Today’s scripture: Luke 16:1-12 (NRSV) (The Message) (KJV) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (Sue Robinson):
Isn’t it amazing how some people manage to maneuver their way into a good place not by doing what’s right, but by shrewdness and their wits? When my cousin was in high school, he had failed many classes and was not scheduled to graduate. His father owned a construction company and they were very wealthy. My cousin’s teacher was looking for a job for the summer and thought he could maybe get a job with my uncle’s work crew. So even knowing that he was about to fail his student, he asked him to appeal to his dad for a chance at a job. My cousin thought about this state of affairs for a few days and developed an idea. The following day he approached his teacher with a plan. His words have become legendary in our family. He said, “You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.” He passed. My brother, who was in the same predicament (failed grades and same teacher, but no rich dad), failed.
That would be funny except that it mirrors so many people’s attitudes. In our scripture passage today, a rich man’s steward was fired for wastefulness. What was he going to do? He couldn’t do manual labor and he was too proud to beg, so he developed a plan. If he could talk all of the rich man’s debtors into cheating on what they owed the rich man, they would be beholden to the steward and take him into their homes after he lost his position. So he had them all change their debts to something less and everyone was happy! But wait! In the next verses, the rich man commends the steward. He congratulates him on his crafty ways. He was outsmarted, but he saw the cleverness of the steward’s plan. Jesus wants us to be like this; not looking for ways around the truth or ways to beat the system, but to always be on the look out for smart ways to turn every adversity into what is right. By keeping our eyes open and our minds alert, we can better our walk with him.
Prayer for the day: Lord, help me to always be aware of ways to turn every adversity into an opportunity. Help me to be “street smart” and wise in following you. Amen
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