On Shrewdness

I was watching the new NETFLIX Original television program HOUSE OF CARDS and there was a truth in the show that struck me. In the show, the good people are not very effectual, and the bad people are quite effectual. Effectiveness is something that is often missing in the godly heart. This got me thinking about Jesus injunction for us to be as 'innocent as doves, but shrewd as vipers (Matthew 10:16)'. Then, in a droplet of providence raining down from heaven, our reading this week was the Parable of the Shrewd Manager from Luke 16:1-13. And in that Jesus says rightly, "for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light." 

Ah, yes, shrewdness. It is a skill that is lacking in the heart of the believer, more often than not. And yet we are advised to cultivate it. But what is shrewdness? It is understanding human nature and dealing with it, for one. Jesus was able to be shrewd, when necessary. He knew how to manipulate the crowds such that the Pharisees were unable to actually arrest Him until He had deemed it the proper time. When asked whether or not to stone the adulteress in John 8, His request that the one 'without sin must throw the first stone' is a prime example of shrewdness. The crowd was not being manipulated by Jesus, but herd mentality was being used to its prime advantage. When the Pharisees try to manipulate Jesus into committing a crime under Roman Law, by asking him about the legality of paying taxes, and Jesus enjoins the people to "pay unto Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's", this too is surely shrewd. For it is a beautiful and powerful non-answer. It has the power to strike the heart, but what is said is unclear. For what is owed to Caesar may be precisely nothing. The crowds heard what they wanted to hear, whatever that might be, strengthening Jesus' place with them but without Jesus actually committing treason against the Romans.

Jesus' philosophy of human nature is not that far off from the cynic's. And yet Jesus is not cynical, for He sees infinite possibilities for the world and the people in it, grounded solely in God's Love, Will and Goodness. Jesus plays the game of the martyr, which indeed is a game the Romans loved to let people play, but that game was turned around on the Romans. In the end, the political structures did not manipulate the martyr into doing what the martyr wants to do, the martyr manipulated the political structure into doing what HE wanted it to do. 

Paul, too was uniquely gifted with both shrewdness and holiness. He had not distorted view of human nature, he knew people to be the sinners they were and he knew how to use their sinfulness to God's advantage. Could there be a more shrewd approach to life than that put forth in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23? I doubt it. Paul admits putting on a front, a mask really, to lead people in the direction he wants them to God: to lead them to Christ. 

The problem with shrewdness is that it invites one to sin. It is a skill that is not cultivated without a powerful temptation. Christians have unfortunately often chosen the safe route when it comes to sin. Flee from anything that might tempt you, and run as far away as you can. But this is not the model of Jesus, who became sin to free us from sin. What Christianity needs today is a Paul: a man with all the manipulative skill of Frank Underwood from HOUSE OF CARDS, but who chooses not to manipulate, but direct, and direct towards one goal: the brotherhood of all people under Yahweh and His Son Jesus Christ.