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Luke 16:1-13

Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’ “The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg— I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’ “So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ “‘Nine hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied. “The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.’ “Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’ “‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied. “He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’ “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own? “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

By: The Rev. Joanne Mumley

“The grounding of evangelism in pastoral care is…an expression of God’s care for the salvation of Christ’s lambs.” The care for a soul is one of delicate and consistent movement towards trusting in Him who laid His life down for our sin. In our humanness, we are fearful of letting go of the material things in life that we think we need or desire. It is through constant attention to the Word, time with the Lord and at the Table, stories and experiences of the Communion of Saints that we begin to step out into living holy lives as we grow in trusting God.

It is the heart behind the use of and desire for material objects that is in question. Letting go of them to fully serve the Lord is another realm of holy living. It is not simply obeying God’s rules; instead it is coming to know God in a deep and intimate way that eases our fears. It is a change in the very nature of our heart, mind and soul. We intentionally let go of our anxiety and trust in the One who cares for his lambs. This is not such an easy thing to do for us humans.

Theologian, Thomas Oden shares “He who searches the hearts and reveals the thoughts of men, who makes known distant events, who stills the storm, who lays down His life and takes it up again could only be God.”7 Willing hearts, minds, and souls give us freedom from money and material things as we begin to see the heavenly world that we now belong to, where our Heavenly Father resides.

What is of greatest value or worth are the souls that are saved by our Suffering Savoir; the souls now in union with the One True God. This is what endures—God, not money.