God is promising great returns (30, 60 & 100 fold) when we invest our wealth in justice, righteousness and mercy for the benefit of those in need.Ģ) Unbelievers (sons of this world) are far more shrewd at investing their wealth & ours (when we are ignorant to or ambivalent of their schemes) for their evil purposes. Jesus wants us to wake up and be alert so that our wealth is always used for good purposes. Every material thing in our world will be used to advance some good or evil purpose. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? Luke 16.Grant Abbott Child of Father, Follower of Son, Student of Spirit I believe Jesus is illustrating two important principles in how we manage in this world the wealth that God has entrusted to us:ġ) the wealth entrusted to us will be used for "good" or "evil" purposes. He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Place your ALL at God’s disposal, make “friends” with what God has given you, and you will CERTAINLY see this promise of Jesus being fulfilled in your life: However, the good that was done to the “friends,” the value given to eternal life, and the effort to maintain it, by forsaking riches for personal enjoyment, will give the Faithful Steward the right to dwell in an Everlasting Home! Hallelujah!!! For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. After all, how do riches benefit us after death? THEY DON’T! We do not take ANYTHING with us!ĭo not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. When does this happen? When a person dies. What is the greatest good we can do for someone? Help the person know the Lord Jesus and become a steward of the Work of God and, by doing this, offering more and more options for the lost to be found and find the Good Treasure – Salvation!Īlso, in the same verse, it mentions a moment when riches will fail. Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.Ĭontinuing with verse 9, we see that the Lord Jesus says we should use every financial resource to make “friends” or to do good to someone. Usually, riches are conquered to the detriment of the less fortunate, as described in James 5.4. Unfair wealth, in context, regards the way people become rich in this world: Causing others to get poor. So the Lord Jesus commands us to make “friends” with unrighteous riches. In verse 9, we find the fundamental teaching, which is produced by this parable, though many read it and do not understand:Īnd I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home. But he wanted to ensure that his life, here in the world, remained safe and comfortable by making those rich men his “friends.” By doing so, he did not take anything from his boss. The truth is, he charged them more than they owed, and kept the profit. In this parable, the unjust steward, knowing that he would be fired, uses his authority to manipulate debts between the debtors and his master, and “adjusts” the debts for less, thinking of obtaining favor from them once he becomes unemployed. The title says it all: Parable of the Unjust Steward, this is, against everything that is taught in Scripture, which is based on Justice. In Luke 16.1-8, we find one of the most difficult parables to understand, because it seems to allude to the manipulation of authority for self-benefit.
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