When we left off, a rich man’s manager stood accused of squandering the property he was entrusted to tend, and was summoned to a smack-down with his master. He did not dispute the charges – here is his reaction: "'What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.'”
Lazy, proud and incompetent – there’s a trifecta. He acknowledges there are honorable ways of getting out of his jam, but chooses rather to run a scheme:
"So, summoning his master's debtors one by one, he asked the first, `How much do you owe my master?' He answered, `A hundred jugs of olive oil.' He said to him, `Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.' Then he asked another, `And how much do you owe?' He replied, `A hundred containers of wheat.' He said to him, `Take your bill and make it eighty.'"
Not a bad plan. The boss gets some of what’s owed him, if at wholesale rather than retail prices. The customers get a deal. The manager has bought himself some influence with people who could do him a favor… which he will soon need. His plan is strategically sound. Does that make it good?
Jesus tells this story right after the one about the son who squandered his inheritance; two characters in deep trouble, who have misused resources entrusted to them. The son in the earlier story decides to come clean and entrust himself to his father’s mercy. The guy in this story decides he will keep trying to play the situation, relying on his own strategies – which is pretty much what got him into this pickle in the first place. A friend of mine called these “self-saving strategies,” the things we do and say to justify ourselves, to stay self-sufficient instead of God-sufficient.
Many novels, plays and films depict the ruinous consequences for characters who build their lives on layers and layers of lies and manipulation and self-saving strategies, which crash and collapse under them. You may know people like that. It’s an exhausting way to live. Most of us have some of those self-saving strategies in play, though. One of mine has always been trying to juggle more than I can manage well. And as long as I value affirmation and accomplishment and being productive more than relying on God for my sense of well-being, I’ll likely continue. Happily, I do it less than I used to…
What are some of your self-saving strategies? What in your life or work or relationships or self-image do you keep trying to “manage?” What patterns do you have that lead to more anxiety than peace?
Whether or not something comes to mind, you might reaffirm your desire to trust God for what you need. You can say whether you feel God is close or far away, substantial or flimsy – and ask Jesus to show you how to trust more. That’s my prayer – “Show me your way, Lord. I’m tired of mine.”
Jesus could have taken all kinds of outs – he had people to run to. He had power. Instead, he put his trust, all his trust, in God’s plan, though it looked like a way scary and painful plan. He really had to trust that the ending God had for this story was a whole lot better than it looked… And it was.
Not a bad plan. The boss gets some of what’s owed him, if at wholesale rather than retail prices. The customers get a deal. The manager has bought himself some influence with people who could do him a favor… which he will soon need. His plan is strategically sound. Does that make it good?
Jesus tells this story right after the one about the son who squandered his inheritance; two characters in deep trouble, who have misused resources entrusted to them. The son in the earlier story decides to come clean and entrust himself to his father’s mercy. The guy in this story decides he will keep trying to play the situation, relying on his own strategies – which is pretty much what got him into this pickle in the first place. A friend of mine called these “self-saving strategies,” the things we do and say to justify ourselves, to stay self-sufficient instead of God-sufficient.
Many novels, plays and films depict the ruinous consequences for characters who build their lives on layers and layers of lies and manipulation and self-saving strategies, which crash and collapse under them. You may know people like that. It’s an exhausting way to live. Most of us have some of those self-saving strategies in play, though. One of mine has always been trying to juggle more than I can manage well. And as long as I value affirmation and accomplishment and being productive more than relying on God for my sense of well-being, I’ll likely continue. Happily, I do it less than I used to…
What are some of your self-saving strategies? What in your life or work or relationships or self-image do you keep trying to “manage?” What patterns do you have that lead to more anxiety than peace?
Whether or not something comes to mind, you might reaffirm your desire to trust God for what you need. You can say whether you feel God is close or far away, substantial or flimsy – and ask Jesus to show you how to trust more. That’s my prayer – “Show me your way, Lord. I’m tired of mine.”
Jesus could have taken all kinds of outs – he had people to run to. He had power. Instead, he put his trust, all his trust, in God’s plan, though it looked like a way scary and painful plan. He really had to trust that the ending God had for this story was a whole lot better than it looked… And it was.
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