Luke xvi. 8. And the Lord commended the unjust steward, be- cause he had done wisely : for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.
THE parables never were intended to bear to the same point in every particular : some admit of a fuller, and others of a more partial application : some are to be interpreted solely in reference to the prin- cipal idea contained in them. It is of great import- ance that we should read them under this impression. If we endeavour to accommodate all their parts to the main scope, we shall both mar their beauty, and deduce from them the most fatal errors. This obser- vation is particularly to be attended to in considering the parable before us. It will instantly remove all the cavils which have been raised against our Saviour
as a minister of sin ; and it will enable us to collect much useful instruction from this valuable portion of Holy Scripture.
The text leads us to consider, I. The wisdom of the unjust steward —
He had frequently betrayed the trust reposed in him by his lord and master. If he had not purloined, he had profusely wasted, his master's substance ; and for this he was now to be discharged from his stew- ardship—
[It is in vain for persons to hope that they shall always escape detection. Dishonesty may be practised for awhile; but it will generally defeat its own ends. This steward had hoped to derive pleasure, if not profit, from his unfaithfulness ; but in the issue it involved him in much distress and poverty. No sooner was it discovered, than it exposed him to shame, and provoked his master to dismiss him from his service.]
But he contrived a way to remedy, in a measure, the evil he had brought upon himself —
[As soon as he had received warning, he began to say, What shall I do? nor ceased from his inquiries, till he had devised a happy expedient. He felt in himself that he was too idle to work, and too proud to beg : nor had he any hopes of obtaining1 another situation of trust and confidence. It was probable, therefore, that he might soon experience the pres- sure of extreme indigence. An artful plan for supplying his wants speedily arose in his mind. He determined to make all his master's debtors accomplices in his iniquity : he remitted to every one a considerable portion of the sum he owed. Thus he secured their present friendship and future recommendations. They would not dare to oppose him, lest their own dishonesty should be revealed by him. He would be able to make them afterwards accede to any of his proposals. He cared not how much guilt he contracted, or how many souls he ruined. All which he desired, was, to secure a home till he should be otherwise provided : and doubtless his contrivance was well adapted to the end proposed.]
This device was commended by our Lord —
[Christ himself seems to be the person who gave the commendation1: but it was the ingenuity, and not the dis- honesty, that he commended. The very epithet which he gave the steward shewed his disapprobation of the act. The
a It was the same person who uttered the words in the text.