There once was a man who owned a very profitable communications company and he had two sons who worked for the company. Both sons knew that one day the company would be split between them, and that they would continue the legacy that their father had built.
The younger son decided one day that he was sick of working for his father’s company, so he asked his father to give him his half of the company right away. In anguish, but loving his son, the father spent money on lawyers and the extra staff that would be needed to split the company.
After the split was made, the younger son immediately sold the company for a nice amount to a firm who sold off all the assets, he squandered the money on mansions, women, and the high life; and after two manic years found himself living literally on a drug addict’s couch, eating McDonald’s ketchup packet soup. Ketchup packets are free after-all.
Knowing that his father’s mail room employees at least have enough money to buy food, he selfishly set out to apologize his way into an entry-level job. But, before he even left the lobby of his father’s business to get into the elevator, before he could even offer an apology, his father ran from across the far side of lobby, and grabbed his son in a heartfelt embrace. The father threw a huge company party for the son, and gave the son a vice presidential position in the company.
The older son was furious at his father’s actions. The board thought the old man was crazy. The stocks began to plummet as investors feared management problems and another future breakup of the telecommunications giant. Nothing about the situation made sense. It did not make sense financially. It did not make sense practically. It did not even make sense morally. And, this story does not make sense, unless…
Across town, the owner of a national grocery chain was getting old and decided to hand the company over to a trusted manager while he retired in peace. The manager should not have been trusted though. He embezzled company money, funneling it to personal vacations and beach homes, all under the guise of “charitable giving.”
It was not long before the owner discovered the thief, and told him he had until the end of the day to pack his things. While putting books and paper weights in a box, the manager got on the phone and called up a couple of struggling mom and pop grocery store franchisees who borrowed money off of the national parent company, and told them that he had decided to change their loans to interest free loans, and that half of the capital would be forgiven.
The man could not be a manager at the parent company any longer, but maybe he could at least grace his way into being a store manager and not live on the streets.
When the company owner received two emails of “thank you” from the little mom and pop stores, he stormed down to the manager’s office, threw open the door, took him by the shoulders and gave them a pat. He commended the dishonest manager for his wise dealings. He gave a recommendation to one of the mom and pop stores so that the corrupt manager might have a job.
Now you can see this coming: as with the other company, the board was furious and the investors were shaken. Allegations of golden parachutes were thrown about in the press and the company suffered a tarnished and corrupt reputation. Nothing about the situation made sense. It did not make sense financially. It did not make sense practically. It did not even make sense morally. And, this story does not make sense, unless…
These two stories do not make sense in our modern world in any way shape or form if your god is money. They do not make sense if our goal is to be financially secure in life. They do not make sense if we fear our financial future. The only way that these stories make any kind of sense at all is if we give up shaping our lives around money, and instead shape our lives around Christ and what Christ cares about: love of the sinner and the poor.
Making your money squandering son a vice president does not make any sense financially, but the second chance just may turn his life around. Your own example of living by God’s mercy instead of living by money may be the example of right living that he needs.
Commending and recommending an embezzling manager who gives away your hard earned money does not make any sense if you care about money, but commending an action that cares for the struggling mom and pop stores out there as much as caring for himself is a baby step in the right direction of “loving your neighbor as yourself.” If your god is money, then you will throw the guy under the train. But, if your God is the God of forgiveness of the sinner, you will not throw a guy out the door who is taking his first baby steps into repentance.
A lot of people in the world would say a God who welcomes back the squandering son or commends a self-serving pipsqueak of a manager is a pretty stupid God. It makes no sense financially. And, they would be right. But, I ask: “Why would God, the creator of all, need to make money in the first place?” “Why would God need to store money away in reserves for future use?” The answer is pretty simple, God does not need money. God does not serve money.
God came down to the world, as a human, to serve the sinner. Christ came to show mercy to the sinner on the cross. Christ has not gathered up a lot of money, but Christ has gathered up a lot of lost souls. These are his treasure. You are his treasure. And, your sinful neighbors are his treasure. Christ shapes his life, not around money, but around you and your neighbors. After-all the saying holds true, “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Christ’s heart is in you, not in money. “No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other.”
You should then expect that, as a follower of Christ who puts love of the sinner first, you too will not make any sense to family and friends around you. I know of some teens who did not make any sense to some of their family members when they participated in a 30 hour famine to raise money for the poor. “Why starve yourself? What is the point? It does not make any sense.” But, their actions made complete sense to those hungry people for whom they starved and raised money.
Your actions of love may not make sense to others around you, but your actions will make complete sense to those sinners who are loved by you. In addition, your willingness to sacrifice for the sake of others makes complete sense to God.
There is a man within my area who gave up a good job and good pension to start a ministry to those who are addicted to illegal substances. His life is not fancy. He worries about having enough money for gas. He eats out of the same gardens and off of the same donated meals as the addicted clients who live in the small, rural recovery house.
With his skills he could be managing a company and saving up for a nice retirement. It does not make sense, unless the god he follows is not money. The God he strives to follow is Christ. And, the addicted clients see that. They see that they do not have to follow the god of heroin or the god of alcohol. They see that there is another God who shows mercy, and gives second chances. They see what true love really looks like; all because a follower of Christ gave up one god for the true God found in Jesus Christ.
It doesn’t make sense, unless…
All Scripture quotes are from the New
Revised Standard Version Bible, copyrighted, 1989 by the Division of Christian
Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and
is used by permission. All rights reserved.
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