Daily Devotional

In today’s Gospel, we hear Jesus say, “You shall not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” We must avoid turning the house of God into a place of commerce. Let us ask ourselves some pertinent questions. Have I come to God’s house to worship God or to transact business? As a priest, pastor, evangelist or clergyman, am I repeating the errors of the Jews by turning the church into a business empire? Do I make it impossible or difficult for the poor to worship God through the imposition of unnecessary levies, taxes and other forms of exploitation?

Jesus teaches us to avoid telling lies and other dishonest practices for the sake of money: “He who is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much… And if you have not been faithful with that which is another’s, you will not be entrusted with what is your own.” (Luke 16:10-12) Someone once said, “If you lose money, you lose nothing. If you lose friends, you lose something, but if you lose your character (perhaps, in a bid to make money), you have lost everything.” If people cannot trust you with money, what else is left?

Today is the best time to start preparing for death. Please do not wait until it is too late. The steward did not wait until he was dismissed before calling his master’s debtors. Fifth, the best preparation for death is storing treasures in heaven and showing kindness to the needy. The steward made friends by reducing the debts of his master’s debtors. We are to make friends by giving away whatever we have. After all, nothing belongs to us in the first place. We came empty, and we shall return empty.