In Luke 16 we find an often quoted passage of scripture:
13 “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” (NKJV)
Mammon is a Greek transliteration of an Aramaic word meaning wealth. In this context, wealth could be bags of gold and silver coin, but it can also tradable goods such as jugs of olive oil, measures of wheat or barley, cakes of dried fig, or skins of wine.
This passage is often quoted in a sermon cautioning believers against getting caught up in the pursuit or wealth. In the prior twelve verses, Jesus tells a bizarre tale of someone who does just that.
The man in question is a steward for a wealthy man. The wealthy man could be a successful farmer or he could be a speculator: buying and selling tradable goods. The steward in question is a broker of those goods. Someone comes to the wealthy man with an accusation of incompetence against the steward. Jesus does not say what form that incompetence takes, but the text gives us some clues.
The wealthy man calls the steward in and says, “What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.” (vs 2) What he’s doing is calling for the bookkeeping, he wants to see for himself if the steward has been honest in his dealings.
The steward apparently has a little time before this audit, for he calls in his masters debtors and reduces their bills. What he’s doing is the source of some discussion, but why he’s doing it is made clear. He is being fired. The charge against him must be true and he expects to be tossed out into the street. He talks to himself and says, “I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg. 4 I have resolved what to do, “ (vs 3-4) and he devises a scheme of reducing the bills of his master’s debtors to garner favor with them so they will be disposed toward taking him in and caring for him when he’s tossed out of his current home, for he cannot labor and he is too proud to beg.
How he reduces these bills is not stated, but some deductive work explains it. There are three possibilities:
1) He’s stealing from his master by forgiving some actual debt.
This is least likely because after this is done his master commends him for his actions. If theft were involved, the master would be furious.
2) He’s forgiving interest that should not have been charged.
Under Levitical law, a Hebrew may charge interest on a debt from a foreigner, but not on a debt from a fellow Hebrew. If the steward had incorrectly forced Hebrew buyers to pay interest, then forgave that interest, the buyers would be relieved, but not disposed to grant the man favors when he’s tossed out for his unethical practices.
3) He’s forgiving his commission.
It was a common practice (then, as it is now) for brokers to be paid via commissions on their deals rather than with a salary or hourly wage. If this steward went to his master’s debtors and said, “Tell ya what I’m going to do: I like you and want to help you out, so I’m going to forgo my commission on this sale, adjust your bill thusly.” he would not be stealing from his master, and he would be earning good will from the debtors. I believe this is what he was doing. I also believe he was over-charging on his commissions and this was the charge brought against him.
Jesus said “8 So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.”
My dictionary defines shrewd as:
1. Having or showing a clever awareness or resourcefulness, especially in practical matters.
2. Disposed to or marked by artful and cunning practices; tricky.
I believe the second definition is being employed here. Jesus says mankind (sons of this world) are more shrewd that the heavenly beings (sons of light). This is not a compliment, and he continues:
9 “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail,[c] they may receive you into an everlasting home.” (the footnote [c] notes that some translations read, “when it fails” it being mammon.) What he’s saying is that if you think money will provide for you always, use it to make friends that will take you in when it fails you … because it will. Remember, we’re talking about believers here, not the world in general.
He now changes gears,
10 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)
In terms of the kingdom of God, wealth is a perk, something we may enjoy while here on earth, but it has no lasting value in the eternal sense. If we cannot handle our attitude about money, we will not handle our attitude about spiritual things (true riches) either. If we cannot manage a little money without becoming greedy, we will not handle a lot of money well either.
This brings us back to the passage I opened with, you cannot serve two masters. If you devote yourself to acquiring wealth, you will not pursue spiritual righteousness.
There were some Pharisees among his audience as Jesus preached this lesson. Pharisees were lovers of wealth and social status. They pursued these things and lorded them over others to the extent that Jesus often derided them for their unrighteousness. The Pharisees claimed to be most righteous of all for their finicky attention to the Law, and used their wealth as proof of Gods blessing, but in truth they served mammon and had no love for God at all.
These Pharisees took Jesus to task over his words. Jesus responded with, “…God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.” (vs 15)
Wealth and prestige may make people popular in the sight of man, but if the pursuit of those things has taken the place of God in a believers heart, it is an abomination in God’s sight. Jesus does not say that wealth is an abomination, but that the pursuit of wealth is. If a believer is devoted to God and serves Him faithfully, financial gain may be among his (or her) blessings – if he can handle it. A well-off believer is not necessarily a hypocrite. But if he is serving well, he will use that wealth in his service to God. If he uses his (apparent) belief in God to pursue wealth, then he is a hypocrite and an abomination before God.
