Parable of the Dishonest Manager

As i came across this parable in Luke 16:1-13, there are several principles which eluded my limited understandings.

1.He also said to the disciples, There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. 2 And he called him and said to him, What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager. 3 And the manager said to himself, What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. 4 I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses. 5 So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, How much do you owe my master? 6 He said, A hundred measures of oil. He said to him, Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty. 7 Then he said to another, And how much do you owe? He said, A hundred measures of wheat. He said to him, Take your bill, and write eighty. 8 The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. 9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings. 10 One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. 11 If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? 13 No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

Why is the master commending the dishonest manager for his shrewdness, which is apparently undercutting his master’s business?

And why did Jesus said to make friends for yourselfs by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings, and then goes on to say that if we have not been faithful in unrighteous wealth, who will entrust us to true riches?

The key verse i think should be No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

I believe this verse is applicable very much in how Christians should handle themselves in the world of business and into a subject which i feel has huge stigma to it – biblical finances. I just can’t understand this parable, which in the preceding verses when Jesus was telling the Pharisees about Kingdom Values, which i believe to have close and critical applications of this parable to his message in reference to the Pharisees.

Can anyone shed some light into this particular perplexing verses?

Expository Preaching

I just finished this book: Principle and practise of Expository Preaching by Haddon W. Robinson. It was absolutely and fabulous book which its concise and detailed explanation of the various stages (Stage 1 to 10) of preparing sermons, which i feel can be applied to preparing lessons and even self bible study sessions. Too often, have we failed to give Scriptures the very Authority it ought to have in leading our studies, than ended up, we dictating what scriptures should support our own convictions. Since i am preparing for a short session of bible study in Church, i might start with the first 4 lessons on Bible Study: Methods, Principles and Practise, which should cover Basic Exegesis, Basic Textual Criticism, and Hermeneutics. The first lesson to be set at the end of the month which will run on a biweekly basis.