Luke 16:1–13: Who’s the Boss?

September 8, 2026 

The Ten Signposts of the Bible

CAMDE—400—CALY

Creation. Abraham. Moses. David. Elijah. 400. Christ. Apostles. Letters. Yet-to-Come.

Have you ever had two bosses? It never works out well, does it? It is a disaster waiting to happen. That’s how Jesus concludes today’s passage. He says, “No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money” (Luke 16:13). No one can please two bosses— especially when one is God and the other is money. 

But as I said, that’s how Jesus concluded today’s passage. Let’s see how he reached that conclusion.

Luke is following Jesus to the cross, and along the way our Lord tells many parables. Today’s parable is directed at his disciples, and it's about money. But to be honest, the way Jesus arrives at his final point is a little confusing, at least for me. So let’s work through his reasoning. 

In Jesus’ day, as in ours, many wealthy people hired managers to oversee their finances. Even today, if we are not wealthy enough to hire a full-time administrator, we use financial advisors. The rich man in Jesus’ story had a manager who was “wasting his possessions” (Luke 16:1). This ties the story to the parable of the prodigal son who wasted his father's hard-earned money. 

When the rich man heard about the mismanagement, he called for an audit of the books. The manager who had “cooked the books” knew that he was in trouble. He was too old for manual labor and too proud to beg, so he came up with a clever plan. He said, “I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses” (Luke 16:4). 

The shrewd plan included debt reduction. To one person who owed “a hundred measures of oil,” the manager halved the debt. To a person who owed “a hundred measures of wheat,” he cut the debt by twenty percent. 

Interestingly, the rich man was not angry with the manager. Instead, he “commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness” (Luke 16:8). He said, in essence, “You are shrewd. And you are fired!”

Jesus then makes this point: “For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings” (Luke 16:8–9). 

So what exactly was Jesus teaching his disciples here? We know he was not teaching them to be dishonest. He was saying they should learn to use material things for future spiritual benefit. One commentator says, “This was a good lesson from a bad example.”^[1]

Just as the shrewd manager used money for future security, albeit in a disreputable way, believers should use earthly possessions with integrity — for future security. We should invest in eternity. 

The disciples might have been tempted to say, “Great parable, Jesus. But it doesn’t apply to us. We have so little. We’re just living day to day.”

But Jesus makes it clear: it’s not about the amount; it’s about the attitude.

Here’s what he says:

Luke 16:10–12

One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?  

“Unrighteous wealth” does not mean wealth acquired in an unethical way. I believe Jesus is speaking broadly about the world’s commerce, the economic system. When you work for a company, you can’t be sure that every dollar of profit was earned in a godly way. But you can take your earnings and invest them in “true riches.” And if you are faithful with the little you have, then spiritually speaking, you are “also faithful in much.” 

Now let’s return to where we began. Jesus could not have been clearer: “No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money” (Luke 16:13). 

John Calvin said, “The heart is a perpetual idol factory.”^[2] It takes good things—money, success, pleasure, and relationships—and turns them into the “ultimate thing”—something we worship.

Every day, we must surrender everything we have, including our hearts, to God. And every day, that remains one of the hardest things to do.

Read and reflect on Luke 11:1–13: What does the way you spend your money, time, and resources reveal about what you truly value?

Talking to God: What is the solid evidence that you are investing in eternity? 

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