One Shrewd Dude

Jesus uses a parable in Luke's gospel to explain why money makes a poor boss.  One specific quote originates within this text that remains prophetic even today:  “No slave can serve two masters.”  Sound familiar?  As many of us have learned after years of hard knocks, you can’t serve both God and wealth.  You must choose.  Like the parable’s manager, we often become engrossed in our material wealth to a point where we desperately covet and worship things that have great monetary value but zero spiritual value.  As the shrewd manager found out too late, faith and dishonesty may seem like polar opposites but they have one thing in common.  They both demonstrate the principle that when someone exhibits a little of either, they will also exhibit much of the same under greater and more dire circumstances.  How often have we heard "It's just a little white lie" or "Nobody's going to miss this if I take it."  We're only kidding ourselves if we try to convince our consciences and each other that there are different shades of dishonesty.  Gray areas exist only in our minds.  In God's world, these things are black and white regardless of how we try to justify them.  Greed is a common breeding ground for dishonesty and the erosion of our faith's health.  Our wealth helps to make us comfortable in this life, but our faith is what will comfort us when the money disappears.  Use money as a resource for building up instead of tearing down.  Remember this the next time Satan's little temptations try to sway your point of view.  Faith is a priceless treasure that fills the purses of our souls and faith is how we will measure our true worth in God's kingdom.