8.6.20: What do you owe?

The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My boss 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 employer's debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe the boss?’

‘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 boss 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.

-----------------

As a kid, I spent a lot of time in Sunday School and Bible School.

I don't recall ever hearing an adult read this one to me.

The hero of this parable isn't a good Samaritan, or a good shepherd, or a good ANYTHING.

He was a lazy rascal, a scoundrel, perhaps a potential politician.

You don't often hear Jesus encouraging white collar crime.

But this rascal knew the only thing he had of value was the power to forgive.

He had no authority to do so.

It wasn't his debt to forgive.

But he forgave it anyway.

Here's the difference between that rascal and rascals like us.

God has given us permission to forgive in his name.

In fact, God has implored us to do so.

In a world of accusation and guilt, forgiveness is a valuable asset.

For rascals like us, it may be our most valuable resource.

God knows you won't make any friends by carrying around a ledger sheet of debts in your heart.

But a life of grace and forgiveness makes friends for eternity.

------------------

Lord, forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.