• Luke 16:9 “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.
  10 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.
  11 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?”
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The first time I ever spoke on money at a church, the pastor had specifically asked me to do so. After a couple of services, though, some of the pastor’s people came to the preacher upset. They believed such messages a waste of time, and that somehow preaching on money was sinful; that money itself was sinful. 

Some Christians do not enjoy talking about wealth because they have a negative attitude towards it. Other believers do not give much to God’s work and His ministers because they think the money will corrupt God’s preachers. “We need to keep them poor so that they can stay holy.” “Our church is not going to financially support the Alberico’s on a monthly basis because it will mess them up spiritually.” There are people who think the Bible proclaims that “Money is the root of all evil.” However, money itself is not the issue. I Timothy 6:10 states “The love of money is the root of all evil.” It all comes down to this, “Does your money control you, or do you control your money?” If money controls you, then yes, you have a problem. However, if you control your money wisely, then God will be pleased. 

In our text, Luke 16, Jesus instructs His disciples in the area of finances. Jesus uses the phrase “unrighteous mammon” to denote this world’s temporary treasures. Mammon refers to wealth. The “true riches” are those of heaven. Jesus then urged His followers to actually make friends with the “mammon of unrighteousness.” But please understand that Jesus wasn’t encouraging His disciples to sin. Jesus was teaching us that being faithful in the least of things (your money) proves to God that you can be faithful in the true riches. 

You see, wealth and money has glory. Riches are in wisdom’s grasp (Prov. 3:16). Riches and wealth are promised to be in the house of those that fear and obey God (Ps. 112:1, 3). The important thing is for each believer to turn the “unrighteous mammon” into the true riches.