Luke 16: Of Two Worlds

Christians aren’t very bright. 

At least, that’s what Jesus said here – the children of this world are more shrewd in dealing with the world around them than are the children of the light – and I’m inclined to agree with him.  Part of their shrewdness is in their consistency.  They say money and power are what matter and then they live like money and power are what matter.  See what I mean?  Consistent.  They even bend the rules to acquire money and power.  But if that’s what matters, why not bend the rules?  Again – consistent.  And smart.

On the other hand . . .

We say God is there, but live largely as though he’s not – live day in and day out without consulting him or even acknowledging him.  We tend to see him in our past and in our future, but rarely in our present.

We say the Bible is the word of God, the Creator revealing himself to his creatures, but we can go for days, weeks, months, without cracking the book open.

We say money and power aren’t what matters, then spend our lives accumulating more and more stuff.

We say, the church is like my family, and then trade the old one in for a new one more often than we trade in our cars.

We say the rules matter, right and wrong matter, until for us – just this one time won’t matter – they don’t.

We say we know how the story ends, know the way to a rich and eternal life, but routinely fail to pass along this good news to coworkers, close friends, even family members.

What’s up with that?

– Paul Abbott