This is an odd one...
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Object:
This is an odd one. I'm sure there are many today who are wasting the boss' money. I read in the paper about congressmen who are wasting our tax money for personal gain. Our former governor was called into question for using government money to fly his plane to vacations and personal meetings. It is an everyday thing, but what do they do about it? In most cases they just hope the whole thing will go away. We might say they are shrewd. It seems as though Jesus is addressing this parable to some of the wealthy, including tax collectors.
In the case of the fellow the boss fired, would it have been called dishonest to shortchange his boss by cutting all the bills? It could be questionable. I know there could be court cases over it. The assumption could be that the manager had overcharged those debtors and was just evening things up. Was it shrewd or dishonest? In Jesus' day, tax collectors were always overcharging those who owed taxes and keeping some for themselves. It would be better to repay some rather than lose your job.
I think part of the point is that even though the manager had been fired, he still tried to set things right instead of hurting the boss and bringing him to court or trying to get even some other way. Nor did he bring the debtors into court to force them to pay all the money they owed. It still seems selfish to set things up for himself by making friends for when he no longer had a job.
The main point is that we can't serve two masters. If money is at the top of our list, then we will hate anything the boss may do to make us pay up -- even the boss himself. If the boss is more important, then we will be truthful and do all we can for the business, even at our own expense. Is there any job or profession that does not force us to decide what is at the top of our loyalty list? Don't we pray that our doctor is not in his profession mainly for the money? I doubt a pastor would be!
Make a list in your mind and heart as to who is at the top. If it is not God, then beware of the day of reckoning!
In the case of the fellow the boss fired, would it have been called dishonest to shortchange his boss by cutting all the bills? It could be questionable. I know there could be court cases over it. The assumption could be that the manager had overcharged those debtors and was just evening things up. Was it shrewd or dishonest? In Jesus' day, tax collectors were always overcharging those who owed taxes and keeping some for themselves. It would be better to repay some rather than lose your job.
I think part of the point is that even though the manager had been fired, he still tried to set things right instead of hurting the boss and bringing him to court or trying to get even some other way. Nor did he bring the debtors into court to force them to pay all the money they owed. It still seems selfish to set things up for himself by making friends for when he no longer had a job.
The main point is that we can't serve two masters. If money is at the top of our list, then we will hate anything the boss may do to make us pay up -- even the boss himself. If the boss is more important, then we will be truthful and do all we can for the business, even at our own expense. Is there any job or profession that does not force us to decide what is at the top of our loyalty list? Don't we pray that our doctor is not in his profession mainly for the money? I doubt a pastor would be!
Make a list in your mind and heart as to who is at the top. If it is not God, then beware of the day of reckoning!
