In Luke 16:1-13, Jesus tells the story of a crooked steward who has been wasting his master’s money and is going to be fired. To cover himself, the steward quickly meets with certain individuals who owe his master and arranges for the debts to be greatly reduced. After he loses his job, these men will owe him favors. He won’t starve. And the master, surprisingly, commends the dishonest steward for his shrewdness.
That parable came to life this weekend.
Suddenly the click-bait was on fire with allegations that Paul “The Weasel” Ryan, about to retire as Speaker of the House, has been getting together with a lot of fat cats to get an illegal alien amnesty passed before he leaves, providing the fat cats with cheap labor and the Republican Party with a one-way ticket to oblivion. The idea is that the fat cats will make Ryan a generous payoff and “welcome him into their houses” for years to come. Like, he’ll screw America to feather his own nest.
To understand this in light of the parable, simply substitute the American people for the master who’s being cheated.
I don’t believe, for a minute, that any amnesty will happen. But a lot of people do. I can’t imagine how angry the people would be if this were actually to be attempted. Sounds like a good day to stay indoors!
I’m in no position to say as a matter of fact that yes, Paul Ryan has met with some greedy rich SOBs to cook up a plan to sell out our country.
But if the parable ever were to come to life, that’s what it would look like.
Corruption does not confine itself to one side of the aisle, that’s for certain.
I do have a suspicion that some of this may be politically inspired fiction–not that Ryan has done anything to disabuse us of the notion that he might betray us.
And If he is doing it, or even considering it, think how many times this has and is being multiplied. Enough to make you grit your teeth.
The same can be said of Trey Gowdy who is retiring. His backing of the integrity of the DOJ/FBI when so many have been fired and demoted for bad acting is a way to endear himself to the federal law enforcement establishment where he sees his future headed. President Trump will not sign any legislation that grants amnesty without money for a wall and a reform of the immigration laws. And Mitch McConnell says he will not even take up such a bill in the Senate, so it seems Lee’s take on this subject is the correct one.
Lee, I think you nailed it!
I’ve never completely understood that parable. It seems, on the surface, to condone unethical, if not illegal behavior, but I don’t think Jesus meant it that way. It culminates with the explanation that you can’t serve God and serve wealth at the same time, so I conclude that it means we should recognize the ephemeral nature of what we possess in this fallen world and not let it outweigh the greater wealth of the true blessings of the Kingdom of God.
That being said, I get the feeling that many in the current political climate spend an inordinate amount of effort feathering their nests for the time after they are out of office. I have little doubt that there is a quid pro quo available from many, many lobbyists for any politician that delivers the goods.
Wm. F. Buckley is alleged to have said that the country would be better governed by the first 435 names in the phone book. He may have been onto something. 🙂
It wasn’t Jesus who commended the crooked steward, but his master–who, of course, fired him anyway.
Yep.