The Children Of This World Are More Astute . . . A Lesson For The Children Of Light
Fr Dexter Brereton, CSSpI.
One of the strange and wonderful things about Jesus’ teachings is that he is not afraid to use even ‘dodgy’ or ‘immoral’ people as examples to highlight qualities we should emulate. Here is the story of a steward who plays fast and loose with his master’s money. He is fired for all his misdeeds. To save his own neck, the steward contrives to make alliances with people who can help him out of this hole. He acts with considerable intelligence. He identifies the one thing that his new friends need, that he can do for them: debt relief. So it was, that he reduced the debt of each of his master’s debtors. Doing so does not really cost the master anything.
At the time of Jesus, stewards were employed to collect debts and rents on behalf of their masters. They would then charge interest on the amounts owed. This would normally amount to an exorbitant sum which would go to fill the coffers of the steward. All the steward does here, to bring debt relief to his master’s debtors is to simply forgo his own usurious commission and issue new notes which reflect the true amount owed to the master. He understands well an essential wisdom of life – sometimes you have to ‘give’ in order to ‘get’ or ‘receive.’
This reminds me of another story. As a boy in the fresh market with my mom, market vendors would often give her free samples so that the following week, she would come to their stall to purchase more. “Madam I have some nice tomatoes for you this morning! Here, take these in your bag. If you like them, you can come back next week and get more!” This is good business, but this is also wisdom. Extending generosity to others, even in small ways, can prompt a return of this generosity. This piece of wisdom is understood even by crooked men like the steward in this story. No wonder Jesus remarks that ‘The children of this world are more astute in dealing with their own kind than are the children of light.’
Finally, Jesus goes on to say that we should ‘use, money, tainted as it is, to win you friends, and thus make sure that when it fails you, they will welcome you into the tents of eternity. Here then is another piece of wisdom that we can draw on. Money, or for that matter, modern technology such as phones, the internet, social media, and so on are neither good nor bad in themselves. Just as they are frequently abused, they can also be put to good use, to make the world a better place, to help prepare for the advent of the Kingdom of God. The wisdom of God calls upon us to use the goods and gifts of this world, prudently, with wisdom, so that we can fulfill God’s purpose, for us and for the world. Amen.
