We are disgusted
by matapobres; those who kill the poor; those who consider other people
as insignificant. Even the Lord condemns them and their deeds as He said
through the Prophet Amos: Never will I forget a thing they have done! (Amos
8:4-7), referring to the misdeeds of people who trample upon the needy and
destroy the poor of the land. And they kill the poor people through their
dishonesty in doing business with them; in deceiving them just so they may gain
more for themselves. They cheat the poor and others just so they may gain more
money, more prestige, more honor in the eyes of this world; to live a comfortable
life. But they are deceived, for none of these worldly riches matter in the
end. After they cheated and did dishonesties, they may live in beautiful
houses, ride luxurious vehicles, but they are still unhappy; they are poorer
than the poor ones they may have outsmarted. Their dismal treatment of the poor
negates their desire to live a good life which could only be achieved through
honesty and generosity especially to the little ones who are precious in the
eyes of God.
How shall we deal
then with the poor, given the temptation to be rich in this world? The
resources and talents we have are gifts entrusted to us by the Lord as their
stewards. They are gifts entrusted to us to be managed, to grow and be shared
with others. In Filipino, we call our properties ari-arian. The
repetition of the root word ari means that they do not belong to us for
real as in the case of bahay-bahayan, lutu-lutuan, and palayok-palayukan.
We are simply stewards of the ari-arian entrusted to us by the Lord. As
stewards, the Lord expects us to develop and use these properties, not for the
sake of increasing their values in themselves, but so that we may please the
real Owner of these properties; that we may please the Lord, as we become good
overseers of His goods. Our ari-arian are not ends in themselves but
only means for us to return and please the Lord. The best way to handle the
gifts the Lord entrusted to us is by sharing them to others, most especially to
those who are in need. They are not ours to keep, but entrusted to us to give
to others.
In the Gospel (Lk
16:1-13), we heard of the story of a steward whose relationship with his master
fell apart for putting into waste the properties entrusted to him by his
master. He was asked to prepare an accounting of his master's properties. Upon
realizing his wrong deeds, the steward looked for a way to save himself from an
impending disaster of his life; of living a miser's life should he be removed
from being a steward and fall from the grace of his master. He used the
properties that remained under his management and showed generosity to the
debtors of his master by writing off portions of the debts. The steward hoped
that later these debtors might return such favor. He rectified the mistakes he
had committed in the past to secure his future.
On one hand, one
may judge the steward of being dishonest to his master, not just once (when he
squandered his master's properties) but twice (when he wrote off portions of
debts from his master's account). But on the other hand, one cannot miss the
generosity he showed to the poor debtors, and determination to secure a good
future. And to add to the confusion of this scenario, the master even praised
the steward for doing so. To understand this gospel passage it is important to
note that this passage comes after the three parables of lost sheep, the lost
coin and of the prodigal son. These parables too showed ways that are beyond
human logic: Why would a shepherd leave the ninety-nine sheep in exchange for
one lost sheep? Why would a lady throw a party when she finds one lost coin?
Why would a father welcome a prodigal son after he squandered his inheritance?
And so why would a master praise a dishonest steward? Illogical? For us men,
yes! For God, no! For God, our master, sees the generosity of the steward to
the poor debtors, and his concern to swiftly rectify his mistake and secure a
good future (his salvation). And for that realization, and generosity, the
steward won back the trust of his master. The dishonest steward was praised not
because of his dishonesty (for the Lord abhors such misdeed) but because of his
determination to secure his future by correcting his past mistakes through acts
of generosity.
Despite our
shortcomings, in the end, we will never be wrong in being generous, especially
to the poor, as our heavenly Father is generous to us. We will never be wrong
in prioritizing and doing everything just so we may be saved from damnation;
from a bleak future. Generosity to others is the ultimate standard through
which we will be judged if we have become good and faithful stewards of the ari-arian the Lord entrusted to us.
The good news is,
the Lord allows us to rectify our mistakes, just as the master gave his steward
a chance to be generous to the poor. Our dishonesty and sinfulness are not
enough reasons for God to condemn us in eternal damnation, as God wills that
everyone be saved (1 Tm 2:1-8). St. John Chrysostom said “Let no one mourn that
he has fallen again and again: for forgiveness has risen from the grave!” He is
a generous God after all, who gives us the opportunity to be His good stewards.
That is if we choose to serve God alone, rather than worldly mammon; that is if
we choose to rectify our mistakes.
Will you choose
to be dishonest and gain the riches of this world?
Will you rather
be honest and generous, to secure the salvation that the Lord offers?
The choice is
yours to make.
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