Self Preservation or a Lover of God’s Way?

In his book: ‘Quest for Life’ the historian Manning Clark talks about the difference between line-straighteners and life-enlargers, between those people who have a very narrow view of life and want to contain it and control it and those who love the banquet of life with a passion and want to share it with others.

In today’s Gospel we read about the astute Steward wanting to control and contain his life, while using the resources of his Master for his own advantage. Not content with wasting the goods entrusted to him, he went so far as to falsify his accounts. Self preservation motivates him to secure and contain his own financial future by manipulating those who are in debt to the master. Buying such ‘friends’ will secure him financially when he is dismissed by the Master. He is very astute about his own self preservation. In the end he only puts his trust in his own powers.

Unlike the Steward, God wants us to be astute about his Kingdom. All the promises about the Kingdom of God which were fulfilled in the person of Jesus become clear and visible. It is only those, like Jesus, who are willing to do what they can to support and help others, who live according to God’s plan. Jesus teaches us how to make a good servant out of what can be a bad master. God encourages us to rely on him, to draw our energy, joy and enthusiasm from his power and to use every possible opportunity to bring people to him. “Our astuteness should be expressed in our eagerness to choose good over bad and others over ourselves.” [God’s Word 2022 Grace Roclawska CSFN]

As the Glenstal Bible Missal points out: ‘When Salvation is offered every effort must be made to grasp it with as much understanding and shrewdness as the steward showed for business and his own future . As for Money the best investment is in the poor. It is important to know which master to choose, to serve God and not subject oneself to money.’ 2001, Pg 1335]

Marie Weatherall