Sunday 18 September 2016

Psalm: Psalm 113

Background

In this story Jesus tells us that the material world, includingmoney and economics, matters. He had been a tradesman, working as acarpenter (Mark6:3). He would have understood the economic world of work,which included dishonest managers and wealthy bosses who fleecedthe poor. Into that situation he brought questions of how God'swill is done. God is involved in the material world which is thebeginning of wealth.

A few verses later, Jesus refers to "dishonest wealth" (v. 11). Maybe somewould say "filthy lucre". Money is tainted, Jesus seems to say. Itmakes the economic world go around but it presses compromises onus. And today, many people understand that. We are part of aneconomic system characterised by inequality. Many of us living inwestern nations are on the winning team, like the manager and bossin Jesus' story.

(Just after this story comes another about a rich man who didn'tcare about the poor man living at his gate (Luke 16:19-31).When he dies, the rich man is not welcomed into heaven, but findshimself cut off because of his relationship with the poor.)

So how we use our money matters. It changes who we are and marksour soul. After the story, Jesus tells his listeners that if theydon't prove trustworthy with money then they won't be entrustedwith "true riches" (verse 11). And within the story he seems to beshowing how to be trustworthy with money - like the manager, use itto make friends with the poor, because they are the ones who willwelcome you into the kingdom of God.
 

To Ponder

• To what use do you put your money, and how does that change youas a person?

• In what ways can money be used to befriend the poor withintegrity?

• What kind of national economics does Jesus' story pointtowards?