Daily reflection _ great responsibility

GREAT RESPONSIBILITY
"The bosoms of the poor, the houses of widows, the mouths of children are the barns, which last forever. True wealth consists not in what we keep but in what we give away."  (St. Ambrose)
Deacon John Ruscheinsky
How can a bad person possibly give a good example? Jesus obviously thought that the example of someone who is dishonest would be a perfect illustration for a spiritual lesson about the Kingdom of God. What's the point of Jesus' parable? The dishonest steward is commended for his shrewdness. The original meaning of "shrewdness" is "foresight". A shrewd person grasps a critical situation with resolution and foresight. Jesus is concerned here with something more critical than a financial crisis. His concern is that we avert spiritual crisis through the exercise of faith and foresight.
If Christians would only expend as much foresight and energy into spiritual matters which have eternal consequences, as much as they do to earthly matters which have temporal consequences, then they would be truly better off, both in this life and in the future age. St. Ambrose, a fourth century bishop said, "The bosoms of the poor, the houses of widows, the mouths of children are the barns, which last forever. True wealth consists not in what we keep but in what we give away." Possessions are a great responsibility. The Lord expects us to use them honestly and responsibly and to put them at His service and the service of others.
In today's first reading, St. Paul comments about people for whom God is non-existent, if not in theory at least in practice. He wrote, "Their only god is their belly, and their glory is in their shame" (Phil 3:19). When people make their own desires supreme, when they in effect make themselves their own god, there is no freedom for them. They believe they can do whatever they please, but in doing so they become slaves of their own appetites.
Actually, many people who do not practice religion or who question the existence of God act in accord with an instinct within themselves which insists that there must be a God. We are called to live with an explicit and expressed belief in God. We are committed to following His will and we believe that in following it we can accomplish the true purpose of human existence. We live for the future, not in the sense that we deny the reality of this present world, but in the understanding that our true and final citizenship is in heaven.
We are all God's servants and all that we have belongs to Him. He expects us to make a good return on what He gives us. Jesus makes clear that our hearts must either be possessed by God's love or our hearts will be possessed by the love of something else.
What does your heart most treasure?