Daily Lesson for May 28, 2015

Today's daily lesson comes from Luke chapter 16 verses 1 through 9:

16 He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. 2 And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ 3 And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. 4 I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ 5 So, summoning his master's debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 He said, ‘A hundred measures1 of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ 7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ 8 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. 9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.

This one's a bit of a head scratcher. Apparently Jesus saw this conniving, manipulative, and utterly shameless cheat as a perfect illustration for the way we ought to be in this world. Well, not the conniving, manipulative, and cheating part, but the part where when he realizes his time is running out and his future is dependent upon making friends with the poor.

That's really what Jesus taught -- that our time on earth is running out and so is our money, and that the friendships we make with whatever time and money we have left is going to have bearing when the kingdom comes. 

It's just a good reminder that the meek are going to inherit the earth; and kindness to the man on the street corner selling newspapers or grace to the tenants in the rent house or generosity to the young couple in your church matter more than we think. In fact, they're everything. 

Time is going to run out and the money is going to run dry; but the friendships we've made with them are going to last forever.

That should make us think a little different about our day and our dollar.