Tough Choices

Are you astounded by the ways of the world and believe that the corrupt go unscathed? Well, those who imagine they have God in their pockets are sadly mistaken. Not only has God foretold how we humans will evolve, He has numbered the hairs on our head. Most of all, He has listed, and will one day reveal, our acts of commission and omission.

Consider the prophet Amos, who shines in history as a prophet of social justice. He preached in the northern kingdom, which was at once a place of material prosperity and spiritual ruin. With venality on the rise, the rich were getting richer and the poor, poorer.

To make matters worse, there was there was corruption in the religious sphere too: pagan shrines were mushrooming, idolatry was thriving, and the Chosen People showed a sense of superiority. No wonder, the (false) leaders of the people rejected Amos and his fulminations against Israel and her neighbours; his announcements of divine retribution, and finally even the messianic hope he offered.

Today, in the First Reading (Amos 8: 4-7), Amos warns those who ‘trample upon the needy and destroy the poor of the land’. In contemporary terms, that refers to crooks who snatch bread from the tables of simple, credulous citizens, and rather than be sent to jail are sent to Parliament! Amos also warns those who, in the privacy of their homes or institutions, tell lies, bully and beat, exploit and cheat, drink and debauch, and without any qualms of conscience go out and preach.

In contrast, those who trust in God and work for His kingdom have not a care in the world. As the Psalm states, ‘He raises up the lowly from the dust; from the dunghill He lifts up the poor to seat them with princes, with the princes of His own people.’

So far so good. What is unsettling, however, is that in the Gospel (Lk 16: 1-13) Jesus appreciates the shrewd steward’s efforts to provide for his future. Was the Master commending the ‘dishonest steward’? It may seem so, but it is not the steward’s expediency but his decisiveness that Jesus extols. He indicates how ‘the children of this world are wiser in their own generation than the children of light.’

Who can deny that evil is more active than good and the worldly-wise more diligent than the spiritual-minded? That sounds a clarion call to God’s people to turn dynamic and combative! You and I need to show greater enthusiasm for God’s kingdom and go forward together with our united strength. Letting ourselves be ruled by evil doers is the price we pay for our lukewarmness. What use is it to complain thereafter? That is why Jesus wishes to rouse the honest ones from their slumber and call for resolute action.

Look at our country and our state. What does it profit us to complain about our representatives, when it is we who have elected them? We’d found them dishonest in small ways, hadn’t we, but we looked the other way, didn’t we? When we fail to stand on principle and cling to our foundational truths, we are fated to suffer their dishonesty in big ways!

That is the natural consequence of sitting on the fence. It never pays to sacrifice our principles, our doctrine, on the altar of convenience. ‘No servant can serve two masters… you cannot serve both God and mammon.’ If only children of light were faithful to God as those of darkness are faithful to mammon!…

In the Second Reading (1 Tim 2: 1-8), St Paul urges ‘that supplications, prayers, intercession, and thanksgivings be made for all men, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly and respectable in every way.’ This feels so topical, yet eternal, doesn’t it? It addresses an issue that people across the board feel deep down, even if some don’t admit it.

Finally, as Pope Benedict XVI has said, ‘it is a matter of choosing between selfishness and love, between justice and dishonesty and ultimately, between God and Satan.’[1] That’s our ultimate choice in life.

[1] Pope Benedict XVI, Homily, Suburbicarian Diocese of Velletri-Segni, 23 September 2007 https://www.vaticannews.va/en/word-of-the-day/2025/09/21.html