What Jesus Teaches
About True Wisdom
A reflection on Luke 16:1-13
You know, when I first read this parable about the dishonest steward, I'll be honest - it left me scratching my head a bit! Here's Jesus seemingly praising a guy who's cooking the books and making shady deals. But that's the beauty of Jesus' teaching style, isn't it? He takes these everyday situations that would have resonated with his listeners and flips them to reveal profound spiritual truths. The steward may have been dishonest, but Jesus isn't endorsing his dishonesty - He's highlighting his shrewdness, his forward-thinking, his urgency in preparing for his future. As Catholics, we're called to have that same sense of urgency about our spiritual lives, that same wisdom in preparing not just for tomorrow, but for eternity.
What strikes me most about this passage is how it exposes the real danger of getting too cozy with our money and possessions. Jesus calls it "dishonest wealth" because there's something inherently deceptive about material security - it whispers lies to our hearts, telling us we're safe, we're in control, we don't really need to depend on God. When we clutch our money tightly, when we hoard our blessings, when we build bigger barns for our stuff, we might never say the words "I don't need God," but we're living it out loud. That's the trap! The steward understood that his time was running out, and he acted decisively to secure relationships that would matter in his future. This is exactly why generosity isn't just a nice virtue for Catholics - it's spiritual warfare against the idol of self-sufficiency. When we give sacrificially, when we share our resources beyond what feels comfortable, we're literally breaking the chains that money tries to wrap around our hearts. We're declaring with our actions that God is our true security, not our bank account.
The heart of this teaching really comes alive when Jesus says, "No servant can serve two masters," and here's where it gets beautifully practical for us. When we give generously - and I'm talking about giving that stretches us, that requires faith - we're actively choosing our master. Every time we write that check to charity, every time we give away clothes that still fit us, every time we share our time or our talents when we could be accumulating more for ourselves, we're showing God that He can trust us with His blessings because we understand they were never really ours to begin with. But here's the incredible part: our generosity doesn't just free us from the grip of materialism - it becomes God's way of answering someone else's prayers! That money you donate becomes groceries for a struggling family. That coat you give away becomes warmth for someone who needed it desperately. Your sacrifice becomes someone else's miracle, and in that beautiful exchange, you become a living, breathing answer to prayer. As Catholics, we believe that we're stewards, not owners, and when we live generously, we're participating in God's own generous love for the world.
Here's what fills me with hope about this passage: Jesus isn't asking us to be perfect financial planners or brilliant business strategists. He's asking us to be dangerous to the lies that money tells us - dangerous enough to give it away, to share our blessings, to trust Him more than our savings account. When we live generously, when we pass on the blessings God has given us, we're breaking free from that subtle but deadly belief that we can create our own security apart from Him. And the ripple effect is incredible - our faithfulness with earthly things opens the floodgates for God to work through us in ways we never imagined. That family whose rent you helped pay, that student whose education you supported, that food pantry you stock - they're receiving answers to their prayers through your willingness to let go. Every act of generosity is a declaration that God is enough, that His provision is real, and that we trust Him to take care of us as we take care of others. The beautiful promise is this: when we're faithful stewards who give freely, God doesn't just bless us with "true riches" - He makes us conduits of His blessings to others, and there's no security in the world that can compare to knowing you're living in the flow of God's abundant grace.
©2025 James Dacey Jr.
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