Application of the parable of the dishonest steward

Gospel Reading: Lk 16:9-15

JESUS said to his disciples: “I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones. If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours? No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all these things and sneered at him. And he said to them, “You justify yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts; for what is of human esteem is an abomination in the sight of God.”

GOD KNOWS YOUR HEARTS

The Pharisees, who are described as “lovers of money,” respond with disdain to the teachings of Jesus on the right use of wealth. They take Jesus’ words as an attack on them. Jesus criticizes the Pharisees who seek justification before the people. His response is more in terms of God’s moral assessment as contrasted with merely external human judgment.

We cannot be justified by external performance without purity of intention. The life of a disciple must be one of faithful attention to the frequent and familiar tasks of each day, however small and insignificant they may seem. God sees into our hearts, and it is what resides there that is important for God.

Let us do our daily work with the best of intentions and leave the rest to God.