There's a very interesting verse in the Gospel of Luke (Luke 16:9, found in the context of a parable that reads in Luke 16:1-13) in which Jesus says to make friends for yourselves using unrighteous mammon (a word we often translate as wealth), so that when it fails, those same friends will receive you into the eternal dwellings.
One of my favorite questions is "What does this mean?", and you can truly ask that about this story and saying. It almost sounds like Jesus is saying that we should use our money to make people become our friends, and that they will then welcome us into the eternal kingdom. If you take that at face value, it almost sounds like everyone gets to be there, and you are welcomed because you used your wealth to make friends with them.
This is one of those instances where we should not take an individual verse out of the overall context of the surrounding story or parts. In fact, we actually don't get to the full meaning of this whole story until we reach the very end, where Jesus sums up what He is saying. This story concludes with the somewhat well-known saying, you cannot serve two masters. You cannot serve God and money.
That helps to give a bit of an idea about why Jesus would say to use wealth (mammon) to gain friends. In the end, you are either going to serve your wealth, or your wealth will serve you. Since we are a people who are bought by the blood of Jesus, He rightfully is the one that we serve. There is no room to serve Jesus, and also to base our life on what all we can get or buy.
Since that is the case, what is the proper use of wealth (mammon)? It serves us. It helps us to get what is needed to sustain our lives. However, God often gives more than what is needed for the basic necessities of life. So what do we do with what's left? That's when Jesus tells us that we would be shrewd to make use of it in the spread of the Gospel message. Our wealth becomes a means of connecting with our communities, and bringing Christ into those connections. Our wealth serves the Gospel, and as God works through those connections, He draws people to Himself by His Spirit.
That's when we see the full meaning of this story and verse. When our wealth serves God, God's Spirit often will create faith in the hearts of those whom we call friends. As that Gospel message takes root in them, they receive God's grace in Jesus. Our wealth has then served the Gospel in bringing them into the eternal kingdom, where they will give thanks for our wise and shrewd use of our wealth in seeing to their eternal life.
We simply cannot serve both God and our wealth. So why not turn the tables on our wealth and see that it serves a greater purpose, that of the Gospel message and eternal life?
One of my favorite questions is "What does this mean?", and you can truly ask that about this story and saying. It almost sounds like Jesus is saying that we should use our money to make people become our friends, and that they will then welcome us into the eternal kingdom. If you take that at face value, it almost sounds like everyone gets to be there, and you are welcomed because you used your wealth to make friends with them.
This is one of those instances where we should not take an individual verse out of the overall context of the surrounding story or parts. In fact, we actually don't get to the full meaning of this whole story until we reach the very end, where Jesus sums up what He is saying. This story concludes with the somewhat well-known saying, you cannot serve two masters. You cannot serve God and money.
That helps to give a bit of an idea about why Jesus would say to use wealth (mammon) to gain friends. In the end, you are either going to serve your wealth, or your wealth will serve you. Since we are a people who are bought by the blood of Jesus, He rightfully is the one that we serve. There is no room to serve Jesus, and also to base our life on what all we can get or buy.
Since that is the case, what is the proper use of wealth (mammon)? It serves us. It helps us to get what is needed to sustain our lives. However, God often gives more than what is needed for the basic necessities of life. So what do we do with what's left? That's when Jesus tells us that we would be shrewd to make use of it in the spread of the Gospel message. Our wealth becomes a means of connecting with our communities, and bringing Christ into those connections. Our wealth serves the Gospel, and as God works through those connections, He draws people to Himself by His Spirit.
That's when we see the full meaning of this story and verse. When our wealth serves God, God's Spirit often will create faith in the hearts of those whom we call friends. As that Gospel message takes root in them, they receive God's grace in Jesus. Our wealth has then served the Gospel in bringing them into the eternal kingdom, where they will give thanks for our wise and shrewd use of our wealth in seeing to their eternal life.
We simply cannot serve both God and our wealth. So why not turn the tables on our wealth and see that it serves a greater purpose, that of the Gospel message and eternal life?
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