Luke 16:1-8 seems to have Jesus praising the efforts of the dishonest manager, and his master praised him as well. Jesus tells us to use worldly wealth to gain friends for ourselves, so when the wealth is gone we'll be welcomed to eternity. Seems a little like buying friends, rather than serving and loving them. What do you think Jesus is trying to tell us? – Paul Leas

This
parable, like most parables, has one main point. Here it is the urgency of the hour. Even pagans know how to hustle, how to get going when times are desperate. To grasp and even to enter and live in the kingdom, we need to be just as resourceful, determined, etc.

For more, be sure to read the excellent volume by Fee and Stuart How to Read the Bible for all its Worth.