Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1914-05-08
LESSON FOR MAY 10
THE UNJUST STEWARD.
LESSON TExT-Luke 1s:1-1a.

LESSON TExT-Luke 16:1-13.
GOLDEN TEXT-"He that is faithful
in very little IS faithful also In much
and he that is unrighteous In a very little
is unrighteous also in much" Luke 1910.
Again in one chapter (and here
only we have before us two of the
Masters more famous parallels, the
unjust steward and the rich man and
Lazarus. Both are parallels of warn
ing against the common sins of hypoc-
rfsy and gluttony. Luke links this
teaching with the events In connec-
ton with our Lords teaching about
the lost things. There is clearly
close connection. The parable of the
lost things was spoken directly to the
Pharisees and scribes, that now be-
fore us to the disciples. The fail
ure of the Pharisees as stewards of
the things of God, the divine law,
calls from Jesus, for those gathered
as his disciples, teaching that will
prepare them to fulfill perfectly the
stewardship responsibilities. The story
is both positive and negative, is
direct against covetousness, and its
AAdAA P0A p01C W u6 40 INV w oSC
money, while we have it, so that it
may bring us a recompense In the
eternal world when it is gone ". 81.
Immoral Acts Not Approved. !
!. The unrighteous Steward, w. f-5.
Our Lord does not, of course, intend
that this steward is to be our pattern
in every respect. He is taking a
"son Of the world ". r. VI and
showing US that, in the use OF money
entrusted to his care, he is making
| provision for the future. He is pre-
pairing himself against the time when
his stewardship is taken from him.
How much more shall "son of the
light be shrewd, so to use the money
entrusted to his stewardship, that
when it is taken from him, he has
! provided for the future The record
does not imply that Jesus approved of
the mans immoral actions. He is u.s.
ing the example of an uprighteous
steward as a contrast to show how
much more is to be expected from God
or godly men, Luke 1876, Z; 11:5-S;
Matt 12:11, IL. Recognizing these
facts, the story is perfectly simple and
Straightforward. The dishonest "son
of his age" has a wrong method,
though his motive from this point of
view is wise and prudent one, clever
in our modern use of that word. This
does not condone his fraud, nor does
our Lord commend him. The contrast
is established in the parable between
men wholly of their age, and men,
professedly, at least, sons of light. In
their dealings with eternal things they
had not shown the same astuteness
as the former Luke 15 deals with the
heartless contempt of the Pharisees
for those who are lost, while the
parallels of this chapter deal with
ardship-faIthfulnes q Cor. SD,
and as such should come home to the
hearts of us all. All we call ours be-
longs to him, Hag. 2S; Ps. 50:10-12.
The accusation against this steward
can be brought against many of Gods
stewards. Some stewards waste in
sin, in luxury, or by non-use, V. 1, CT.
Luke 1913, 80; 1918; 1920. There
was two-fold result "a he was called
to an accounting v. 2, and (2) his
stewardship was taken from him ".
81. Such also is the prospect Of all
of Gods stewards, for we must "all
give an account of himself" Rom. IA:
Il; II Cor. $40.
On Higher Level.
, u. The Use Of Money, VS.. e-13. The
: value of this parable is in the actual
!, teaching of Jesus which follows the
parable. That is Introductory, empha-
q sizing the need for wisdom on the
; part of all stewards. After that we
are on higher level and in a clear.
, er atmosphere Unrighteous mann.
mon means money, and to make
friends "by means of the mammon OF
unrighteousness" Or. W is SO to
use our money for the godly poor as
to win their love and that they may
receive us into the eternal tabernacles
to which they shall go, see Matt. 10:
21; 25:33-40; 6:19; / Tim. 6:1719;
Prov. 1917. AS has been said, Jesus
does not commend this steward for his
wrong use Of his masters money, but
the steward of God has the right tc
bestow his Masters goods upon the
needy. as that is the very reason they
have been bestowed upon him-en
trusted to his care. Matt. 24:45;
+ Pet. 4:1O. Our entrance into the king
dom will be more abundant because o.
our liberality with Gods money, Matt
= 1921. This does not preclude faith
$ but rather, real faith worketh by love
9 Gal. 5:6. James 2:1S (R. VI. i
0 we are faithful with that entrusted tx
g our stewardship, God will entrust III
: with 'the true riches" Our earthl,
riches belong to another ". IL R. V)
and we cannot serve two masters
D This story moves within the realm o
material wealth, e. g., of mammon. Il
!, illustrates the higher wisdom of how
d mammon is to be used by the stew
ards of the kingdom Of God. Verses
/ is and 16 of this chapter reveal to vi
e our Lords reason for such an illustra
+ ton. 1t was directed against the GOV
, etous and false stewards, the Phari
9 sees. who 'scoffed at him because the.
}. were lovers of money" We are t
d use money so as to make friends, no
t friends for this present life, but TO
that life which lies beyond the grave
Stewardship principles are Away
the same, no matter what the amount
q 'he that is unrighteous in very littl
: is unrighteous also in much" Thi
!, argument is followed by two ques
. tions. The answer to the first is tha
: no one ever commits the stewardship
!. of spiritual things to those who ar
= unfaithful in material things. A nal
. shows by his faithfulness in materia
things whether he is to be entrustes
with spiritual stewardship. The ser
1t ond question is answered in that me-
y do not give that which is their own t
is those who have not been faithful a
trustees.
In Touch With God and Men.