Sometimes you hear a story with such a schemingly devious ingenuity that, even though you know it is wrong, for a moment…just a moment, you say, “well done, guy; well done.” Such is the case with Australian electrician, Tom Colella. Over the last two years, Colella successfully ditched work to play golf over 140 times, using only a foil potato chip bag and a lot of deception!
I know. Some of you are shaking your heads, saying, “how terrible.” Others are asking, “how?…I just want to know for a friend!”
Well, Colella had a GPS tracking device he has to carry for his work. But when he put the device in a foil potato chip bag, it masked where he was. Then, he put information in the computer system that looked like he was completing his tasks.
Ok. Clever. But guess what? You can’t hide forever. And when they found out, Colella was fired.
I’m reminded of a manager in Luke 16. He cheats his master out of accounts receivable in order to ingratiate himself with future potential employers. Rather than a penalty, though, the master simply “praised the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly.” Yes, I said praised.
Don’t get me wrong. It doesn’t mean the servant was good or right or saved. He just did something clever.
So Jesus makes this point: “the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of light.” Did you catch that? He isn’t congratulating or encouraging sin. Jesus simply wants His disciples to diligently manage spiritual things at least as well as people who are focused on worldly things!
That’s a tall order. The people of this world are constantly working to maximize profit, meet customer demands, and exceed expectations. But, what if Christians were so interested in promoting the gospel that they tried as hard as worldly minded people do?
Christ isn’t looking for folks who want to get out of work with tin foil bags. But He is looking for a few folks who will use their brains and hearts for His glory! #goshrewd