A Possible Interpretation of the Parable of the Unjust Steward

Jesus strikes me as having been pleasant and calming rather than strident and militant.  He was willing and able to express anger, but probably more often than not made his disciples smile or laugh.

I recently posted about the hard to understand Parable of the Unjust Steward.  What I said in the first paragraph may hold a key to understanding the parable.  Jesus seems to be praising the Unjust Steward.  I think He was.  He was using the Aramaic/Hebrew form of humor expressed as sarcasm or irony.  I believe that the parable probably struck His disciples as humorous in a wry sort of way.

If you are going to serve money, do it as well as you can.  If you are going to serve God, do it as well as you can.  You cannot serve two masters.  If you try, you will serve neither well.  God despises lukewarmness.

“So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.”  Revelation 3:16  

The Parable of the Unrighteous Steward

OK, I understand verses 13 and 14.  I have to admit that the rest of this parable eludes me.  Can anyone explain how verses 1 - 12 lead to verses 13 and 14?

"The Parable of the Unrighteous Steward

1And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. 2And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward. 3Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. 4I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. 5So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? 6And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. 7Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore. 8And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. 9And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.

10He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. 11If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own? 13No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." Luke 16:1-14