Luke
16:1-13 Forgiving Debts
In this
parable, Jesus tells about a dishonest manager. We don’t know whether he
embezzled
from his employer or overcharged customers and pocketed the difference.
We can’t
tell whether he was doubling down on his dishonesty by writing off legitimate
debts, or
canceling the portion he had added to bills. Jesus doesn’t say; he must think
it doesn't
matter to the point of the story. What matters is that the manager recognized
that what
was good for the debtors was good for him.
The King
James Version of the Lord’s Prayer says “And forgive us our debts, as we
forgive
our debtors” (Matthew 6:12). (The original Greek word in the passage means
just
that: debt.) Many in our society are struggling with indebtedness: medical
bills and
no health
insurance, college loans, unemployment and underemployment, low wages, a
ragged
social safety net. What is Jesus telling us about our dependence on even those
who are
barely surviving? How might their well-being be good for us? How are we
being
faithful to his message? As individuals? As a society?
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