Sometimes we might wonder if, in the many translations and editions that have been done over the ages, we have the Gospels exactly as they were first written by the Evangelists. If we recall the game of “Telephone” from our childhood, don’t we remember how after being whispered from one ear to the next, a simple message could be so different, even distorted, by the time the seventh person heard it and repeated it out loud?

Perhaps this is one of the reasons we have become so dependent on technologies to help us record speech and music with “high fidelity,” in order to preserve the original quality, the resonance and clarity, of the words and the sounds.

I sometimes think of this when I read a perplexing line such as in the Gospel of Luke, where he writes, “For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.” Could this strange expression be the result of a mistranslation, repeated time after time throughout the ages? 

Or perhaps, with our own “high fidelity” we might be able to interpret and understand Jesus’ instruction as he intended. What do I mean by “high fidelity?” I am referring to the way that we understand, appropriate for ourselves, and abide by the essential or foundational message of God as expressed through the prophetic tradition of the Old Testament, and then through both John the Baptist and Jesus himself. Throughout the whole of our faith tradition, we are cautioned about our relationship with money, let alone wealth, to avoid the perennial tendency toward greed, hoarding, and the exploitation of others for self-gain. 

The consistency of this message is unmistakable from Moses, Amos, and every other prophet, all the way to Jesus himself. Undoubtedly, it is repeated in every age of our faith tradition because it must be; we need the constant reminder. The human tendency to form attachments to material wealth and to mistake its real value never disappears. Where do prophets like Amos and then Jesus direct us to put our attention and intention for the use of material resources? They direct us to the ultimate concerns of our lives: care for people (love, mercy, service of our brothers and sisters, care for the poor). 

If we are faithful to God and in right relationship with all the created goods that God has provided for us through our earth, this common home, and with our needs in relationship with others, we will know how to direct these goods and not abuse them. Perhaps this is what it means when Jesus suggests that we should “make friends with dishonest wealth?” It is spiritual prudence that Jesus is pointing toward as he applauds the clever servant. 

In the light of this “high fidelity” to God’s intentions for our use of all things, we as leaders who exercise responsibility and control over material resources can practice spiritual prudence in the way we direct our assets, live with sensible simplicity, and channel our extravagance in the direction of others, rather than only for ourselves. We can stand up against ethical abuses, and extractive strategies that devastate the earth’s non renewable resources. We can identify and call out the systems of exploitation that provide unjust advantages to the already wealthy and further alienate people who are poor from opportunity. In the spirit of “high fidelity” and right relationship, we can model to others how to enjoy a sensible simplicity in a lifestyle that is in balance and reciprocity with the needs of others and the limits of our planet.

As I conclude this reflection, I confess that I am entirely imperfect in following my own recommendations, that I have material attachments and desires, and that I am frustrated at times by how far I am from this kind of “high fidelity,” right relationship with the limited means I have at my disposal. I know how much I value the good example of members of my religious community, who are further down the path than I am, and how I want to imitate them in their embrace of material simplicity, their enjoyment of simple pleasures, and generosity to those in need.

So it is with humility that I pose the question, where are you in your relationship with money in the context and horizon of our shared concerns for the needs of others, for the care for the earth, and for the positive transformation of broken social and economic systems? What difference do you feel called by God to make in these areas? 

With you in prayer on the road together,