Jesus tells a story of the shrewd manager. Accused of squandering his master’s money, the manager visits the debtors with a plan to repay the master and provide for his own future. Jesus commends him for finding a way to live in the current situation and speaks to the responsibility to live faithfully into the shalom of God’s reign.
Whilst difficult to understand, many scholars differ in interpreting this parable. It does raise for us serious questions about our attitude toward money (wealth) and property, and our subtle (and perhaps not so subtle) attachment to both.
It also raises the manner in the way we provide charity.
As disciples does our stewardship of wealth and property create communities of indebtedness, or does it ‘make friends’ and help us?
There is both cost and promise in following Jesus. As we continue in our discipleship, God is present in our lives, shaping and transforming us. Through us, transformation comes to the Christian family and to all those communities of which we are part. How can we help one another be good and faithful disciples?