Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise [shrewd] as serpents and innocent as doves.
-Matthew 10:16
It took me a while to figure out what Jesus meant by “be wise [shrewd] as serpents” as it seems counterintuitive from the One who is often typified elsewhere in Holy Scripture as gentle, loving, and merciful (e.g., “And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well” – Matthew 5:40).
There’s also a parable that Jesus told that likewise makes me take pause. It’s because the main character is a lowlife. It seems strange for our Lord to use such a character as a point of praise; but that’s exactly what He does. He didn’t praise the man’s dirty deeds, but He did compliment the man’s shrewdness. As always, there was a lesson to be learned.
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. 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.’
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. I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’
So, summoning his master's debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ 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.’
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.
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. I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’
So, summoning his master's debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ 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.’
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.
-Luke 16:1-8
Even though the manager was unjust, the master commended him for acting shrewdly. Jesus would never condone crookedness so it would seem that there must’ve been another message He was giving His disciples, and there was. The manager had foresight. He looked to the future and made provision for himself.
A shrewd person has the foresight to invest wisely in their future.
In a financial economy, shrewdness often means sacrificing present gain for a greater future gain. Likewise, in God’s spiritual economy, it means sacrificing immediate earthly gain for future heavenly gain. That’s the lesson Jesus was teaching regarding the shrewdness of the manager in Luke 16. We are, as children of God, to invest wisely in our futures at the cost of immediate profit.
The key to unlocking Jesus’ teaching on shrewdness is found in another passage that captures His words.
And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it.
For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul?
For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul?
For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
-Mark 8:34-38
Not only is it OK to be shrewd, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ encouraged it! In arguably the greatest example of shrewdness in human history, Jesus allowed His murderous foes to hang Him on a cross, suffering in the present for the future reward of saving many (“Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” – Hebrews 12:2). Talk about a wise investment!
Love in Christ,
Ed Collins
