Living, Working and Serving in Two Worlds

Christ speaks of two worlds, both real, but with only one worthy of our consciousness. In one world, consciousness is centered on oneself. Folks living in this world seek more of what they already have: security, comfort, prestige, power and control. The highly valued folks in this world are rich in things, well-fed, happy and respected members of the community.

In the other world, consciousness is centered on what is to come. This is a transformative world where the most respected, or blessed, people are not very well adjusted to present conditions. They are not rich in things. They are often hungry. Since they are downtrodden, they are often perceived as unhappy. They are reviled, pitied or ignored.

Nonprofit organizations are the center of this more meaningful world. High performance then is in healing, lifting up, empowering and rendering justice. More than this, high performance means delivering the messages and teachings of the poor, widows, orphans and prisoners to the people still living, working and serving in the unreal world.

I believe Jesus urges us to do just that in a mysterious parable that appears only in Luke. It is a curious tale of management styles of the two worlds. Knowing that he will soon be fired, a dishonest steward ingratiates himself with his master's debtors by reducing their accounts. Upon realizing what had been done, the master commends the steward for acting shrewdly. Jesus ends the parable by saying, "For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than the people of the light."