Dear Faith Family,
What do we do when we disappoint God? How do you respond when you fail to live up to the expectations of faith?
We don't like to talk about failure and disappointment, especially in our culture. Add in the fact that our faith's sub-culture has probably talked too much about both at times, and it's no wonder we avoid the topic. Yet the truth is, we have all felt at one point or another that in our doing or failing to do something, we have not lived up to our faith. When honest, we can all confess that we believe we have disappointed the One to whom we've given our life's worship in some measure, great or small.
So what do we do? How do we respond when we know we haven't made the best use of the life we've been gifted? Well, Jesus tells a story to help us answer that question. And it is the most surprising of all of his stories!
In the parable of the Wise Gambler, more commonly known as "the Dishonest Manager" found in Luke 16:1-8, Jesus rattles our base assumptions about mercy and grace and living well after failure to live up to expectation.
In the steward (manager) character, we find one like us. One who has in some way squandered or wasted the resources of life given him. And like us, the exposure of his failings has put him in a place of indebtedness to the master whose resources he misused. And, like us (and the characters from our previous parables), the steward receives unexpected and costly mercy. Assuming the loss as his own, the master does not hold the manager to the letter of the law. Instead, the steward is allowed to keep his life and resources. But what will he do? How will he go on living, especially as one who everyone will soon know has fallen short of expectations?
Well, says Jesus, the steward acts with prudence, shrewdly demonstrating his wisdom by taking advantage of grace! He does not plead for restoration nor promise piety as repayment but instead gambles his future on the mercy he's already received. Without hesitation, he uses everything at his disposal in a truly "dishonest" scheme that will cost the master once again. The now dishonest manager assumes that if the master was willing to pay for his failings, then the master will also pay for his continued living! What a bold move of faith!
In his failing, perhaps for the first time, the steward recognizes the true nature of the One under whose grace and provision he finds himself. And perhaps for the first time, he abandons himself and his resources fully to the nature of the Master and begins to live wisely. Perhaps, in our failings, we too might respond with such prudence!
Admittedly the parable of the Wise Gambler is perhaps the most confusing of Jesus' stories. Yet it might also be the most valuable for you and me who strive to be good, wise stewards of the life we've been gifted. So if you missed Sunday, take a few minutes to work through the parable here, and then join us in asking:
How would my life (relationships and roles) look different if I lived with the wisdom of the dishonest manager?
Love you, faith family! God bless.