Pastor John Van Sloten

Often I wonder about the legitimacy of so boldly citing God’s truth wherever it’s found in the world.  Not that I’m worried about the truth being true, or that it’s source really is God.  My concern lies with how the truth you pull out of the world relates to what’s left behind.  Sure, you can “cherry pick” truth out of any situation, story or circumstance, but what about the not so good stuff that remains?  Isn’t there a risk of baptizing it as true as well?  Or at least sanctifying it by association?  I think there is, and we need to be careful that we don’t let it happen unknowingly.  But what if God’s truth is there in the first place for that exact reason?

A few days ago I read Jesus’ parable of the Shrewd Manager.  It’s all about a guy who’s been padding his expenses, discovers he’s been caught, and then cuts deals with all his suppliers to put himself in good stead with them for when he gets fired.  Jesus tells the story, has the master in the parable commend the manager for his shrewdness, and then calls his faithful listeners to do the same; ie: be shrewd like that too!  Jesus seems to “cherry pick” this tiny bit of savvy business acumen out of the middle of a whole lot of unethical and illegal activity.  Out of  the midst of lying, cheating and stealing, Jesus exegetes and extricates some godly business truth.  While his move still leaves me a bit confused, the fact that he did it then, gives me comfort that he still does it now.