Embezzlement

The misappropriation of property entrusted to one's keeping is illustrated in scripture by the parable of the unjust steward, where a household manager wastes his master's goods and then falsifies his accounts to secure his own future.

The Steward Who Wasted His Master's Goods

Jesus addresses the parable to his disciples. A rich man's steward stands accused of mismanagement: "And he said also to the disciples, There was a certain rich man, who had a steward; and the same was accused to him that he was wasting his goods. And he called him, and said to him, What is this that I hear of you? Render the account of your stewardship; for you can no longer be steward" (Lu 16:1-2). The charge is not yet proven by trial — the master demands an accounting — but the dismissal is already pronounced.

Falsifying the Bonds

Faced with the loss of his post, the steward calculates a way to win obligations from his master's debtors. He summons them one by one and revises their bonds downward: "And calling to him each one of his lord's debtors, he said to the first, How much do you owe to my lord? And he said, A hundred measures of oil. And he said to him, Take your bond, and sit down quickly and write fifty. Then he said to another, And how much do you owe? And he said, A hundred measures of wheat. He says to him, Take your bond, and write eighty" (Lu 16:5-7). The steward's stated motive is given earlier: "I have resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses" (Lu 16:4). Property still entrusted to him — debts owed to his master — he writes down at his own initiative, converting the master's claims into the debtors' future hospitality toward himself.