“I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.” - Luke 16:9
We don’t usually realize how subversive Jesus is! His thoughts on money are no exception. When he gets down to the punch-line in his Shrewd Manager Parable, he delivers the moral left-hook: “I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings” (Luke 16:9). Interpretation: generously invest in people because they are the eternal treasure.
Jesus finishes his sermon on this topic by exposing how wide the chasm is between our mindset and God’s, “What people value highly (the pursuit of wealth) is detestable in God’s sight” (v.15). Jesus isn’t turning the world upside down; it already is upside down. He is turning it right-side up. What does it look like to live as though people are the treasure, not money? God is inviting us to participate in the world as he sees it. His kingdom is one of self-giving. We don’t hoard our resources for ourselves; we use them to love others. That’s light-years away from our Western individualism, materialism, or “responsible” budgeting. Wealth is a currency we “spend” to invest in the timeless commodity in people. Generous living may include loving others by giving good gifts, lavish hospitality, helping someone with unexpected expenses, or helping fund a young person’s education.
I’m not suggesting we don’t budget or manage money wisely. Jesus is trying to shock us out of fear and self-interest and back into alignment. “Mammon” or materialism, more than anything else, can so easily take first fiddle. “You cannot serve both God and money” (v.14). Money is an indicator not only of who I trust but also of who I love. Is my anxiety about money really my lack of trust in God? Does the fact that I steward and spend money only on myself expose self-love?
In God’s kingdom, people will long outlast the pursuits we thought were valuable. In God’s kingdom, we use money to serve others, not only to benefit ourselves. God’s children are his eternal savings accounts that we are investing in. Use money to develop people into the fullness of the treasure God sees in them. That’s a radical shift from Mammon’s kingdom to God’s kingdom.
Tags: money, value, jesus, give, generosity, budget, hospitality, invest, steward, mammon, shrewd, commodity, stingy
