I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. 10 The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones. 11 If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? 12 If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours? 13 No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”
14 The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all these things and sneered at him. 15 And he said to them, “You justify yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts; for what is of human esteem is an abomination in the sight of God.
Jesus continues his teaching on stewardship and judgment with direct words about wealth and loyalty. He speaks of “dishonest wealth” and “true wealth,” of trustworthiness in small matters, and of the impossibility of serving two masters (vv. 9-13). When the Pharisees mock him, he answers that God reads the heart beyond human esteem (vv. 14-15).
“Make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth” (v. 9) does not mean to gain friends by corruption. In Scripture, “mammon” means earthly wealth; here “dishonest wealth” names money as it functions in a fallen world—limited, passing, and easily misused. Jesus commands disciples to use it now for merciful purposes, so that when it fails—as all money finally does—there is a welcome “into eternal dwellings.” Earthly wealth is temporary; deeds of mercy bear eternal fruit.
Trustworthiness in small matters reveals the heart’s direction (v. 10). Little habits disclose big loyalties. If a person bends truth in what is small, greater responsibilities will suffer the same lack of integrity.
Jesus contrasts “dishonest wealth” with “true wealth” (v. 11). If we are not faithful with passing money that belongs ultimately to another, how can God entrust us with the lasting riches of his kingdom—grace, wisdom, and responsibility for souls (vv. 11-12)? Stewardship begins with what is least and trains the heart for what is greatest.
“No servant can serve two masters” (v. 13) makes the issue plain. Wealth is a tool, not a lord. Love for God and devotion to money pull the will in opposite directions. The heart cannot divide its supreme loyalty; it will love one and despise the other. Jesus, therefore, names the choice: You cannot serve God and mammon.
Luke notes that the Pharisees “loved money” and sneered at Jesus (v. 14). Their mockery does not unsettle him. He replies that self-justification before others means nothing when God knows the heart (v. 15). What draws praise on earth can be an abomination before God when it rests on pride, exploitation, or misplaced trust.
Jesus calls us to handle money with clear-eyed faith. Use it to do good. Be faithful in small trusts. Give your loyalty to God. He reads the heart—and he entrusts true riches to those whose hearts are his.
Lord Jesus, free my heart from divided loves. Teach me to be faithful in little things, generous with what I manage, and loyal to you alone. Amen.
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Sources and References:
- The Holy Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition (2011).
- Bernard Orchard et al., A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture (1953).
- Faculty of the University of Navarre, The Navarre Bible: Luke (2008).
- José Enrique Aguilar Chiu et al., eds., The Paulist Biblical Commentary (2018), Luke 16:9-15.
- Raymond E. Brown et al., eds., The New Jerome Biblical Commentary (1990), Luke.
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