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Luke 16:1

And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods.

2

And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.

3

Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot ° dig; to beg I am ashamed.

4

I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.

5

So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord?

6

And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty.

7

Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore.

8

And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.

9

And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.

Luke 16:8

16:8 wisely. It is obvious that the Lord’s commendation of the unjust steward was not for his dishonesty but for his practical wisdom in using his personal means to provide for his earthly future. As Jesus said, it is commonly true that men of this world exhibit more acumen in such matters than Christians do.

Luke 16:9

16:9 mammon of unrighteousness. Mammon was an Aramaic term meaning “wealth” or “money.” As “the love of money is the root of all evil” (I Timothy 6:10), mammon can easily become “the mammon of unrighteousness.” As the Lord says (Luke 16:13): “Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” Nevertheless, He exhorts the “children of light” to make friends with this mammon of unrighteousness. That is, we should use it for spiritual purposes that will make eternal friends.

Luke 16:9

16:9 everlasting habitations. As the unjust steward was using mammon to assure his own future earthly habitation, so the believer can use whatever wealth (or other gifts he may have) to win others to forgiveness in Christ. Then, when his own life “fails,” he will find many friends waiting for him in “everlasting habitations” in heaven.

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