Listen

“The master commended the dishonest manager because he acted cleverly. People who belong to this world are more clever in dealing with their peers than are people who belong to the light. I tell you, use worldly wealth to make friends for yourselves so that when it’s gone, you will be welcomed into the eternal homes.”

Luke 16:8-9

Think

Jesus has just told the story about the manager who gets fired by his boss, and in order to save his own neck, goes out and forgives all the debts of the people who owed money to his boss. Jesus ends the story by commenting that people often figure out what is right in practical matters but fail to apply that same rationale to their spiritual lives.

In this story, it is the corrupt manger’s realization that he is connected to others that ultimately saves the day.

The way we treat others ends up coming right back to us. Every experience, even times when we mess up, provides an opportunity to know God in a deeper way and relate in more authentic ways to those whom God has put in our lives.

Jon Brown

Pray

God, grant me the grace, especially when I mess up, to find forgiveness by forgiving others and treating them with authentic kindness.

Amen.

Go

There are two bodies of water in Israel, both are fed by the Jordan River.

One is the Sea of Galilee: full of life and surrounded by lush foliage. For every drop of water that enters the sea it passes it on at the other side back into the river. It gives, and it lives.

The other body of water is also fed by the same Jordan River, but nothing flows out of it. This Sea has no fish, no seaweed, no plant life. We call it the Dead Sea.

Open your heart to opportunities to bring life to others and yourself by means of the gifts God has given you.