A LESSON FROM THE DISHONEST MANAGER

A  LESSON FROM THE DISHONEST MANAGER

Luke 16:1-9

1Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. 2So 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.’

3“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— 4I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’

5“So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’

6“‘Eight hundred gallonsa of olive oil,’ he replied.

“The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred.’

7“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.’

8“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. 9I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

The cast of characters in this parable are so familiar to us that they are the same people we see in the business world even today.

Here we see a rich man who appears to be the owner of a business enterprise. It is likely that this wealthy entrepreneur has no small business but a fairly large commercial operation judging from the fact that we see another character in the story who is in charge as steward or  manager of the rich man’s business.

Transposed in present day terms, the manager is possibly the equivalent of a President or CEO of a business organization. In the parable of Jesus, the manager  is accountable to the owner in the management of the business affairs. It seems that the manager here is given almost full authority and discretion to run the affairs of his master based on complete trust and confidence, as if he is the owner. He holds this position as long as the Owner has confidence in him.

The manager is not the owner of the business, he is the steward of the owner. Though he acts as if he is the owner, he is not. As steward, he is entrusted with the things belonging to his employer . He works for the owner and he receives good compensation for his services.

In the parable the time comes when a report of the manager’s mismanagement is brought to the attention of the Owner. The manager is said to have wasted his Master’s possessions. This can only mean that the business is losing, either due to mismanagement, or perhaps the dishonest dealings of the manager. Before the business flounders, the Owner takes matters in his own hands. He asks the manager to turn in his books and give an account of his management.

The owner here gives the manager at least the opportunity to render an accounting so he may be able to explain his shortages, his losses or his accountability. But the owner of course has made up his mind to fire the manager. He said he cannot be manager anymore.  He loses the trust and confidence of the owner.       

The Manager realizes that it is only a matter of time that he will be booted out of work, at least the time given to him for an accounting is a sort of reprieve so he can still use whatever little time he has to think about his future. He knows he is too old to do manual labor as an option, and of course it is beyond his dignity to beg, if only to survive.

And so the manager thinks of a bright idea. He calls all the debtors of his Master one by one. He asks the first, “How much do you owe my Master?” The first debtor said “A hundred measure of oil.” The manager tells him take his bill, sit down and write fifty. Then he asks the next, “How much do you owe?” The second debtor said, “A hundred measures of wheat.” The manager said to him, “Take your bill, and make it eighty.”

The manager’s plan is quite simple. He endears himself to his master’s debtors by reducing their debts. The debtors are too happy to have received large discounts in their outstanding obligations. So the manager gains big favor from the debtors.

It is possible that the Manager simply removes his commission to reduce the indebtedness, a commensurate sacrifice to gain huge favors from the business associates of his master. In ancient times managers earn commissions from collected debts, not far different from present practice.

By doing this the manager hopes that those he gave favors may even hire him  if he is finally out of work. They feel that they owe the manager a favor and the manager has no more qualms in asking favor from them in return when the time comes. This is the fall back position of the manager. Somehow the master got word of this clever idea.

The parable says, “The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their 

own generation than the sons of light.”

An interesting observation may be raised, because here our Lord seems to praise or give approval to the dishonest manager. But a careful reading of the passage tells us that the Master did not commend the dishonest manager for his dishonesty but for his “shrewdness.” The manager’s quick  and clever thinking, good common sense and  practical smartness to deal with a personal crisis is down right wise.

The teaching in this parable is unique for it does not teach piety but practical wisdom to deal with the ways of the world. Here we are taught that as God’s people who spurn the wily ways of the world we need likewise to use worldly wisdom and take advantage of every opportunity that this world offers to prepare us in our journey to our eternal dwellings.

Now the practical application in this parable is for us to “make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.”

The  phrase “unrighteous wealth” presents some difficulty for it may mean wealth gained through dishonest or evil means. “Unrighteous wealth” here means worldly wealth, the generic resources of the world. In other words, we are to use the worldly wealth that is at our disposal as we live in this world, in preparation for eternity.  The material possessions at our disposal should be used in advancing the kingdom of God.

The parable teaches us the most practical aspects of ministry. Christians should act as shrewdly as the people of this world, in dealing with worldly possessions, in business, in worldly occupation, to gain better advantage and influence, all for the advancement of the Gospel.  

(Image by geneploss.blogspot.com)

Another Conversation With The Drunken Master

Drunken Master: How long has it been since our last conversation?

Me: Days and weeks, seems a long time.

Master: What have you seen lately?

Me: The usual herd of humanity moving to and fro.

Master: Is that what you see or is that what you think you see?

Me: It’s what I think I see.

Master: Have you visited Henry Wardsworth Longfellow?

Me: You mean the ancient Poet? No I haven’t drank from his old cup since ages.

Master: He had seen what you think you saw.

Me: You mean the meaningless movement of the herd of humanity?

Master: Exactly. Why don’t you look him up.

Me: Would you be kind to give me the long and the short of this fellow’s vision?

Master: Aha, good pun. The long and the short of the fellow’s vision, I

like it. You’re sharp today, what have you imbibed, may I ask?

Me: Nothing beats the good old saint named Miguel.

Master: Well, Longfellow is one of a kind, he was deeply perceptive. He saw that in this teeming sea of humanity most men are like driven cattle living meaningless lives because they go only where others lead them to go not knowing why… so he penned these lines:

“In the world’s broad field of battle, in the bivouac of life, be not like dumb driven cattle, be a hero in the strife…

Lives of great men all remind us, we can make our lives sublime, and departing leave behind us, footprints in the sands of time.

Footprints, that perhaps another, sailing o’er life’s solemn main, a forlorn and shipwrecked brother, seeing, shall take heart again.”

THE SOLUTION

An Architect designed a fifty storey building which provided too few elevators. It did not take long for the building to get an unpleasant reputation as tenants complained of the inconvenience of having to spend more time to wait in the lobby for the elevators to take them to their floors. The building owners were getting worried as tenants and clients threatened to move out putting at risk their millions of investments.

The owners consulted a psychologist if he could think of any possible way to motivate the tenants to stay despite the perceived dissatisfaction with the service elevators. 

They psychologist looked into the problem and studied the matter at hand. It took him a couple of months to come up with a solution for which he billed the building owner seven thousand dollars for his research. He met with the building owners and said, “Do it with mirrors.”

Full wall mirrors were installed in the lobby where the tenants and clients gathered to wait for the elevators. It was observed that the tenants forgot about their impatience in having to wait three or more minutes for the elevators to come down. They were busy looking at themselves and observing  others in the mirrors.

The owners were spared of the impending loss of their investments.

The lesson is pretty clear. People are more interested in themselves than anything else.

(Adapted from the book by Cecil G. Osborne, The Art of Getting Along With People, Copyright 1980, Zondervan Corporation)

(Photo from members.virtualtourist.com)

THE TWO WOMEN IN THE SAME DRESS

THE TWO WOMEN IN THE SAME DRESS

Two women were invited to a party and found themselves dressed exactly alike. It was obvious they bought their dress off the same rack. When the hostess introduced them to each other, one said, "Don't say anything, I got mine first" to which the other replied, "Now dear don't you boast, you got yours first but it’s a poor replica, mine is the original". They turned their backs from each other and never became friends.

Two women were invited to a party and found themselves dressed exactly alike. It was obvious they bought their dress off the same rack. When the hostess introduced them to each other, one said,"My dear congratulations, you certainly have fine taste" to which the other replied, " Thank you dearie, I know, only a woman of superior class would notice."   Both enjoyed the party like twins and remained friends forever.

It always pays to be tactful.

(Image by blog.eternalvigilance.me)

THE TWO WOMEN IN THE SAME DRESS

THE TWO WOMEN IN THE SAME DRESS

Two women were invited to a party and found themselves dressed exactly alike. It was obvious they bought their dress off the same rack. When the hostess introduced them to each other, one said, "Don't say anything, I got mine first" to which the other replied, "Now dear don't you boast, you got your's first but it's a poor replica, mine is the original". They turned their backs from each other and never became friends.

Two women were invited to a party and found themselves dressed exactly alike. It was obvious they bought their dress off the same rack. When the hostess introduced them to each other, one said,"My dear congratulations, you certainly have fine taste" to which the other replied, " Thank you dearie, I know, only a woman of superior class would notice."   Both enjoyed the party like twins and remained friends forever.

It always pays to be tactful.

How You Say It Makes A Great Deal Of Difference (2)

How You Say It Makes A Great Deal Of Difference (2)

A monk was walking in the Monastery garden during the hour of meditation. He met fellow monk who was smoking as he walked along the garden path.

"Did you get permission from the Superior to smoke during meditation?" asked the first monk.

"Yes, I was permitted" the second monk replied.

"But I asked if I could smoke during meditation and I was turned down" the first monk whined.

"You didn't phrase it properly. You asked if you could smoke during meditation. I asked if I might meditate while I smoked," the second monk explained.

How you say it makes a great deal of difference.

(Photo from trekearth.com)

OLD TRICK, FOOL'S BAIT

FOOL’S BAIT

A business man lent some money to his friend who was having  trouble with his finances. His friend promised that he would pay back the loan as soon as he could collect from his borrowers.  

The businessman gave his friend the cash he needed without any written agreement but with only a  handshake.   

A year had passed but his friend apparently did not bother to pay back the loan. Fearing that his friend might have gone bankrupt he asked around and learned that his friend was doing well financially. 

The businessman consulted a lawyer if he could still collect the money owed by his friend. The lawyer said he could but they have to sue,  and  it was going to be difficult because he had no evidence or signed note to prove the loan.

The businessman somehow blamed himself for trusting too much his friend, by not bothering to make his friend sign a written note of his indebtedness . He did not know that his friend had a very short memory when it came to paying his obligation.  He  was reluctant to sue because his position was shaky, besides he would be spending more in case of  litigation. 

The businessman sought the advice of an old, retired professor of law,   who lived a few blocks from his home.

The old man was sitting in his rocking chair on the porch as the businessman explained his problem.  

After a long silence, the old professor, asked the businessman how much money did his friend owe him.  

The businessman said  he loaned his friend Fifty thousand.

After another long silence, the old professor said, he could think of something that might work but there were no guarantees.

The businessman said he had no other choice but to try anything. 

The old professor said, “This is what you will do. Write your friend that you urgently need the One Hundred and Fifty Thousand he owed you and send the letter.”

The businessman asked, “You mean the Fifty Thousand he owed me?” 

“No” the old man said, “he now owed you that much, so send the letter”.

The businessman did as he was told.

A week later, the businessman returned to see the old professor, and reported, that his friend had replied.

“ And what did he write back?’ the old man asked.

 “He wrote he owed me only fifty thousand, no more, no less.” 

“Well, there’s your evidence in writing ” exclaimed the old professor, “obviously he took the bait.” 

COOKING UP SOMETHING FOR JACK

COOKING UP SOMETHING FOR JACK

I do not know Joaquin Manipol from Adam. One day he was ushered   to my  cubbyhole of an office. He directly introduced  himself without preliminaries.

“Hi, I’m Joaquin Manipol,” he said.  

The sudden intrusion surprised him more than me. I was sure I flashed an irritable glare. He broke the ice and said that he and my old man had gone a long way, during the days of President Diosdado Macapagal. He looked fiftyish while my old man was in his seventies. I figured he cut quite a decent figure as a young man.

My faint recollection of President Diosdado Macapagal was his picture  hanging on the classroom wall of the public elementary school known as the E.T.C.S. which I attended back in ’65.

I really had no idea why the school sported letters for its name. Anyway, our teacher said that the handsome man in the picture with  straight, shiny, sticky hair, in an elegant suit, was the President, so I thought he was somebody important for he wouldn’t be staring at us little children as we try to read, write and count. Sometimes the teacher would point her long stick at his picture calling us to pay attention because the President was observing.

Now what have I got to do with a stranger who simply came around from nowhere to tell me he knew my father way back during the time of a forgotten President?

“Just call me Jack,” he said.

He went straight to the point. He and his associates, he said, were planning to run a magazine. Well, actually he said, publishing had always been his cup of tea. He opened his old fashioned leather case, and showed some of his stuff. I was surprised he still kept old copies, of out of print magazines of a by gone era and they rang a bell. These were exactly some of the old reading stuff my old man used to bring home. The write ups and the writers were familiar. Probably my old man was one of his avid subscribers.

I asked Jack what’s on his mind. I anticipated he wanted to solicit some support or convince me to invest in his new enterprise. I was wrong. He said if I would be interested to write, he could spare some space. I told him, I’m a lousy  burned out lawyer not a writer. He said, lawyers write all the time. I said they do, but they only write for the one paying the fee and they couldn’t care less if they  muddle, or obscure, plain and simple things so they would sound great and intelligent . But Jack was unfazed. He said his good friend, who was also my friend, spoke highly of me. I asked him who might this common friend be. He said his old pal Ompong, the witty attorney.

So I got the picture. Ompong the mountain climbing goat of lawyer was the source of all this trouble.

“And what piece would you expect from me?” I asked Jack.

“Just cook up something,” he said.

For days I found myself looking at this blank space trying to cook up something for Jack. The blank space was still as empty and vast and blank as my mind, I was beginning to feel like a jackass.

So here’s the deal.

I might as well write about Jack  who one day showed up in my dreary life refreshing my memory of the days gone by, when life was too simple, for an innocent boy to grasp why the solemn picture of the President kept staring at him as he struggled to read, write, count, and recite in class.

IT IS NOT THAT SEX IS A BAD THING, BUT A HIGH THING

IT IS NOT THAT SEX IS A BAD THING, BUT A HIGH THING

If one says nowadays that sex is sacred, one runs the risk of being ridiculed. But that is only because the job of demystification has been done so well. If someone managed to kidnap  a princess, dressed her in rags and knocked her about the head so her speech was slurred, and told his fellow thugs that this woman was a princess, they would likely not believe him.

Our society is in a similar situation with regard to sexual love. We find it difficult to see how anything that can be found in low places can also be found in the highest. Given the common and easily available state to which sex has fallen, it is not to be wondered at that the medical and psychological estimate would prevail: sex is not sacred at all.  It is a natural thing, one more biological process among many. So let us eat and drink and sleep and have sex and be healthy.

Christianity won’t go along with that. Neither did the pagan world for that matter. The Greeks believed love was god and sex a goddess. The Romans believed that only virgins should tend the vestal fire. In our better moments we don’t go along with the casual view of sex either. We can see, though not so clearly as before, that sex is something set apart and not for the public realm, that what goes on behind closed doors is not meant to go on the movie screen… The fact that we tend to blush and stammer or assume an awkward air of matter –of- factness  when talking about sex does not mean we are holdovers from Puritanism, but simply that we realize the subject matter we are tackling is not a purely biological phenomenon .  No one as far as I know ever blushed when telling children how grape fruit should be eaten.

Unless you understand that Christianity considers sexual love to be a sacred thing, you  can never fully understand why it insists that sex be set about with exclusions and restrictions. All sacred things are. It is not that it thinks of sex as a bad thing, but a high thing. Like other high things, it deserves to be bounded by objective rules and not wafted about by gusts of changing emotion. The Christian position on this issue is quite clear…The correctness of our sexual conduct must not  turn on the intensity of the moment’s feelings  but rather on objective criteria : Whether we have made a vow and to whom.  How else can it be? We are not allowed to plead our case on the basis of.”It’s all right if you’re in love.” Much less on the defense, “It can’t be wrong when it feels so right.” Poached trout, as John White points out in Eros Defiled, tastes quite as delicious as the purchased kind, but it is still poached trout.

-William Kirk Kilpatrick, Psychological Seduction.

(Photo from stylecube.co.uk)

THE CONTENTED FISHERMAN

THE CONTENTED FISHERMAN

Anthony de Mello wrote of the conversation between a rich man and a fisherman.

One lazy day the rich man found the fisherman lying beside his boat smoking a pipe.

The rich man was horrified. “Why aren’t you out fishing?” the rich man asked.

“Because I have caught enough fish for the day,” the fisherman answered.

“Why don’t you catch some more?” the rich man demanded.

“What would I do with it?” replied the fisherman.

“Earn more money. Then you could have a motor fixed to your boat and go into deeper waters and catch more fish. That would bring you money to buy nylon nets, so more fish, more money. Soon you would have enough to buy two boats... even a fleet of boats. Then you could be rich like me,” explained the rich man.

“What would I do then?”  asked, the fisherman.

“Then you could really enjoy life,” the rich man asserted.

“What do you think I am doing now?” said the fisherman.

The rich man fell silent and shook his head.  Did he get the lesson?

In the letter of St. Paul to the Philippians the great apostle rejoiced that the Christians in the church at Philippi were concerned for him, particularly his needs. He was very thankful, but he made no demands from them.

This Saint of Christ wrote, “I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.”(Philippians 4:10-13)

True contentment cannot come from endless striving and struggling to have more. In the story, the rich man believed that contentment could only come from prosperity. But many,  who live prosperous lives have great difficulty in striving for contentment. The more plenty they have the more they want more of it. 

St. Paul said he has learned the secret of being content. Most people are looking for it in different places but they could not find it, because it is a secret hidden from the carnal mind.

Contentment does not depend upon circumstances. St. Paul learned the secret because he knew how to be contented, whether he had plenty or none, and was able to rejoice in every situation. For St. Paul the secret of contentment is to be fully surrendered to the will and purpose of God, so he could rest easy regardless of the state he was in.  This is only possible, said the saint, through Christ who gives him strength.

 (Photo from Wikimedia commons)

STRONG IN THE BROKEN PLACES

STRONG IN THE BROKEN PLACES

Ernest Hemingway once said, “The world breaks everyone, and some get strong in the broken places.”

The suicide of this great man of letters, in his despair, is sadly ironic. This painful world finally broke him. 

Christ said, “I have told you these things so that in Me you will have (perfect) peace and confidence. In the world you will have tribulations and  trials  and distress and frustrations; but be of good cheer. For I have overcome the world”. (John 16:33, Amplified)

Christians are the world’s greatest sufferers and yet suicide has never been an option for them. They believe that nothing happens apart from the will of God. They believe that God is not indifferent to their pain. They confidently trust and rest upon the His promises to deliver them. And they have this great confidence because the God of the Christians is a suffering God, who was broken but rose triumphant. He has overcome everything. He is their hope.

Life in this world will finally break all of us. Hemingway knew and accepted this reality. Some could not get stronger because they are completely and utterly alone in the broken places which they tread. They have no one to believe or to trust, except themselves, they only have faith in the absurdity of nothingness.  

The great Apostle and Saint, Paul of Tarsus, has declared one of the most powerful messages of hope ever written, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” (Romans 8:18)

(Photo from canonglenn.com)

Kung Fu Wisdom

Kung Fu Wisdom

I was detained for a couple of days because I got sick in the stomach. I asked my wife to bring a specimen of my waste to the Med Tech, and on to the Doc, so I could be sure if my system was under attack by armies of bacteria.

In my weak state, I forgot about work, office, and deadlines, they did not seem very important. I dozed off  watching  Television, a thing which I haven’t done for some time. I realized I’ve been paying for Cable TV services, but hardly enjoying it.

The film Karate Kid was on HBO. I didn’t know that a remake was made of the original version which I saw many years ago. Now in this new version the aging Jacky Chan plays the Master, in the original I think it was the Japanese American actor Pat Morita who played the role. The Karate  Kid in the remake is Will Smith’s son and the setting is in China. Good film.

The thing I liked most were the nuggets of Kung Fu wisdom we could draw from the dialogue.

In one scene the Master Mr. Han, said, “Being still and doing nothing are two very different things”.

I believed he’s right. I viewed  my sick condition as not doing anything.

It always bothers  me when I’m doing nothing productive. But according to Master Han there is a different way of looking at it. It is simply being still, but not necessarily doing nothing.

I was waiting out to be healed, let my body heal in time and my waiting was an active act of simply waiting, for at the ripe time I would be up again.

And finally, another saying of the Master Han: “Life will knock us down but we can choose whether or not to stand back up. Best fights are the ones we avoid.”

This is one solid punch shaking the spirit of fear and discouragement.

“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint”.

(Isaiah 40:31)

“And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.” (Mark 4:39)

(Photo from soberingconclusion.com)