Ill-Gotten Gain?
8 The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. 9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. 10 Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 12 And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own? (Luke 16:8-12)
Once again Jesus told a story that confuses and confounds us. In Jesus' story, a rich man discovers that one of those he's put in charge of his property is mismanaging it. The rich man fires this manger, so the manager decides to ingratiate himself to the people he has been defrauding by reducing what they owe. At this point, he's either, now, cheating his boss or he's taking off some or all of the excess he, himself, added to what was owed. The seemingly crazy part is that Jesus commends this manager as being shrewd, or prudent. Why wouldn't Jesus condemn the manger for cheating both his boss and those who owed his boss?
Perhaps Jesus is not defending or commending the malicious choices the manager made, but his ability assess the situation and make a change. Perhaps Jesus recognized the fact that the systems of his day were as corrupt and sinful as all of the people in it. There are no easy answers, but verses 10-12 provide a stable place for us to get our footing: we have a responsibility to be trustworthy with what we have.
Our systems are no less corrupt than those of Jesus' day. Every path to obtain or spend money is fraught with the reality of victimized people, and abused land and animals, on the other end. Even opportunities to help our environment by recycling seem overwhelmed by our vast and constant production of more waste. But we can't wait until the systems are fixed before we start fixing the systems. We can not afford to be paralyzed into inaction. As the sinful managers of God's good creation, we can make choices and changes to do better with what we have. And those positive changes will eventually have a positive impact on the systems at play. As we make better choices, what we value will change, and we can use our voice and our votes to reflect those better priorities. With transformed hearts, whatever is in our hands, however ill-gotten or previously ill-used, can be transformed into the blessings of restoration and restitution - for victimized people and our victimized world.
1 O God, the nations have come into your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple; they have laid Jerusalem in ruins. 2 They have given the bodies of your servants to the birds of the air for food, the flesh of your faithful to the wild animals of the earth. 3 They have poured out their blood like water all around Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury them. 4 We have become a taunt to our neighbors, mocked and derided by those around us. 5 How long, O LORD? Will you be angry forever? Will your jealous wrath burn like fire? 8 Do not remember against us the iniquities of our ancestors; let your compassion come speedily to meet us, for we are brought very low. 9 Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; deliver us, and forgive our sins, for your name's sake. (Psalm79:1-5,8-9)
