Focus
Relax and listen. Consciously prepare to hear God’s Word. Clear your mind of the worries and tasks that lie before you. Open your heart and allow it to refresh.
Read
16 Then Jesus said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property. 2 So he summoned him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Give me an accounting of your management, because you cannot be my manager any longer.’ 3 Then the manager said to himself, ‘What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. 4 I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.’ 5 So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 He answered, ‘A hundred jugs of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.’ 7 Then he asked another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘A hundred containers of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill and make it eighty.’ 8 And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. 9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.
10 “Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. 11 If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? 13 No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
Reflect
This is a strange parable. Is Christ celebrating the dishonest manager? In one sense he is because the manager was wise in the ways of the world, but he was not faithful to his master because he was always looking for more money. Jesus encourages us to be wise spiritually in the same way others are wise in the world. Ultimately, however, Christ warns us not to be distracted by money and wealth. Make Jesus Christ your treasure.
How can we create healthy boundaries when it comes to money? Does it control your life? How can you allow money to be something that you use to serve God rather than living your life in service to money?
Pray
God we cannot avoid the need base economy we live. In order to survive we need money. But help us not to choose it over you. To love money more than you. To learn to live a life that is sustainable and not in constant need of more. To choose to earn not just for our own but for the common good, to share and give freely so all may live equitably. Guide our hearts towards you. Amen.
Go with God!
