Lazarus and the Rich Man

Today I read Luke 16 which starts out with the story of the unjust steward. I have to admit I do not understand it in the least. The way I read it, the unjust steward is called into account by his lord and is about to be put out so the steward goes to the debtors who owe his lord money and starts forgiving parts of the debt. The lord then commends him for his wise decisions. I'll freely admit I don't understand it at all. The moral that Jesus is trying to get across is found in verse 10 which says that "He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust int he least is unjust also in much."

That part makes sense to me. Typically, someone who makes a mess over a little thing is going to botch a big thing as well. Whereas someone who is put in charge over something small and they handle it well is most likely going to do a good job over a large thing also. The point the Savior is trying to make is similar to the parable of the talents. When we are faithful over a few things and have proved our trustworthiness, the Lord will trust us over many things. But when we fail at the little things, where is the incentive to give us more responsibility? We have to prove our trustworthiness to those around us, including the Lord, before we will be given responsibilities. It's no different than proving ourselves to our parents here on earth. Our parents are not going to just buy us a brand new car because we turned 16 years old, or they shouldn't. They need to first see how we will treat their cars and how will we behave without them around to remind us of what we should be doing. Only after we have proved ourselves should the reward come. Sadly, some parents don't understand this point and so their children never learn responsibility and become a sore spot in society. What's even worse is that some parents never realize their mistake at all.

The end of this chapter contains the story of Lazarus and the rich man, which is a stroke of genius to me and I must admit I laughed out loud today when I read the last verse as Jesus rubs their collective noses in it. The story is that there is a rich man who outside of his home is a beggar named Lazarus. It is not implicitly states although it is heavily implied that the rich man is well aware of Lazarus and ignores him the whole of his life. As the story goes, both Lazarus and the rich man die and receive their reward according to their performance in life. Lazarus is received into heaven into Abraham's bosom where he is comforted. The rich man also receives a reward according to his deeds in life, he is sent to a fiery torment in hell. The rich man is able to see Lazarus in heaven and begs Abraham to allow Lazarus to just dip his fingers in water and allow it to drip onto the rich man's tongue so that he can have even a brief respite from his torment. Abraham replies that there is a gulf that cannot be crossed and so his request cannot be granted. Finally, the rich man begins to think of others. He asks Abraham for permission for Lazarus to go to his household and warn his 5 brothers so that they may escape his fate. Abraham replies that they have the scriptures before them and it is enough. The rich man replies that they will not believe the scriptures but if Lazarus appears to them they will believe. Abraham replies that if they do not believe the scriptures, then they will not believe even if one were to rise from the dead.

This story is being told to the Pharisees and as I said I laughed out loud at that last prophetic part. Jesus has been trying, literally for years, at this point to convince the Pharisees and other Jews that He is the prophesied Messiah and most of them do not believe Him. And they continue to not believe in Him after He rises from the dead. But looking past the obvious explanation of this story, there is more to it that we can internalize for ourselves. I once heard a talk where the General Authority mentioned that when the Holy Ghost communes directly with our spirit it has a more lasting and permanent affect than anything else. It was probably Elder Neal A. Maxwell but I am not positive. I bring this up because I believe that if we do not accept the word of God and repent of our sins of our own volition because of the testimonies of the prophets and those that have gone before us, then we would not stay true and faithful despite seeing an angel or some other miraculous visitation. Like Scrooge in Charles Dickens "Christmas Carol" who after seeing Jacob Marley, his dead former partner, tries to convince himself he didn't actually see the ghost of Marley but something else entirely, the novelty of seeing an angel would eventually wear off and we would return to our old ways.

Now you are probably thinking to yourself, what about Saul of Tarsus or Alma the Younger? Well, you have to remember that Saul was already a devout member of the church and he was doing what he believed God wanted him to do. So when he learned that he was on the wrong side, it was a simple thing for him to transfer all that zeal and energy to the right cause. As for Alma the Younger, remember that the angel did not appear to call him to repentance, he came to answer the prayers of his father, Alma the Elder, that Alma might know of the power of God. That is all. Alma made the choice to recognize the truth and gain a testimony on his own. I'm sure there are other examples in the scriptures and otherwise, but these will suffice. If we do not make the choice on our own to be converted when we feel the Spirit testifying to us, then we will not hold steady to the course and will eventually fall away, no matter how miraculous our conversion was. The early history of the church is full of such examples. As Paul tells the saints in Phillipe, we must work out our own conversion, with fear and trembling before the Lord. We can't rely on miracles to convert us. Miracles confirm faith, they do not create it. If we remember that, then we will be just fine and will not fall away. Until tomorrow.