It is extremely important for everyone to have a functioning conscience. According to Romans 2:15, the conscience works in man to either accuse or else excuse his thoughts. His thoughts further affect his actions. The more often a conscience is ignored, the sooner it loses its capability to work upon man. The same holds true for any conscience defiled by sin. In John chapter 8, as the Lord dealt with the scribes and Pharisees, the desired inner workings of the conscience can be seen. In this instance, the religious leaders brought a woman before the Lord, accusing her of sin. In response, the Saviour suggested that he that was without sin should be the first to cast a stone in judgment. One by one the consciences of the religious leaders convicted them as they turned and walked away.
A steward is someone responsible to care for the goods of another. He is accountable to his master for the way that he handles the responsibility. In this parable, a steward was accused of wasting the rich man’s goods. This was such a serious charge that the rich man called for the steward to give an accounting of his stewardship. The Lord expressed a similar truth in another parable found in Luke 19:11-27. In this parable, several servants invested their goods and accrued interest, but one servant simply hid his pound which resulted in no gain. The lord of that servant was so upset with this slothful servant that he took the pound away from him and gave it to one of the others. Remember that it is not up to the steward to choose how to spend that which belongs to the master.
