The children of this world are more prudent in dealing with the things of this world than with the things of the kingdom. Today we read from one of those passages that can be easily misunderstood. In our Gospel reading today, Jesus points at the apparent double standard employed by men and women when it comes to dealing with things of this world vis-a-vis the things of the kingdom. In order to show how prudent and wise men and women are when it comes to dealing with the things of this world (with the implication that such wisdom or prudence is not shown when it comes to dealing with things of the kingdom), Jesus tells the parable of a shrewd steward. Realizing that his contract was being terminated because of squandering his master’s properties, and knowing that he had no friends on the outside, the steward embarked on a mission of shrewdly using the little time left on his contract to make friends whom he believed would be able to return the favor once he was out of his job. Jesus sums up the parable by saying that the master  commended the steward for his dishonesty. Why would the master commend the steward? Isn’t dishonesty a vice? 
The master commended the dishonest steward for his shrewdness, not for his dishonesty or mismanagement of his master’s affairs. He commended the dishonest steward for his fast thinking and for using (or rather misusing) his position to secure his future. While there is not a single act of the dishonest steward that is worth admiring, Jesus uses him together with his actions to show to what lengths men and women are prepared to go when it comes to the things of this world. When the dishonest steward came to realize that he needed friends if he was to survive on the outside, he acted fast, employing the skills that “the world” had taught him. He knew he had to achieve this at all costs. And we assume that he did.
Jesus followed the parable by remarking how, compared to how men and women handle the affairs of “the world,” they score below average when it comes to how they handle the affairs of the kingdom. Unlike the dishonest steward, the children of this world lack prudence and wisdom necessary for navigating the kingdom. Even after being informed of the in-breaking of the kingdom (as well as the demands the kingdom places on them), the children of this world are never in a hurry to make the necessary adaptations in order to belong to the kingdom. Jesus came preaching the nearness of the kingdom of God, urging his hearers to change their way of life so that they would not be overtaken by events. However, men and women went about their business as usual, ignoring the summons of Jesus. How Jesus wishes that the children of this world would display the same level of prudence and shrewdness when it comes to securing their future in the kingdom of God.