Use Worldly Wealth to Gain Friends
Now is the time to work hard and be shrewd to make friends with worldly wealth for the sake of the Kingdom of God!
LUKE 16:1-15
1 Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. 2 So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’
3 “The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg— 4 I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’
5 “So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 “‘Nine hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied. “The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.’ 7 “Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’ “‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied. “He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’
8 “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. 9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.
10 “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 12 And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?
13 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” 14 The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. 15 He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.”
SUMMARY OF JESUS’ PARABLE & TEACHING ON MONEY
- Christians are going to give an account to Jesus for what we did with the resources He has given us (v. 2).
- God will reward those who are motivated to be shrewd and generous at the same time (v. 8).
- Disciples of Christ should be more motivated to make friends with money for the Kingdom of God sake than greedy people are to spend it on their lusts (vs. 8-9).
- Being successful with worldly riches is a test to see how much “true riches” we will be able to manage in the Kingdom of God (vs. 11-12).
- God is the master over our money, money is not the master of our spiritual lives (v. 13).
- When we value God’s Kingdom over our desires, we win both here on earth and in the age to come (v. 15).
CAUTION BEFOR PROCEEDING
- Never love money.
- Don’t determine people’s value (including yours) based on the amount of money they have.
- Always be content with where you are on your journey (Philippians 4:12).
- Don’t be jealous of what others have compared to you.
- Always be thankful for what you have.
- Live generous.
- Help others succeed.
BIBLICAL MOTIVATION TO GAIN WEALTH FOR GOD’S KINGDOM
- Deuteronomy 8:17-18, “17 You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” 18 But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.”
- Psalms 112:1-3, “1 Praise the Lord. Blessed are those who fear the Lord, who find great delight in his commands. 2 Their children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. 3 Wealth and riches are in their houses, and their righteousness endures forever.”
- Proverbs 10:22, “The blessing of the Lord brings wealth, without painful toil for it.”
- Proverbs 13:22, “A good person leaves an inheritance for their children’s children, but a sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous.”
- Matthew 6:33, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
- Mark 10:29-31, “29 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30 will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
- 2 Corinthians 8:9, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.”
- 1 Timothy 6:17-19, “17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.”
Do you want to be blessed to be a blessing?