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Copyright © 2012 J. Neely. All rights reserved.
Chapter 30 - Unjust Steward
Luke 16:9
9 And I [kago] say [lego] unto you [humin] , Make [poieo] to yourselves [heautou] friends [philos] of [ek] the mammon [mammonas] of unrighteousness [adikia] ; that [hina] , when [hotan] ye fail [ekleipo] , they may receive [dechomai] you [humas] into [eis] everlasting [aionios] habitations [skene] . KJV-Interlinear
9 'And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the mammon of unrighteousness; that when it fails, they may receive you into the eternal dwellings. NASB
In creation there are only two opinions - that of God, which we have in the Word of God, and all other opinions collectively put together.
Mammon here is a reference to the physical or should I say, the non-spiritual world in which we live. So mammon refers to everything in our life.
As I have stated before, God has given each one of us three capital assets with which He expects us to invest during our life, for the benefit of our own life, both now and forever. Those three assets are - our volition, our time here on earth, and the Bible - (volition, time, doctrine). But we also have a fourth thing and that is our environment in which we will live out our life.
Our environment is our logistical support for sustaining our life while we live on this earth. When we began our life at birth, God gave us all time, or a life span. That life span will come to an end one day, for us all. Here in our passage it is called the time of our 'failing.'
'When it fails,' our life on earth, then we move on to the next phase of our life. That is the eternal life phase. For believers that life will be in heaven. For unbelievers (anyone who rejects Jesus Christ) then that next phase will be to the Lake of Fire.
Since we will only be on this earth for a few short decades perhaps, then we are to manage our life responsibly, and that is our passage here.
Eccl. 11:1-2
1 Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you will find it after many days. 2 Divide your portion to seven, or even to eight, for you do not know what misfortune may occur on the earth. NASB
1 Tim. 6:17
17 Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. NASB
We live in this world with unrighteous mammon. That is, we live in this world with things which cannot and will never save us. There is only one righteous mammon - the things of doctrine (the gospel and the entire content of Gods word). These are the things which will save and give us spiritual growth.
But everything in life - friends, job, land, investments, social life, hobbies, clothes, cars, alternate beliefs or philosophies, etc., etc., etc. None of these will ever save you. None of these will ever give you one second of spiritual growth.
Yet we are to live our lives within this environment of unrighteous mammon. That is our logistical support for this life, for our physical well being while we live on this earth.
Since, nothing of this world will carry us into eternity, then utilize whatever resources you have in this world, for the purpose of enhancing your eternal destiny. Be responsible, be charitable, be polite, of course, but utilize your time in this life by investing wisely your time, your decisions and the counsel which God has given us for our spiritual life - grow up spiritually.
We put together a spiritual check list some time ago, giving us a guideline for things we should be doing in our life. That check list is on the web site index age in the special studies section. You should read it again, and maybe even reprint it and put it up on your fridge.
It is the wisdom of the men of this world to manage their money such that they might have the benefit of it not for the present only, but perhaps forever (or so they hope). So they put it out to interest, buy real estate with it, put it into this or the other security fund and so forth. But no matter what a person has, be it pennies or billions, whatever it is that you accumulate in this life will be as nothing because at the moment of death, you are in effect bankrupt. You lose it all. That is the meaning of 'fails.' When it fails, when your life fails, when your assets fail and become no longer available to you, then you must look to something else to carry you into the next phase of life.
Therefore if you are responsible in life in your spiritual life just as you generally are or should be with the things that you have, then you will be well prepared for the next life. If however, you look to the things in this life and ignore the spiritual side (salvation), then you will have no friends to receive you because you will not be going where they are - heaven. In the Lake of Fire there will be no social life - none. That is an environment of total isolation, misery, pain, and suffering.
As this parable looks at salvation and the necessity for making the initial and responsible decision for salvation, so too we will study other parables which will teach the importance of making the right decisions during ones spiritual life and for growing up spiritually such that you will have even greater things in heaven.
Utilize the things of this life responsibly (support your own livelihood, Bible Study and spiritual growth) and unselfishly (be willing to help others), for at the end of your life, you will forfeit them (the earthly things) all anyway. Look into the Word of God as you would a mirror and evaluate yourself. Correct your life accordingly and follow the life plan which God has designed for you.
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