Gospel Reading: Lk 16:9-15
Jesus said to his disciples: “I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones. If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours? No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all these things and sneered at him. And he said to them, “You justify yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts; for what is of human esteem is an abomination in the sight of God.”
TRUSTWORTHY IN VERY SMALL MATTERS
The Lord wants us to be faithful in little things. We should not belittle small matters, considering them as of no account or importance. If we are serious with the very little we have, Jesus will entrust us with more. He wants us to be accountable. He wills that we use his gifts properly and for the benefit of others. He wants us to become more responsible and productive persons. If we do not work on our little gifts now at hand, we will not know what to do with God’s bigger and greater blessings. Considering the reading of yesterday, of which today’s Gospel is a continuation and an application, we are enjoined to use material things to develop relationships and friendships.
This is what it means to be trustworthy. We are stewards of the things entrusted to us, using them in accordance with God’s plan. It is not right to possess wealth, like the Pharisees, without developing love and sustaining friendships.
Can you be trusted? Do you trust other people?
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SOURCE: “366 Days with the Lord,” ST PAULS, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 895-9701; Fax 895-7328; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.
