By Larry Rosenbaum
Many of our Lord’s teachings were about giving. One of His most difficult parables, found in Luke 16, is known as the “Parable of the Unjust Steward.” This parable is sandwiched between two other stories about waste and riches: “the prodigal [wasteful] son” and “the rich man and Lazarus.” The steward was accused of wasting his master’s wealth and would soon be unemployed. He couldn’t dig and didn’t want to beg, so he decided to go to each of his lord’s debtors and reduce their debt. They would be so grateful to him that they would gladly take care of him when he was unemployed.
His lord commended him for his wisdom, “for the children of the world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.” Jesus added, “make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness that, when you fail [or it fails], they may receive you into everlasting habitations….If therefore you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? …. You cannot serve God and mammon.”
The “unjust steward” was wise in that, knowing his job would soon end, he planned for the future. Many of the “children of the world” save a lot of money for their retirement, which is the only “afterlife” they believe in. But the “children of light” often store up very few treasures in Heaven. We are to be “wise as serpents.” The people of this world act in their own best interest to prepare for their future (at least on this earth). But we Christians often fail to act in our own best interest by preparing for our eternal future.
Jesus said that we should use the “mammon of unrighteousness” [money or wealth] to make friends so that, when we die [or the money runs out], they [our friends] will welcome us into everlasting habitations [Heaven]. The New Testament does not teach that “10% of our money belongs to God and the rest belongs to us to use for selfish purposes.” It teaches we are a steward of all that we have. We should use as much as possible for things that matter in eternity.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told us to lay up treasures in Heaven. Here, He tells us to use our money to make friends who will welcome us into Heaven. How do we do this? We can use our wealth to support full‑time evangelists. We can go on mission trips. We can purchase gospel tracts. We can give away food and clothing to the poor, and share the gospel with them. We can reduce our work hours so we will have more time to preach the gospel. We can cut our expenses and use the extra money to further the gospel. In this parable, Jesus teaches us that those who are won to Christ through our giving will welcome us into Heaven. Those Christians we help in time of need will also welcome us into Heaven.
We all know about earthly treasures and the pleasure they sometimes give us. But what good are heavenly treasures? We have no personal experience to guide us, so we must trust Jesus. He says storing up treasures in Heaven will benefit us eternally.
Jesus taught that there will be degrees of punishment in Hell (Luke 12:47‑48). The concept of “heavenly treasures” suggests that there are also degrees of joy in Heaven. Having many people in Heaven who are grateful to us for the help we gave them on earth will somehow increase our eternal joy. These heavenly treasures are infinitely more to be desired than earthly treasures because they produce eternal joy, not temporary pleasure.
Daniel wrote “they that turn many to righteousness [shall shine] as the stars forever and ever” (Dan. 12:3). Peter wrote about an entrance being “ministered unto you abundantly” into Heaven (2 Peter 1:11). Many Christians will enter into Heaven with few or no rewards. Some will enter abundantly, with many eternal rewards.
Finally, Paul wrote that “those who preach the gospel should live of the gospel” [receive financial support] (1 Corin. 9). Then he [and I] must add: “I [haven’t] written these things, that it should be so done unto me.” There are ministries and churches that misuse God’s money and do not deserve our support. But there are also many excellent ministries that are doing much to spread the gospel.
God has made us stewards over the wealth He has entrusted us with. We need to be prayerful and wise in our giving. “If therefore you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?”