Saturday after the Ninth Sunday after Trinity Sunday
Posted on August 7, 2021 by under
Scripture: St. Luke 16:10-13 (NKJV)
16:10 He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. 11 Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own?
13 “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”
Devotion
Many people think of worldly wealth as something great and important, a goal to aim at, a status to achieve. But God thinks of wealth differently. He thinks of it as something small, as the least important thing with which He can entrust us.
Jesus reminds us in today’s reading that we are always servants, even slaves. The question is, who is our master? In this case, it is either God whom we serve, or Mammon, that is, worldly wealth.
God has given us six directions for managing the wealth which He has placed into our hands and of which He remains the Owner: (1) For the ministry of His Church, (2) for the needs of our family members, including ourselves, (3) for showing kindness to fellow Christians, (4) for showing kindness to all men in general, (5) for paying taxes, and (6) for our own enjoyment as we await the true joy of the next life.
Mammon, on the other hand, has its own directions for its use: (1) For protection against poverty, (2) for a refuge in times of trouble, (3) for hoarding more and more, (4) for exerting power and influence over others, (5) for showing off, and (6) for chasing after the pleasures of this life.
If God is our Master, then let us daily reject the directives of Mammon and earnestly follow those of God. He is worthy of both our trust and our service. Mammon is worthy of neither.
Prayer: Let Thy merciful ears, O Lord, be open to the prayers of Thy humble servants; and that they may obtain their petitions, make them to ask such things as shall please Thee; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
