WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO MAKE FRIENDS WITH UNRIGHTEOUS MAMMON?
By Ezekiel Kimosop
Jesus said in Luke 16:9: "And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home" (NKJV).
This statement by Jesus lies in the concluding section of the Parable of the Unjust Steward in Luke 16:1-13. The parable was part of a number of kingdom parables that Jesus taught in Luke 14-16; including the parable of the Great Supper (14:15-24); the Lost Sheep (15:1-7); the Lost Coin (15:8-10); the Lost Son (15:11-32) and the Rich Man and Lazarus (16:19-31). These parables are centered on outlining kingdom principles for moral application by God's people.
In the parable of the Unjust Steward, Jesus made a satirical statement to describe the foolishness of the unjust steward in attempting to mischievously make the best out of a bad situation. The unjust steward had been asked by his master to account for his stewardship. Instead, he devised a crafty way to inflict maximum financial hemorrhage on his master's resources in an attempt to please the master's debtors and gain their favor when he finally gets fired.
What did Jesus mean by the statement in Luke 16:9?
Jesus used the parable of the Unjust Steward to warn his hearers [and us] that evil actions have eternal consequences. No matter how meticulously crafted, no evil scheme will be concealed from the eyes of our holy and righteous God. The wicked will ultimately be punished by God.
The unjust steward may have forfeited a golden opportunity for owning up to his misdeeds and seeking forgiveness from His master. He could perhaps have made restitution for some of the losses (v.1-2). Instead, he chose the highway. He possibly imagined that His master would buy into the deception scheme that he coined out when he finally approaches the debtors. He was utterly mistaken. We serve an all knowing God.
The statement in v.9 serves to condemn the application of skills, talents, and resources that God has vested in us for evil or ungodly purposes. This is what Samson did in wasting God's talents on worldly riot before he was captured and humiliated by the Philistines! (Judges 13-16). God will demand an account of how we have invested these stewardship endowments (1 Corinthians 3:10-15). Notice the implication of Jesus' statement in Luke 16:10-12 which says "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. 11 Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own?" (NKJV).
This statement implies that stewardship is both measurable and accountable. There is a correlation between consistent godly stewardship and the elevation of divine investiture by God. Those who substantially fail God's divine standards will have demonstrated their innate desire for deception in this evil world. Faithful stewardship must be proven by the consistent application of the moral principles of God's word in our service to God and society.
The word "Mammon" is an Aramaic term that was metaphorically employed by Jesus in this context to refer to wealth or material riches that can become a false master, competing with God for human devotion and loyalty. It is a representation of naked idolatry - the devotion to the corruption and greed of this passing evil world that does not offer any assurance of hope in God. It is what captivates the ungodly love for money and worldly riches by which some have "pierced themselves with many sorrows" (1 Timothy 6:6-10). It is a cul-de-sac for those who fall into its evil tentacles unless peradventure they break from its chains and turn to God.
The reaction of the Pharisees in Luke 16:14-15 is instructive of the captivation of the spirit of Mammon even among the religious class of Jesus' day. The writer of Scripture reports that the Pharisees derided Him. They were cut to the heart by Jesus' admonition! Jesus' reply to the Pharisees is compelling: "You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God." (NKJV). Jesus minced no words.
Jesus' statement should ring a bell in our contemporary society where the pursuit of quick riches by whatever means is a life consuming preoccupation for millions of people. A flashy lifestyle lies at the apex of daily pursuits. It is the nirvana of a liberal materialistic society in which religious moderation is construed as a foreign intrusion.
In short, Jesus is warning that we should seek to please God in whatever we do, being conscious of His divine superintendence and knowing that we shall give an account before Him at God's appointed time. Our stewardship should lie in godly deportment and should consistently stand out even without close supervision. The unjust steward abused his stewardship mandate with gross impunity. He never imagined that he would be called to account for it at some point in time. He was sorely mistaken. Those who serve God in whatever capacity in ministry are stewards of God's grace (1 Corinthians 4:1-2).
On a broader theologically inference, we can attest that our stewardship mandate cascades beyond the confines of church ministry platforms. It is informed by the view that God is the ultimate source of all the earth's resources. Psalm 24:1-2 says "The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein." (NKJV). Psalm 50:10 adds "For every beast of the forest is Mine, And the cattle on a thousand hills." (NKJV). These two texts of Scripture read together with other relevant texts and passages of Scripture assert one powerful theological truth - that the resources at our disposal under the sun, including our lives, possessions, earnings, property, and financial investments are primarily from God. They should therefore be handled and applied with godly stewardship and prudence.
The story is told of a millionaire who used to make spot by throwing some banknotes into a crowded street in the suburbs of his city. He would watch with glee from his car window as the poor scrambled for it. He would then drive away in his top of the range limousine, oblivious of their pain and struggle. The man should perhaps have invested his millions in a charitable foundation that would target the economic advancement of the disadvantaged in his society of context.
The parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus reveals that the Rich Man failed this moral test as well (Luke 16:19-31). He looked the other way as poor and sickly Lazarus was daily laid at his gate, oblivious of his suffering until it was too little too late. One theologian, George H. Morrison, identifies the irony of two men separated by no more than twenty yards between them, yet they appear to be divided by a sea! [1]
We should should faithfully apply the skills, talents, and resources at our disposal in a manner that pleases God because we are ultimately accountable to God. Nothing can be concealed from God's divine omniscience. Choices have consequences.
Here is the million dollar question: How is your stewardship?
Jeremiah 17:9 proclaims "The heart is deceitful above all things,
And desperately wicked;
Who can know it?
10 I, the Lord, search the heart,
I test the mind,
Even to give every man according to his ways,
According to the fruit of his doings." (NKJV).
Shalom
REFERENCES
[1] George H Morrison, Morrison on Mark (Ridgefield, New Jersey: AMG Publishers, 1977.
© Ezekiel Kimosop 2025
