I have worked for many managers.  I have been many managers.  Some have been good managers and some bad managers.  Much like me.  I have been good and bad managers.

What I learned very early on was to find out what my manager would say yes to (because everybody has someone they answer to).  And because each manager is just an ordinary person.  And all have different preferences, strengths and weaknesses.  Imagine that – even managers!

For some it was ideas.  For others spreadsheets.  For others long talkings – for others short talkings.  Some needed time to consider – some wanted to make a decision there and then.  Some wanted to go through implementation details – others not.

But (almost) none would back a decision unless it reflected well on them.  In fact, in one case, we agreed that I would get the pay rises and my manager would get the corporate brownie points for our successes.

Bible bit …

There is a bit in the bible about a wily manager.  As the bible records … Jesus praised the wily manager for being “wily”.  Which included ripping off his boss to feather his own nest (a liberal biblical definition of “wily” perhaps).

This story sticks with me because it always seems ambiguous.  And I never find GSHJ to be ambiguous.

So I wonder this …

Are we invited to use the brain between our ears in all things – or just some?  Are we invited to question ever deeper into “the status quo”?  And are we invited to venture into the bible as “wily explorers” or merely comfortable (and led) day-trippers?  Safe in our bubble as religious tourists?

Because here is a bit of bible study I have yet to receive …

Luke 16:1-15  The Shrewd Manager

Please read the passage prayerfully and then come to the following questions.  Group discussion is encouraged.

Q1:  The manager is not real, the boss is not real, the creditors are not real, the sums of money are not real, the sacking is not real.  But my introduction is real: real managers worked for – real management roles worked in.  Does that make the bible more or less “real” than my real career?

Supplementary:  Does this make Jesus real – more real than my real jobs in my real career in your and my current lifetimes?

Q2:  What if Jesus was not real?  What if Jesus is an authors’ wishful amalgam of a hero – that Jesus of the bible is not literal or real as we know “literal and real” – how would that change your faith (or not)?

Supplementary:  How do you feel about being asked these questions?

Q3:  How do you know Jesus is real?  And the answer “Because the bible says so” (or any variant thereof) is not allowed.

Supplementary: How do you know God is real (same criteria as above)?

Q4:  As a named Christian, is the answer “I don’t know” a comfortable option?

Supplementary: How many times would you be able to say “I don’t know” without feeling a fraud (as a Christian)?

Q5:  Why?

Thank you.  Should you wish to share any of your thoughts and answers below in the comment boxes, please feel free.

And are we invited to venture into the bible as “wily explorers” or merely comfortable (and led) day-trippers?

And if we are wily explorers –

Why do I not hear that being encouraged much more often?

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