Effects of Being a Spendthrift, Fancy Alpha Faith Blog.

[Jesus said] “No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon.”  Luke 16:1-13.

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Today’s gospel is a conundrum. Jesus is apparently recommending fraud and theft! (Read it and see if you agree). It seems he was talking to his disciples, and possibly the pharisees. The parable he presented describes a steward in the pay of a rich man who is not satisfied with the steward’s performance, and has has given him the sack, effective in a few days. In that time the steward had to figure out what he is going to do. He knows that he is not strong enough for manual labor and he is too ashamed to beg. So he decides on a distinctly questionable course. He calls in those indebted to his master to see him, and reduces the debt  of each one by a significant amount. That way, he figures, they will remember him in his poverty and assist him as needs be. Of course, his employer has no clue that this is going on, but, Jesus says, when he does find out he commends the man for his audacity and quick thinking! So what is going on here? Well Jesus offers us little by way of explanation, so here is my take on the situation 

When we enter this world all we know is peace or hunger and discomfort, all pretty selfish, but that is all we are aware of. Then we begin to see that the world is not entirely us; there are others. Those others seem to care a great deal about us (which is just as well), and so the interaction between the world and each of us has begun. Slowly and sometimes painfully the world begins to make demands on us: potty training, asking for peace and quiet, encouraging us to take first steps, and so on. We find we are part of a tapestry; there are other patterns around us, and sometimes we can contribute and, more times, we can learn from them. And so the world opens to us, and we are invited to join in. It is in this way that we discover what things we are good at, and what is challenging. We discover our gifts, the talents God has entrusted to us. Then, through education, we begin to develop them and so help those others who have helped us in many and varied ways. And at that moment we have, as it were, become the steward in today’s parable.

He was given the sack; similarly we face a termination also, at some time, perhaps distant, perhaps not, namely that moment when we get called from this world, and we must all try to handle that in the best way. Most of us would prefer not to think about it at all! But there it is nonetheless. How do we face it? I think this is where the parable comes in. Those gifts we have discovered within us were placed there by a loving God. We are indebted! (The debts of the steward’s master in today’s parable). They were not placed there to be buried (witness the parable of the talents). They are there to be used, and used in such a way that they benefit others (note today’s parable). Even though our talents belong to God, God is more than delighted that they are being used to help others! We have been entrusted by God with them, and it is up to us to use them as we see fit – but it is crystal clear from Jesus’ teachings how we should use them – clearly for the benefit of others! 

So I think today’s parable in a strange, even unique, way is telling us how God wants us to run our lives, being fully aware that our talents really belong to God, and are entrusted to us as a means of fulfilling our destiny in a positive, rewarding and satisfying way – to help others, or, in terms of today’s parable, to reduce the loads or burdens of those around us in any way we can! And in this way we should hope for and expect those all-welcoming words when at last we stand before God: “Well done, good and faithful servant!”  

Well Done, Telling My Story.

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