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The Parable of the Shrewd Manager
1 Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man
whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. 2 So
he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about
you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot
be manager any longer.’
3 “The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now?
My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to
dig, and I’m ashamed to beg— 4 I know what I’ll do so that,
when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their
houses.’
5 “So he called in each one of his master’s debtors.
He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
6 “ ‘Nine hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied.
“The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly,
and make it four hundred and fifty.’
7 “Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you
owe?’ “ ‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied. “He told
him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’
8 “The master commended the dishonest manager because
he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more
shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of
the light. 9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends
for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be
welcomed into eternal dwellings.
10 “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also
be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very
little will also be dishonest with much. 11 So if you have
not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will
trust you with true riches? 12 And if you have not been
trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you
property of your own?
13 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate
the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the
one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and
money.’
14 The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and
were sneering at Jesus. 15 He said to them, “You are the
ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God
knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in
God’s sight.
Additional Teachings
16 “The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until
John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God
is being preached, and people are forcing their way into it.
17 It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for
the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.
18 “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another
woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced
woman commits adultery.
The Rich Man and Lazarus
19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and
fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was
laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and
longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the
dogs came and licked his sores.
22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels
carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and
was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked
up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So
he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send
Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my
tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your
lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus
received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you
are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a
great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to
go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from
there to us.’
27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus
to my family, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn
them, so that they will not also come to this place of
torment.’
29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the
Prophets; let them listen to them.’
30 “ ‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone
from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses
and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone
rises from the dead.’ ” |
Cults 
Why Did God Permit Sin?
