We read about the parable of the Crooked Manager. It finishes on verse 9. Verse 10 seems disconnected:
9 And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it is all gone, they will receive you into the eternal dwellings.
10 “The one who is faithful in a very little thing is also faithful in much; and the one who is unrighteous in a very little thing is also unrighteous in much.
I am trying to connect both verses.
The parable of the Crooked Manager has always made me think: how can a crooked manager be praised by his employer when he knew his bad character? I heard that he was betting on the name of his employer. He made promises that his employer should keep, otherwise, his employer would be badly seen. In the same way, we Christians must bet on the character of the Lord. I am not so sure about this explanation, but verse 9 must be the key to understand the parable.
In general, a rich man uses his wealth to create a castle to himself where he feels protected but somehow alone. A rich man socializes with other rich guys because he wants to be part of the rich club: where one may help another. A poor man can't go on this club because he will only be benefited and can't contribute with anything. In verse 9, Jesus says to use the wealth to make friends. Very likely Jesus would use a wealth like mine in a different way: he would value much more people than some kind of protection that comes from money. Jesus told to give to people that can't pay back. In doing so, we would seem the Lord and not the gentiles.
How does this connect to verse 10? The one who uses the money to create bridges and not castles are the one who is faithful. He uses the money the Lord has provided in a faithful way.
I am retired now.
It is time to be more kind, generous with people.
No comments:
Post a Comment