WHY DID THE MASTER PRAISE THE DISHONEST SERVANT?

WHY DID THE MASTER PRAISE THE DISHONEST SERVANT?

By Fr. Felix (African Times Guest Writer)

This parable can be deeply disquieting if we

take it as an allegory, that is, if every element in

the story is meant (as in Matthew’s Parable of

the Wheat and the Tares) to have an equivalent

in reality. We can’t have God praising the

steward for his frauds! No, the point of the story

is simply the steward’s energy and

inventiveness, his shrewdness as a ‘child of this

age’.

A lot more thought goes into how to make

money than into how to spend it to the best

advantage of others! The danger and

encumbrance of wealth is such that

inventiveness and energy is needed in using it

to win friends in heaven.

The full cleverness of the story is more subtle:

Jews were forbidden to lend to Jews at interest.

The steward cuts off the interest from the bills

of his master’s debtors, for oil was commonly

lent at 100% interest, and wheat at 25%. It was

easy to return olive oil adulterated with cheap

sesame oil, but if I scatter handfuls of chaff in

the grain I give you back, you will spot it

immediately. So the steward makes his master

obey the Law!

Perhaps another lesson to be learnt from the

story is that God is not interested in what

human beings consider ‘fairness’. Remember

the payments made to the Workers in the

Vineyard! All God wants is commitment.

The Gospel teaches us how our energies

are spent on things so valueless that

sometimes one may wonder what to do with

the mind you gave us! Strengthen our will so

that even without understanding we may be

found at your service.