He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. 2 And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ 3 And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. 4 I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ 5 So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 He said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ 7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ 8 The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. 9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.

Luke 16:1-9

The proper use of money will buy friends for the long haul, that is, forever. Every day, in the business and political worlds, people use money to buy friends. Maybe it would be better stated as buying favor rather than friends. There is a constant quid-pro-quo going on. It produces conflicts of interest and thus unethical practices, whether in politics (getting money from constituents to get reelected) or business (to gain advantage over my competition). These practices are at least part of why Jesus refers to “unrighteous mammon.” These practices are not what I am referring to when I refer to the “proper” use of money.

When the rich man commended his unrighteous manager, he wasn’t commending his stealing from his employer, but the shrewdness with which he took steps to look out for himself after he would no longer be employed. He was selfishly taking care of his own future. This dishonest manager was ingratiating himself with his employer’s debtors by reducing their debt by fiat. He was putting them in his debt so they would owe him a return of the favor in the future.

Jesus tells us, as commentary on his parable, to “make” friends by way of unrighteous mammon. I don’t think it is a stretch to say he was telling us to buy friends with our money. Jesus, however, was not referring to creating a quid-pro-quo. The benefit to the one who uses mammon properly is a gracious reception into the eternal dwellings. The reward for the proper use of mammon is not primarily received in this life.

Note the phrase “when it fails.” When what fails? There are two translations of this phrase that affect the meaning of the phrase. One is “when it fails,” and the other is “when you fail.” In one case, it would mean mammon fails; in the other, it means when you fail or die. In each case, mammon no longer has value.

The other important phrase in this section is “they may receive you.” When you die and enter heaven, someone will receive you. Who will that be?

The worldly use of mammon is for our own personal benefit, whether it is used to manipulate things for business purposes or political purposes. Unrighteous mammon is used for selfish advantage.

And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.

Luke 16:9

We are instructed to “make friends” through the use of “unrighteous wealth (or mammon).” I believe this is accomplished through the charitable sharing of the wealth with which we have been entrusted. Jesus emphasized the principle when he instructed us to share with those who cannot repay us.

 He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. 13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”

Luke 14:12-14

Our parable refers to being received “into the eternal dwellings.” I believe this refers to the same thing. Like 14 refers to when “you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” This is stewardship with the long view, which is the eternal view of life. Jesus also referred to this principle when he taught us to lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven. This is how we do it. We are to use the wealth God has given to us to express the love of God for others rather than for selfish gain. I don’t mean to say Jesus requires all of us to sell all of our possessions and give them to the poor. He has led some people in history to do that, but it is not a universal requirement for disciples of Jesus. We are to steward our wealth to care for ourselves and our families as well as to care for others charitably.

There is temporal reward now when we steward in this manner (Proverbs 11:25, 14:21, 31,19:17, 22:9, 28;27). The greater reward is at the resurrection of the just.

Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord,
    and he will repay him for his deed.

Proverbs 19:17

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

2 “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you…”

Matthew 6:1-2

Jesus interprets the meaning of this parable in the following three verses:

“One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. 11 If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? 13 No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

Lukee 16:10-13

No topic is more applicable than money. We all need some. The question is, “Whose is it?” Does it belong to me, or does it belong to God? How I answer that question will determine how I handle the money that winds up in my hands. Will it be used for selfish purposes, or will it be used to glorify the true owner? How do you go about making decisions about using the wealth in your hands, whether little or a lot?