Deep Roots?

Jesus said to his disciples, “A rich man had a steward who was reported to him for squandering his property. He summoned him and said, ‘What is this I hear about you? Prepare a full account of your stewardship, because you can no longer be my steward.’ 

The steward said to himself, ‘What shall I do, now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me? I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg. I know what I shall do so that, when I am removed from the stewardship, they may welcome me into their homes.’ 

He called in his master’s debtors one by one. To the first he said, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He replied, ‘One hundred measures of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note. Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.’ Then to another he said, ‘And you, how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘One hundred measures of wheat.’  He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note; write one for eighty.’ 

And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently. For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than the children of light.” (Luke 16:1-8)

Dishonesty can become a way of life.  The rich man and his steward both were dishonest, and sly.  We all must be careful else dishonesty can taint who we are.  It can mainstream and badly mark our characters as an affront to our baptism and Christ who tolerated no liars or hypocrites.  Consider:

Once a holy man was instructing his disciples as they walked through the woods.  He pointed to a small oak sapling and asked one of his disciples to pull it up.  The disciple did it with one hand.  

Then the master pointed to another oak, a little bigger than the first, and asked the disciple to pull that one up. He did so but had to use both hands.  

The master pointed to third and bigger oak and asked the disciple to pull it up.  He could do so only with the help of one of his companions.  

Finally, he pointed to a still lager oak and asked the disciple to pull that one up.  Even with the help of all his companions he was unable to do so.

And the master concluded, “That’s how it is with passions and habits.  In the beginning, before they have sunk deep roots, it is easy to eradicate them.  But if we allow them to sink deep roots, it becomes virtually impossible to rid ourselves of them.”

Honesty can become habitual, spontaneous, and second nature.  Is it ours?  Do we have deep roots of dishonesty?  Or, have we heard our Master?

Deacon David Pierce