Can deviousness be good?

Good News Reflection
Friday of the 31st Week of Ordinary Time
November 5, 2010

Today's Readings:
Phil 3:17--4:1
Ps 122:1-5
Luke 16:1-8
http://www.usccb.org/nab/110510.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/10_11_05.mp3

Can deviousness be good?

In today's Gospel reading, Jesus gives us a parable about deviousness: A rich businessman praises his dishonest employee for being enterprising. Why? Because the worldly take more initiative than Christians do in dealing with their own kind. Why? I propose that it's because Christians are too meek. "Blessed are the meek," Jesus said, and "forgive seventy times seven times," and so we quietly shrink from opportunities to deal with the injustices of fellow Christians.

Being meek does not mean being wimpy. Jesus was "meek and humble of heart" the scriptures tell us. Was Jesus wimpy? Was he meek when he stood up to the Pharisees and corrected them?

Christ-like meekness means taking a firm approach in doing God's will. It means standing strong in the face of opposition but without belittling others, without casting stones at them, and without wishing for their demise.

Jesus' parable conveys that we should be assertive and strong in handling problems. We're supposed to find a clever way around the obstacles that interfere with doing God's will. It's better to be devious than to quit. God wants us to be enterprising. To be like Jesus is to attack problems with gusto.

Where should we draw the line between clever deviousness and sinful dishonesty? Love. There's the boundary.

If we can speak up for what is right with love and compassion, without condemnation and without feeling superior, then we must speak up! When someone swings at our proverbial cheeks, we must stand firmly in place and use that position to block further damage while forgiving the one who is hurting us. When a door of opportunity to serve the Lord is slammed shut in our face, with love for those who are working against God's desires, we choose not to fight them, but we don't stand still. We look for a different door that will lead to a new opportunity.

Without love, deviousness is ugly.

Perhaps an example will help. My husband and I used to have a friend who was alcoholic and lustful. In his sickness, he caused great harm, often behaving, like it says in today's first reading, as an enemy of the cross of Christ, even though he was a Christian leader. For a while, God wanted us to walk the extra mile with him to point the way to repentance and recovery. But he continued to choose the path of destruction. He rejected our firm stand on the truth.

It became clear that the greatest act of love we could offer him was to report him to the authorities – a "devious" decision – with the same tears that Paul shed for those whose minds are occupied with earthly things.

Love is sometimes a very devious boundary. Blessed are the meek who assert healthy boundaries, even when they stir up trouble.

© 2010 by Terry A. Modica
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