Luke 16: 1 - 13...You cannot give yourself both to God and to Money

photo owned by storm crypt of Flickr

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1 Jesus told his disciples, "There was a rich man who had a steward, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his goods.
2 And he called him and said to him, `What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.'
3 And the steward said to himself, `What shall I do, since my master is taking the stewardship 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 people may receive me into their houses when I am put out of the stewardship.'
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 measures of oil.' And 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 steward 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 mammon, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal habitations.
10 "He who is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and he who is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much.
11 If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will entrust to you the true riches?
12 And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own?
13 No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot give yourself both to God and to 'mammon' (personification of wealth and avarice as an evil spirit)".

my reflections:
Today's Gospel gives us an astounding impact on how we should conduct ourselves in dealing with God and to one another in the pursuit of wealth and money.

We are reminded once again that material goods and wealth are necessary and good, because they come from God's hands. Consequently, we have to prize them.

But we cannot “worship” them as if they were God and the ultimate meaning or purpose to our existence.

Let us give ourselves a clear understanding that riches are meant for us only to better serve God and men, our brothers; but not to expel God from our heart and our deeds: as what in (Lk 16:13) says, "You cannot give yourself both to God and to Money".

Do not let greed drag us along; we have to practice liberality, which is a virtue we should all have, whether rich or poor, each one depending upon his circumstances.

We have to give others; share them what we have!... What if I have enough for my own expenses? Yes, but you must also try to increase your wealth to be able to give more (parish, diocese, Caritas, apostolate, monasteries).

Remember St. Ambrose's words: "It is not part of your worldly goods what you give to the poor; what you are giving them is already theirs. Because you have appropriated what has been given for the fulfillment of all. Land belongs to all, not only to the rich".