Luke 16:1-9

“And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.” vs. 9

Even though Jesus was intentionally obscure about the meaning of some of his stories, we wish in this instance that his editor, Luke, could have clarified his intent. As it is, meditating on verses like these can be less than illuminating! The point seems to be that one day all of our stuff, regardless of how we’ve gotten it, is going to be gone! We can’t take it with us. Jesus also seems to indicate that all wealth has a stain attached, no matter how scrupulous we might be in accumulating it. The early desert fathers would have agreed…so they got rid of everything and lived in caves in the wilderness in an attempt to attain purity in this life. Our solution need not be so drastic! Perhaps Jesus is simply recommending that we use whatever goods we have to make life better for others. Rather than obsessing about getting more and more in our portfolios as we grow older maybe a wiser choice would be to start giving everything away. We certainly would have less to worry about! Of course we will still worry. Will we have to live for years in the streets totally dependent on hand-outs? While that could happen, it’s doubtful that it will. Like the dishonest manager we are pretty shrewd when it comes to money matters.

Thought for the Day: How much money will I need in my retirement?