Luke 16:3

And the steward said within himself, What shall I do, seeing that my Lord taketh away the stewardship from me? I have not strength to dig; to beg I am ashamed.

Said within himself ... This was the first commendable thing the steward did. Like the prodigal who also said "to himself" that he would arise and go to the Father, this man also faced bitter, unwelcome truth about HIMSELF. He lied to the Lord and to the debtors, but he told himself the truth. Many a hapless soul today simply does not have the courage to face unwelcome truth. The lost soul will hardly admit it; the man on his deathbed speaks of what he will do when he gets well; and countless sinners tell themselves the falsehood that they are really all right, in no danger at all, or that they will turn and serve God at some future time. This steward was no such character. He laid it on the line with himself. "I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg!" Nor did he question the fact that he faced eviction from office.

The day of reckoning in view here, according to Tinsley, is an analogy of "God's summons to Israel through Jesus Christ."[9]

Regarding the alternatives open to the steward, "J. B. Chapman once wrote an article on it, entitled, `Dig, Beg, or Steal'."[10] Wesley noted that the steward had what men would call a "sense of honor! by men called `honor' but by angels, `pride',"[11] as evidenced by his being ashamed to beg. Ashamed to beg, sure! Ashamed to steal? No!

[9] E. J. Tinsley, The Gospel according to Luke (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1969), p. 159.

[10] Charles L. Childers, Beacon Bible Commentary (Kansas City, Missouri: Beacon Hill Press, 1964), p. 562.

[11] John Wesley, Notes on the New Testament (Naperville, Illinois: Alec R. Allenson, Inc., 1950), p. 264.