Don't get ahead of grace!

In the course of my job, I often had to choose between what was good for the company or “right” for the customer.  For example, one time I was assigned the simple task of paying for, then recovering a trailer that had been impounded by the police when the driver of the car pulling our trailer was arrested for having a suspended license.  To make a long story short, I had the option of taking possession of the goods in the trailer and taking them to a safe self-storage facility or allowing the customer’s wife to unload the goods before I took the trailer.  Since she was a three-hour drive away and I was in the high desert in temperatures well over 100 degrees, I was really leaning towards just getting my trailer and heading for cooler temperatures in the 90’s.  But when she related some hard luck stories to me that she had recently been experiencing, I wanted to make her life just a little more pleasant and hopefully show her a Christian attitude.  So I told her I would wait for her to come and pick up her husband’s possessions.  Three hours turned into four and I was feeling a bit hot under the collar--not due to the weather.  When she finally did show up, she had the audacity to ask me if I would deliver the goods to a nearby city that the trailer was headed for when her husband was arrested! 

There were two reasons why I agreed to help her out.  First, I would have to go through the city to get back home anyway and second, she had brought along as company her elderly mother!  When I saw the old lady struggling to walk and stay positive in the oppressive heat of the afternoon and circumstances, I was swept up with a feeling of compassion.  I was going to help her to help her daughter cope with the situation in any way that was in my discretion.  So I basically wasted a day of the company’s time, and in the end, I think the outcome was worth it.  So did my boss when I related the story to him that day.  In fact, even though I had violated several company policies to get to my end result, he commended me to his boss!  After all, the two of us had been trying to get our teams to understand that in today’s business world, companies have to be advocates for the customer!  Other colleagues in our company thought I went too far.  In my mind, I was merely helping my ‘neighbor’ through a small portion of her current life crisis.

Many of us are experiencing crises these days.  It may be a loved one sick or dying from Covid-19 or another illness.  Perhaps the family business is struggling, or you’ve lost your job.  The cries for racial justice in our communities in response to the killings of our Black brothers and sisters at the hands of police are unrelenting.  And as we witness the devastating wildfires and high number of calamitous hurricanes that reveal the widening environmental destruction on our planet, many are shaken to the core.

As I reflect on the parable of the Dishonest Steward (Luke 16: 1-8) today , I think  Jesus told this parable as a way of highlighting the fact that the “children of the world” are indeed successful in their manipulation of worldly things, whereas the “children of light” are not as shrewd when it comes to worldly things.  So what does this tell us?

It certainly doesn’t tell us that we should enter into a worldly life striving to live by worldly standards and working toward worldly goals.  In fact, by acknowledging this fact about the worldly, Jesus is presenting us with a strong contrast as to how we should think and act.  We’re called to be the children of light.  So we shouldn’t be surprised at all if we’re not as successful in worldly things as others are who are immersed in the secular culture. 

This is especially true when we look at the numerous “successes” of those who are fully immersed in the world and the values of the world.  Some are successful in obtaining great wealth, power, or prestige by being shrewd in things of this age.  Take, for example, the entertainment industry, or politics.  There are many who are quite successful and popular in the eyes of the world and we can tend to have a certain envy of them.  Compare that to those who are filled with virtue, humility, and goodness.  We often find that they go unnoticed. 

The parable of the Dishonest Steward is confounding.  Why would a steward, dismissed for mismanagement be praised for cutting debt owed to his rich master?  It makes no sense, until we realize that Jesus is teaching His disciples their God-given capacity to manage a crisis.

According to some scholars, the steward forgave the debtors a portion of the debt that was the commission the steward received for collecting the debt. This was a clever act which kept him in good stead with the debtors and the rich man.

Jesus says we, His disciples, have all the gifts of the Holy Spirit we need to manage life’s crises.  But our disposition must be an openness to the grace and wisdom available to us.

I’ve heard it said, “Don’t get ahead of grace.”  If we stew and become anxious about a pending crisis, a predicted disaster, an illness, or death yet to happen, we’re trying to get ahead of grace. The Gospel assures us that we’ll have the grace we need to manage crises when they come.  Not before.  I have no doubt that’s why throughout Scripture God tells us “Be not afraid!”

As the steward, a “child of this world,” was prudent in protecting his social connections, so we, “the children of light” will have what we need to deal with anything life throws our way, no matter how tragic.

Reflecting on the power of God to provide what we need when we need it gives us an inner peace, serenity, composure in every situation.

We should use this parable to remind ourselves that all that matters, in the end, is what God thinks.  How does God see us and the effort we give in living a holy life?  As children of the light, we must work only for that which is eternal, not for that which is worldly and passing.  God will provide for our worldly needs if we put our trust in Him.  We may not become huge successes in accord with worldly standards, but we will obtain greatness in regard to all that truly matters and all that is eternal.