"Managers that always promise to 'make the numbers' will at some point be tempted to make up the numbers."

"Men do not differ much about what things they will call evils; they differ enormously about what evils they will call excusable." --G.K. Chesterton

Gospel Text: (LK 16:1-8)
Jesus said to his disciples, “A rich man had a steward
who was reported to him for squandering his property.
He summoned him and said,
‘What is this I hear about you?
Prepare a full account of your stewardship,
because you can no longer be my steward.’
The steward said to himself, ‘What shall I do,
now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me?
I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg.
I know what I shall do so that,
when I am removed from the stewardship,
they may welcome me into their homes.’
He called in his master’s debtors one by one.
To the first he said, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
He replied, ‘One hundred measures of olive oil.’
He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note.
Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.’
Then to another he said, ‘And you, how much do you owe?’
He replied, ‘One hundred measures of wheat.’
He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note;
write one for eighty.’
And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently.
For the children of this world
are more prudent in dealing with their own generation
than the children of light.”

Today’s Gospel tells the parable of a rich man whose steward was reported to him for squandering his property. I was somewhat confused by the rich man’s reaction in this text until I read one of the commentaries. It appears that the dishonest steward would normally have been the beneficiary of a portion of a payment. In reducing the size of a promissory note, he was in effect giving up his surcharge.

All this proves —once again— that men's hearts always had corruption in it - more or less just as in Jesus' days as it is today.

Do we actually believe we can deceive God with our appearance, while pretending to be good Christians? When speaking of shrewdness, we should also speak of personal interest. Are we really interested in God's Kingdom and in His justice?

Which is for us our life's treasure?

«Life is truly always a choice: between honesty and dishonesty, between fidelity and infidelity, between good and evil (…). Ultimately, Jesus says, it is necessary to make a fundamental decision» (Benedict XVI).