The words of Amos are as pointed today as they were centuries ago. If we think in terms of downsizing, layoffs, forced retirements, foreclosures, shrinking pensions, consumer fraud and corrupt business practices we will feel right at home. Amos was particularly upset because the religion of his target audience did not act as a conscience or ethical inspiration. God for many of them was the guarantor of profit and success. As for the rigourous ethical rules concerning justice and the treatment of others in the Scriptures — well, there was a way around them. Stay within the letter of the law, do the bare minimum and give God lip service. The poor were trampled in the process. Amos railed against the blatant cheating in the marketplace and the selling of the wheat sweepings as grain — a clear indication that adulteration of food for profit is nothing new.

In Genesis, Cain answered God’s query about his brother Abel with a defensive and sarcastic question: Am I my brother’s keeper? The answer was and still is, “Yes, you certainly are!” and that divine assertion was a continual theme throughout the entire Bible. Nearly every law, rule and prophecy focused on some aspect of that principle. Society thrived whenever this fundamental principle of oneness was practised and suffered disastrous consequences when selfishness, greed, violence and infidelity to God pushed this simple divine law aside. We cannot cheat or fool God nor can we buy God off with piety and religious practices. Compassion and justice are essential in the true worship and honour of God. The principle of the oneness of humanity and God should be the foundation of all human societies and economic systems, especially those that claim to honour God. No one is expendable or excluded, no one can be sacrificed for personal gain. We thrive or suffer — even perish — together. The world’s present troubles are the result of our spiritual indifference and forgetfulness.

The principle of oneness is also to be expressed in our prayer and our attitude towards other people. The author of 1 Timothy encouraged his readers to pray for everyone, especially those in authority and high positions. This was not serving the powers that be or supporting the status quo. Simply put, those in positions of authority were and still are in great need of prayer, especially for the grace to govern with justice and to do the right thing. God’s compassion and wish for salvation extends to all, and so it should be for us. The moment we start to divide, label and exclude we have stepped on to the slippery slope of selfishness and indifference with all of its negative consequences.

The parable of the dishonest manager seems like a strange way to express all of this. Are we to follow his shady example? As usual, Luke used rather comical and questionable characters taken from the everyday experience of his audience to illustrate his points. The audience had plenty of experience with corrupt judges and managers so the story would have piqued their interest immediately. The manager saved his skin by being shrewd and looking to the future — he didn’t just wait for events to overtake him.

Jesus chided the “children of light” for not thinking clearly and making wise decisions. If the “children of this age” know how to take care of themselves, how much more should you! The point of the parable is clear. Being trusted in little things is nothing more than expressing compassion and oneness in our daily actions and decisions. Choosing whom we will serve is a recurring biblical theme. We can serve God — and by extension other people and the common good — or we can serve “dishonest wealth” — and this means all forms of selfishness. The choice is ours each day: we can serve one or the other, but we cannot serve both.