On Responsibility

So last week we stayed in a hotel for 2 nights in Rochester, NY, while we helped my brother move back into college.
One of the first things i noticed when we got to the room was a little envelope on the table.
Here is a picture of it.




If the people seen on the streets of Rochester are any clue to demographics, Patty is probably a middle-aged single mother struggling to make ends meet.
And she has, by signature, claimed to be here to clean up my life's messes.
Or at least, whatever mess i make of that particular hotel room.


Let me tell you a story.
I've told it here before.
In Luke 16, Jesus told his disciples about a rich man and his servant.
This particular servant was in charge of managing the rich guy's money.
However, the servant had not been a good manager and had wasted his master's money.
So Rich Guy gives the notice that the servant is going to be fired.
Knowing that he is not going to survive well in the world of toilsome labor, the servant has to drum up a way to creek by after he's let go from the firm.
So he goes around to his soon-to-be-former master's debtors- the people that owe him money- and changes all their bills.
He knows that he's going to be fired, so he has nothing left to lose.
Now his master will be even more angry at him, BUT he'll have made friends and collected favors from people in the town.
That way, when he's in need, he only has to remind someone, "i gave you half your money back", and he's good for a few months.

Now, here's what happened:
"The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings." [luke 16:8&9]

Jesus is proposing that, since the wealth of this world is temporary after all, why not use it for something useful?
We can bless the people around us, and what we lose on earth is made up for many times over in heaven.

But He goes on to say:
"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own?"

We have responsibilities here.
In the grand scheme of things, there isn't a housekeeper who will gladly pick up our messes in exchange for some measly tips.
We have to be able to act in a way that is trustworthy to God, so that when we're done in our hotel room, we have a real place to stay.