Commending the Unjust Steward

Unpacking one of the rummiest of parables.

Why is it that every parable is a bit of a puzzle? “Therefore do I speak to them in parables: because seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand” (Mt. 13:13).

As the greatest of teachers, our Lord knows that we learn not simply by hearing, but by thinking. Unless we have some grey matter in the game, so to speak, we will gain little even from the wisest words.

When we realize we are missing something, then we are on to something, and recognize that we have an opportunity to learn, if we choose to take it.

One of the rummiest of parables is that of the Unjust Steward. It begins simply enough:

There was a certain rich man who had a steward: and the same was accused unto him, that he had wasted his goods. And he called him, and said to him: How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship: for now thou canst be steward no longer. ~ Luke 16:1-2

In many other parables, this would be the end. The bad guys are caught, and put to justice: “There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Mt. 13:42).

But in this case we are asked to enter into the plight and thought process of the criminal:

And the steward said within himself: What shall I do, because my lord taketh away from me the stewardship? To dig I am not able; to beg I am ashamed. I know what I will do, that when I shall be removed from the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. ~ Luke 16:3-4

The escape plan is also simple enough. Approaching his master’s debtors, the unjust steward abuses his vanishing vicarious authority to slash their bills, in hopes that they will return the favor when he comes back to bereft of that authority.

Here comes the rummy part. Instead of being incensed, and putting his miscreant minister permanently out of commission, the rich man praises him:

And the lord commended the unjust steward, forasmuch as he had done prudently (prudenter): for the children of this world are more prudent in their generation than the children of light. ~ Luke 16:8

In case there was any doubt that this scoundrel is being held up for imitation, Christ makes the point as explicitly as possible:

And I say to you: Make unto you friends of the mammon of iniquity; that when you shall fail, they may receive you into everlasting dwellings. ~ Luke 18:9

What gives here? Is the Lord commending and counseling injustice? Clearly not. But he is suggesting that there is something important that the “children of light” can learn from “the children of this world.”

The key to what we can learn from the unjust steward is what he learns during the course of this parable. From beginning to end, he is a selfish man, but there is an important development in his mode of selfishness, which points to greater possibilities.

To begin with, the steward is “wasteful” in an unspecified but clearly imprudent way. He misuses his master’s goods, but also takes little thought for the sustainability of his mischief. He is thinking only of himself and living only for the day.

Once he is caught, the steward realizes something important: he is not self-sufficient but rather dependent on the assistance of others. He might obtain their help in exchange for honest labor, but he is unable to dig; he might beg them for help, but is too proud to do so. Here, he seems to grow in self-knowledge, as well as in knowledge of the needs of others around him.

By growing on both these points, he hits on a plan: others are in debt to his lord, and he is still in a position to assist them. Though his plan remains selfish and unjust, it is much more prudent than before, based as it is on a deeper comprehension of his relationship to others and recognition that to obtain what he needs he must help them in their needs.

The unjust steward has hit upon what Alexis de Tocqueville calls “self-interest well understood”—the notion that the best way to help oneself in the long run is to be useful to others.

Though falling short of genuine virtue, which aims at the good for its own sake, self-interest well understood is, Tocqueville insists, a genuine step toward virtue. If we persist in it, we become habituated in doing what is best for others as well as ourselves, and this familiarity with the common good can become a source of love for the good itself, yielding genuine generosity and justice in the long run.

Something like this seems to be our Lord’s intention. Reminding us that the best way to get ahead in the world is to do good to others, he encourages us to extend this logic into the next life, and to look at giving alms as a way to buy ourselves into “everlasting dwellings.”

Of course, this conclusion, like the entire parable, remains ironic. As Tocqueville himself stresses, though self-interest well understood can be extended into the realm of religion, it falls short of the most sublime teaching of Christianity, which tells us that our ultimate good is God himself, and that the best reason for doing good is for the intrinsic satisfaction of knowing, loving, and serving him.

By no means does Christ teach that heaven is based on favor trading:

For if you love them that love you, what reward shall you have? do not even the publicans this? ~ Matthew 5:46

The final clue in the parable of the Unjust Steward is found in the attitude of the “rich man” himself. Though he would not tolerate the steward “wasting” his goods, he does not seem the least bit perturbed when the steward threatens his income by reducing his debtors’ bills. In fact, he seems downright pleased.

In this “lord” we see a God who is infinitely rich, and who has given us a share of his riches precisely so that we may share them with one another. When we do so—even for the wrong reasons—we are taking at least baby steps in the direction of becoming good stewards of his wealth.

When we recognize the generosity of the Master, we begin to realize that it is rooted in a Love which is the greatest treasure of all. By participating in that generosity, we participate in that Love, and thereby come to possess a wealth greater than any other.

Then, we need not think of buying our way to heaven, for we realize that goodness is itself a foretaste of heaven.

In this parable, Christ shows us the patience with which he is willing to guide us along a path of partial truths, culminating in one great Truth: “Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt. 5:48).

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