How Prudent Are You?

Get your Friday started right in The Word. Be sure to READ and/of LISTEN to our Mass Readings today.

I'm not gonna lie, this Gospel (Luke 16:1-8) and I really struggle trying to get the message without getting it all wrong. I looked at several other reflections about this parable and it seems like so many others are right where I am on this one.

Today Jesus tells us the story of the Dishonest Steward. In his story, the Master finds out his steward was squandering his property and calls him on it. The Steward realizes his position is about to be taken away, and not only will he be left with nothing, but he will also be left with nowhere to go.

Deciding to act before he is fired, the steward goes about his work collecting debts owed to the Master. Instead of collecting the full amount of the debt owed, he started slashing the bills to much more manageable amounts. Truth be told, he was charging them what was actually owed and taking his portion out. He is making it look like those sales we see at department stores. It looks like we are getting a great deal, but the items are marked up to begin with, so in reality we are paying what the item is worth. 

In doing this, the steward is finding favor with the towns people as well as making his Master look good. He is creating a win win out of this tough spot he got himself in. 

The parable gets confusing for me when Jesus wraps it up saying:

"For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light." ~ John 16:9 

Jesus almost sounds like he is praising dishonest behavior, but we know he isn't. So, what point is Jesus trying to make? 

I was grasping here and looked up the word prudent, it means "acting with or showing care and thought for the future."

Jesus was telling us that someone who is not of this world shows more care about their future than those of us who belong to Him.

These may be a stretch, but these are my thoughts, so bare with me :-) 

1. The Steward is mindful about how his actions in this particular moment will impact his future. 
2. He was mindful about dealing with his possessions and finances.
3. He was very mindful of how he is perceived by others. 

I think Jesus wants us to see that if someone who is of this World, someone who doesn't have the promise of eternal life can be so thoughtful about his life, certainly we should be even more! His actions have earthly consequences, while ours have eternal consequences. 

As we head into the weekend, look at your actions. Are they reflecting Christ and His love? Are you being obedient? Are you more concerned with accumulating "stuff" and wealth, or about taking care of others? Are you careful to act and behave in a way that honors God and brings others to Him? Are you mindful of the perceptions of others when it comes to your faith? Do you behave and act like children of the King?