How are we to understand Make to yourselves friends of the Mammon of unrighteousness

The speaker discusses a passage from the Bible about making friends with worldly wealth. They explain that Jesus is not encouraging evil, but rather teaching believers to learn from non-believers in order to further God's kingdom. By using their resources for good and helping others, believers can lay a foundation for themselves in heaven. The speaker emphasizes the importance of being responsible stewards of the grace and gifts given by God. In conclusion, the parable teaches that believers are stewards of God's resources, should be foresighted, and will be rewarded in the afterlife for using their resources faithfully. Welcome to our weekly exaltation. Thank you for joining me. Thank you for your time. I know you are there, and thank you so much for waiting. My name is Gila Milo, Servant of God, Servant of Jesus Christ. How are we to understand this declaration of Jesus, who says, Make yourselves friends of mammon of unrighteousness. In Matthew chapter 6 verse 24, it is written, You cannot serve God and mammon. Mammon in the New Testament is material wealth, which is personified as the deity to which men are likely to dedicate their lives. Mammon refers to wealth seen as the basis of happiness or as the only thing necessary in this present century. The love of mammon and its worship corresponds in the Old Testament to the worship of the golden calf, which is a symbol of idolatry. If friendship of the world is enmity with God, if the love of money or the love of mammon corresponds to the cult of the golden calf, and that it is a host of all kinds of evil, why then our Lord Jesus is telling his disciples to make to themselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness? Is Jesus encouraging evil? How are we then to understand this statement? Praise the Lord! You know, we live in a corrupt world in which the sources of value are running out. It is a world where many of the successful have acquired possessions in dishonest ways. They live on cheating. They live on financial trickery. They build up their assets by breaching the trust of those who employ them. Doesn't Solomon say this? Wealth obtained by fraud dwindles? Proverbs 13 verse 11. But unexpectedly, the Lord Jesus surprised many of his disciples when he complimented an unfaithful steward who used his master's possessions for his own accounts. Let's look at this story. It is found in Luke chapter 16 verse 1 to 13. Please let me tell it in my own words. This will save our time. I hope you will read it yourself. In this story, there was a master who entrusted his domain and all his assets to his manager. Seriously, this manager enjoyed a great deal of autonomy. He had the authority to conclude contracts by signing them himself even when his master was away. One day, the manager was suspected of dissipating his master's possessions. The master then announced to him that he would be removed from office and caused him to report on his stewardship of all his significant duties. This announcement was very devastating for him. Not knowing what to do, he reflected on his condition for a long time and therefore set up a plan to ensure his future. He understood that he would soon be left to himself and that he would have to act quickly if he wanted to get out of trouble. So this is what he did. He called the debtors of his master and offered to modify in their favor the documents relating to their debts. It is obvious that this action will reduce the amount of their debts. In other words, the manager simply canceled the interest that was included in their debts. By doing so, he hoped to make friends quickly. They could have compassion on him the day he found himself without a job. So when Jesus saw this, he complimented the manager saying, Wow, you children of this world are more wise toward one another than are people of my kingdom. This is my own interpretation, just so you know. So this was, in short, what the parable dealt with. We know what the manager did was dishonest. We call it robbery. He violated the trust of his master. Solomon says God detests dishonest squirrels. So why was Jesus complimenting him? How are we to understand the declaration of Jesus? He says, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness, that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitation. Luke 16, verse 9. Music Friend, let's keep in mind that the group of words, the mammon of unrighteousness, refers to money or the goods of this world. Now, we saw this. The unfaithful steward used his condition to respond generously to help and thus make friends in the world. He took some appropriate decisions and implemented them. Remember, he cancelled the debts of his master's debtors in order to win their sympathy when he would be unemployed. Thus, he was able to face with intelligence an unknown future. In fact, Jesus meant by this declaration that non-Christians often show greater foresight about their future here on earth and in this sense, they are wiser in the conduct of their earthly affairs than are the children of light. At this point, it is essential to clearly see the point of comparison. Contrary to what the manager did, the believer must constantly remember that his future is not on earth but in heaven and should act accordingly. The children of light can make friends in heaven by doing good work for God with their money. The children of God can use material resources as a way to further the kingdom of God so that when it is run out, when they don't have any more possibility, they will welcome them into the eternal habitations. Praise the Lord. In this parable, Jesus is calling believers to learn the tactics from non-believers to further his kingdom. This explains the reason why Jesus complimented the unjust world. He says, For the children of this world are more wise toward their fellows than are the children of light. Jesus did so not for his misdeed but because he had acted wisely by preparing for his future unemployment. That is why Jesus complimented this manager. What does this mean to us Christians? Well, when we act for good of the others, we lay foundation for ourselves in heaven because our good works will be counted there as a heavenly treasure. Jesus had already said this. He says, Do not store up for yourself material treasure on earth, where moth and rats destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourself treasure in heaven where neither moth nor rat destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. Matthew chapter 6 verse 19 to 20. In the particular case of our parable, the steward was responsible for running what appeared to be a commercial enterprise. Every Christian is in this respect a steward of eternal life of which he is responsible. He is responsible of eternal life of the grace God has given us. So his role begins right now here on earth where God wants us to be responsible of the grace he gave us. The Apostle Peter deals with the same subject in a passage where he asks each disciple to be a good steward of what he calls manifold grace of God. He writes, As every man hath received gifts, even so minister the same one to another as good steward of the manifold grace of God. First Peter chapter 4 verse 10 to 11. Friend, the gift that each disciple of Christ receives was not made to be used only as we can please. It engenders responsibility, that of putting it at the service of God. Praise the Lord. In conclusion, let us summarize the teaching of this parable with the following three points. 1. Each disciple is a steward of the resources God has given him. 2. From now on, the disciple has to be foresighted because he will have to render accounts on the management of these resources on the day of judgment. 3. If the disciple uses them faithfully here below for the glory of God, he will be rewarded with the unperishable treasure in the life to come. This is the end of today's message. I hope you enjoyed it. I would like to see you again next week, God willing. Abundant blessing. Shalom.