Luke 16:1-17
Then Jesus
said to the disciples, "There was a rich man who had a manager, and
charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property. So he
summoned him and said to him, 'What is this that I hear about you? Give me an
accounting of your management, because you cannot be my manager any longer.'
Then the manager said to himself, '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.' 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.' And his master
commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children
of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of
light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth
so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.
"Whoever
is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest
in a very little is dishonest also in much. If then you have not been faithful
with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you
have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is
your own? No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and
love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot
serve God and wealth."
The
Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all this, and they ridiculed him. So
he said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of
others; but God knows your hearts; for what is prized by human beings is an
abomination in the sight of God.
"The
law and the prophets were in effect until John came; since then the good news
of the kingdom of God is proclaimed, and everyone tries to enter it by force.
But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than for one stroke of a
letter in the law to be dropped. (NRSV)
This reading is taken from 30 Scripture Readings on Character
& Integrity. The complete book can be found here:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005KYN53A
NEW REVISED STANDARD VERSION BIBLE, copyright 1989, Division
of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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