Be Wise and Heartful
An Awesome Grace
November 5, 2020
Money is Not the Problem, It’s Us.
November 7, 2020PITIK-BULAG: Be Wise and Heartful
Our gospel today is in between two other parables that deal with money problems. The first story before the parable of the dishonest manager is the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-31). Then the story of the rich man and Lazarus follows after this parable (Luke 16:19-31). And then the Lord said, “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.’ (Luke 16:13). When the Pharisees heard it, who are lovers of money, they ridiculed Jesus.
The issue here is all about managing the wealth and graces entrusted to us, specifically treasure, time, and talents. The manager was terminated by the master for being a poor steward. He wasted and mismanaged his wealth. Yet, upon realizing his bleak future, the manager begins reflecting and analyzing his situation. Being aware of his last few days in power, he takes advantage of it for his own benefit, for his own future.
The manager says, “What will I do? I am not young to become a laborer. I am ashamed to beg. I need to be resourceful.” Thus, using his great imagination and cleverness, he acts immediately by deducting a huge amount of payables to gain favor or indebtedness from them when bad time comes. Strangely and surprisingly, the master praises his manager for being shrewd, imaginative, clever, and pro-active.
The parable is not all about the master tolerating dishonesty or any immoral acts. He praises the manager for becoming clever, imaginative, and pro-active.
Looking at our lives now, like the dishonest manager, we have also mismanaged and wasted a lot of God’s resources and graces entrusted to us. We are not good managers of God’s graces. We wasted a lot of our time, treasure, and talents. We did not take advantage of these things to benefit others. We simply used them for our own interests. We think more of ourselves and less of others.
It takes a surprise visit from the Master to wake up the manager from his irresponsibility. Unfortunately, it’s too late for him to correct his mistakes. The manager failed his master terribly. Thus, everything is taken away from him, including the authority to manage the master’s wealth.
The parable serves as a warning to us. We still have time to mend our ways and lifestyle. God has entrusted to us wealth, time, talents, people, and community to manage. Are we doing well? Are we good managers? Are we good enough to face the master with great pride? Are we creative, imaginative, clever, and pro-active in managing God’s blessings entrusted to us?
We don’t want to lose our face in front of God. We don’t want to hear HIm saying, “I do not know you?” (Matthew 7:21). We are invited to become good stewards. Are you a good manager?
Here are some pointers on good stewardship. Something to remember and consider to remind us of our responsibility.
1. You don’t own anything. Everything is a gift. Take good care of all the treasure, time, and talent given to you. Never abuse them or recklessly use them.
2. You are responsible for all things entrusted to you. Use them well. Be responsible by dispensing them well for the good of others.
3. Remember, the time of accounting will come. At the end of this life, the Lord will come to demand profits or returns. If He will come now, any profit at the moment? Or none?
Martin Luther King said, “We need hard heads and soft hearts. And not soft heads and hard hards.”
– Fr. Wilfredo M. Samson, SJ
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November 6, 2020 – Friday
