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Today’s parable is unusual—so unusual, in fact, that all kinds of theological gymnastics have been used to make sense of it. Alas, it can still confound. Still, it’s worth our best efforts. Let’s get to it!

  • What is your experience of debt—either what you owe or are owed? Has debt ever made you consider the need for taking drastic action? Does which side of debt you’re on affect how you feel about it?
  • Is Jesus to be taken literally (or even seriously) in what he seems to be suggesting, that wheeling and dealing to get out of a fix is a shrewd move? What about playing fast and loose with someone else’s money? If he means what he says, how does this affect your view of Jesus? If not, then what point is Jesus making?
  • Maybe one way to avoid all the twisting and turning necessary to get to the meaning of this parable is to read it with the end in mind. It ends with Jesus’ admonition that we can’t serve two masters. Could everything preceding these words describe the outcome of not heeding this wisdom? Read the parable through the lens of the last verse and see what you think!

Next Step: “Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much” the Bible says. What ‘little bit’ of kingdom work have you been faithful in? What more are you ready for? Whom do you know who can help you take the next step in your service for God?

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