course of their interactions, people WANTED to change to follow Jesus. They didn’t follow him because he threatened them. People wanted to change because of who Jesus was (and they didn’t know he was the Messiah at the time), not because Jesus demanded that they change or because he belittled them.

4. A Message of Love and Redemption Draws People

If Jesus would have beaten people over the head with how sinful they were, how many would have followed him? Instead, he shrewdly drew them in with a compelling message of love and redemption. 

How many times today do we see Christians brow-beating others over their sinful ways? Are they right? Yes, but Jesus would have also been right if he called everyone out on every sin. 

5. Open your arms, as Jesus did

We can act more shrewdly as Christians today if we open our arms to others (as Jesus did) rather than using a megaphone to point out their sins. When we open our arms and hearts, we draw people in who then begin to discern where their lives need to change to align with Jesus’ teaching. If we follow Jesus’ shrewdness, we would be more effective in growing the Kingdom.

6. Catch flies with honey, not a flyswatter

This methodology reminds me of the adage that you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar, or, as I like to say, you can catch more flies with honey than with a flyswatter. Jesus used this method beautifully in his ministry and the Parable of the Shrewd Manager is a perfect reminder for us to do the same.

More Parables!

Do you love the parables as much as I do? You may enjoy reading life lessons on these others (listed below), these activities for adults and children, or this list of Parables and Meanings. More parable lessons are underway. See them all HERE!

Do you love journaling? Does writing down your personal reflections help you process your thoughts more fully? Perhaps these Christian writing journals will be helpful as you reflect on the life lessons of the parables.

• 6 Lessons from Mustard Seed Faith
• 4 Parable of the Hidden Treasure Lessons
• 5 Life Lessons from the Parable of the Talents
• 3 Parable of the Lost Sheep Lessons
• The Parable of the Sower explained – which soil are you like?
• 4 Life Lessons from The Parable of the Ten Virgins
• 3 Life Lessons from the Parable of the Rich Fool
• 3 Lessons from the Parable of the Vineyard Workers
• Parable of the Lost Coin Spiritual Lessons
• The Parable of Two Sons – 3 Spiritual Life Lessons
• The Parable of the Weeds – 4 Spiritual Lessons
• The Parable of the Persistent Widow
• Lessons from the Parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector
• The Parable of the Pearl Life Lessons
• The Parable of the Great Banquet Lessons
• Parable of the Shrewd Manager Life Lessons
• Parable of the Yeast Life Lessons for Today
• Parable of the Unforgiving Servant Life Lessons
• Parable of the Wedding Feast Life Lessons
• Parable of the Net Life Lessons
• The Parable of the Growing Seed
• The Parable of the Tenants Life Lessons
• Parable of the Fig Tree Life Lessons
• Lazarus and the Rich Man Parable Life Lessons
• Parable of the Good Shepherd Bible Lessons
• Parable of the Wineskins Spiritual Lessons
• Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders Lessons
• Parable of the Faithful Servant Life Lessons
• Parable of the Lamp Life Lessons
• Parable of the Two Debtors Life Lessons
• Parable of the Householder Life Lessons
• Parable of the Friend at Midnight Life Lessons
• Parable of the Master and Servant Life Lessons
• Parable of the Watchful Servants Life Lessons
• Take the Lowest Seat Parable Life Lessons
• The Parable of the Prodigal Son Life Lessons
• 5 Parable of the Good Samaritan Lessons
• The Cost of Being a Disciple Life Lessons

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