The steward from today's Gospel must have broken out in a sweat from nerves. The charge against him was so serious that he knew his master was going to fire him. It was even worse. He knew that with the reputation of being a squandering steward no one else would hire him. However, he was so clever and energetic that in that difficult situation he was able to find an excellent solution. He called his master's debtors and lowered the interest rate.

Perhaps at this point we are wondering: Did the steward have a right to do that? Did he rob his master in order to save himself? It is good to know that a steward's salary was often paid from the interest charged on those kinds of loans. So the steward in lowering the interest rate cut his own salary. In this way he won friends and could be peaceful about his future. Unemployment would be no longer a danger for him.

The ancient Christians said: "Let your alms sweat in your hands." Every day we have money in our hands. Every day we earn and spend money. It is not easy to share our money with others. Even more difficult is to help others by giving them money and not spoil them. Only God can open our eyes to the real needs of people. Only God can give us true wisdom how to handle money wisely in order to win friends.

"The children of this world are more astute in dealing with their own kind than are the children of light."