Making Friends Through Worldly Wealth

True Riches and the Right Use of Wealth

1. Our duty is to share with others the guidance we ourselves have received. The recent Gospel lesson has instructed us to "make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into eternal dwellings" (Luke 16:9). But who are these people who have eternal dwellings if not God's saints? And who will be welcomed by them into eternal dwellings if not those who meet their needs and cheerfully provide for their necessities?

Let's remember that in the final judgment, the Lord will say to those standing at His right hand, "I was hungry and you gave Me food" (Matthew 25:35), and the rest that you know. When they ask when they provided these services to Him, He will answer, "When you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me" (Matthew 25:40). These "least ones" are those who will welcome others into eternal dwellings. This is what He'll say to those on His right because they acted this way. To those on His left, He'll say the opposite because they failed to act.

But what have those on the right, who acted properly, received—or rather, what will they receive? "Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave Me food... When you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me" (Matthew 25:34-35, 40).

Who, then, are these "least ones" of Christ? They're those who have left all they had, followed Him, and distributed their possessions to the poor. Unburdened and free from worldly attachments, they serve God with shoulders unencumbered by the world's burdens, rising up as if on wings. These are the "least ones." But why "least"? Because they're humble, not puffed up or proud. Yet weigh these "least ones" in the scales, and you'll find them a heavy weight.

2. But what does He mean when He calls them "friends of unrighteous wealth"? What is "unrighteous wealth"? First, what is "mammon"? It's not a Latin word. It's Hebrew, and related to the Punic language. These languages are connected by similar meanings. What the Punics call "mammon," Latins call "profit." What the Hebrews call "mammon," Latins call "riches." To express it all in our language, our Lord Jesus Christ is saying, "Make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous riches."

Some people, misunderstanding this, steal others' property, give some of it to the poor, and think they're following Christ's command. They say, "To take others' goods is the mammon of unrighteousness; to spend some, especially on poor believers, is to make friends through the mammon of unrighteousness." This interpretation needs correction—in fact, it must be completely erased from your minds. I don't want you to understand it this way.

Give alms from your honest earnings. Give from what you rightfully possess. You cannot corrupt Christ your Judge so that He won't hear the poor you've robbed alongside you. If you were to overpower and rob someone weaker than yourself, and that person came with you before an earthly judge with authority, and you gave some of what you stole from that poor person to the judge to influence him in your favor—would such a judge please even you? He might rule in your favor, yet so powerful is justice that his corruption would disgust even you.

Don't imagine God to be like this. Don't set up such an idol in the temple of your heart. Your God is not what you yourself shouldn't be. If you wouldn't judge corruptly but would judge justly, then your God is even better than you. He's not inferior to you. He's more just, the very fountain of justice.

Whatever good you've done comes from Him. Whatever good you've expressed, you've drawn from Him. Do you praise the vessel for having something from Him while blaming the fountain? Don't give alms from money gained through usury and excessive interest. I'm speaking to the faithful, to those to whom we distribute Christ's body. Fear and change your ways, so I won't have to say later, "You're doing this, and you too are doing this." I believe that if I did speak this way, you shouldn't be angry with me but with yourselves, so you'll change.

This is what the Psalm means when it says, "Be angry, and do not sin" (Psalm 4:4). I want you to be angry, but only so you won't sin. But to avoid sin, with whom should you be angry except yourselves? What is a penitent person but someone angry with themselves? To obtain pardon, they punish themselves. That's why they rightly say to God, "Turn Your eyes from my sins, for I acknowledge my sin" (Psalm 51:3-4). If you acknowledge it, He will pardon it. So you who have done wrong, do so no more. It's not permissible.

3. But if you've already done this, and possess such money, and have filled your coffers this way, and were accumulating treasure by these means—what you have was gained improperly. Now don't add more wrongdoing, but make friends for yourselves with this unrighteous wealth.

Did Zacchaeus get his wealth from honorable sources? Read and see. He was the chief tax collector—that is, one to whom taxes were paid. This was the source of his wealth. He had oppressed many, taken from many, and so amassed much. Christ entered his house, and salvation came to his household, for the Lord Himself said, "Today salvation has come to this house" (Luke 19:9).

Now notice how this salvation unfolded. First, Zacchaeus longed to see the Lord, but being short in stature and hindered by the crowd, he climbed a sycamore tree to see Him as He passed. But Jesus saw him and said, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today" (Luke 19:5). "You're hanging there, but I won't keep you in suspense. I won't put you off. You wanted to see Me as I passed by; today you'll find Me dwelling in your house." So the Lord went in to him, and Zacchaeus, filled with joy, said, "Half of my goods I give to the poor" (Luke 19:8).

See how quickly he moves to make friends by means of unrighteous wealth! And to ensure he wasn't guilty of anything else, he said, "If I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold" (Luke 19:8). He condemned himself to avoid condemnation.

So then, if you have anything from improper sources, use it to do good. If you don't have such wealth, don't try to acquire it through wrongful means. Be good yourself as you do good with what was improperly acquired. When you begin to do good with this wrongful wealth, don't remain evil yourself. Your money is being transformed for good; should you yourself remain evil?

4. There's another way to understand this text, which I won't withhold. The "mammon of unrighteousness" refers to all the wealth of this world, regardless of its source. However it's accumulated, it's the "mammon of unrighteousness"—that is, the wealth of unrighteousness. What does "the wealth of unrighteousness" mean? It's money that unrighteousness calls wealth.

If we seek true riches, they're different from these worldly possessions. Job abounded in true riches even when he was stripped bare, when his heart was full toward God and he poured out praises like precious gems to his God after losing everything he had. From what treasure did he do this, if he had nothing? These, then, are true riches. But earthly possessions are called "riches" by unrighteousness.

You may possess these earthly riches. I don't criticize this. Perhaps an inheritance came to you, your father was wealthy and left it to you. Or maybe you acquired wealth honestly, having a house full of the fruits of legitimate labor. I don't criticize this. Yet don't call these things riches. For if you call them riches, you'll love them; and if you love them, you'll perish with them. Lose them so you won't be lost. Give, so you may gain. Sow, so you may reap. Don't call these things riches, for they aren't the true ones. They're full of poverty and always vulnerable to loss. What kind of riches make you fear robbers and even your own servant, who might kill you and take your wealth and flee? If they were true riches, they would give you security.

5. True riches are those which, once we have them, we cannot lose. And lest you fear a thief because of them, they'll be where no one can steal them. Hear your Lord: "Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where no thief approaches" (Luke 12:33). Then they will be riches, when you've transferred them from earth. As long as they remain on earth, they aren't riches. The world calls them riches; unrighteousness calls them so. Therefore, God calls them "the mammon of unrighteousness" because unrighteousness considers them riches.

Listen to the Psalm: "Rescue me from the hand of foreigners, whose mouths speak lies, and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. May our sons in their youth be like plants full grown, our daughters like corner pillars cut for the structure of a palace; may our granaries be full, providing all kinds of produce; may our sheep bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our fields; may our cattle be heavy with young, suffering no mishap or failure in bearing; may there be no cry of distress in our streets" (Psalm 144:11-14).

See what kind of happiness the Psalmist has described! But hear what he says about those he has portrayed as children of unrighteousness: "Their mouths speak lies, and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood." This is how he describes them, saying their happiness exists only on earth. And what does he add? "They call the people happy who have these things" (Psalm 144:15). But who calls them so? "Foreigners," aliens from Abraham's lineage, who "call the people happy who have these things." Who calls them so? "Those whose mouths speak lies." It's empty, then, to call those with such possessions happy. Yet they're called happy by those "whose mouths speak lies." These worldly possessions are what the Gospel calls "the mammon of unrighteousness."

6. But what do you say? Since these "foreigners," these "whose mouths speak lies," have "called the people happy who have these things," what do you say? These are false riches; show me the true ones. You find fault with these; show me what you praise. You want me to despise these; show me what to prefer.

Let the Psalmist speak for himself. It's as if we had said to him, "Look, you've taken this away from us and given us nothing in return. We despise these things, but how should we live, how can we be happy? Those who have spoken will answer for themselves. They've 'called' people with riches 'happy.' But what do you say?"

As if responding to this question, he answers: They call the rich happy, but I say, "Happy are the people whose God is the LORD" (Psalm 144:15). You've now heard about true riches. Make friends for yourselves with the mammon of unrighteousness, and you'll be "a happy people whose God is the LORD."

Sometimes we travel and see very pleasant, productive estates, and we say, "Whose property is that?" Someone tells us, "It belongs to so-and-so," and we say, "Happy man!" We "speak lies." Happy is the one whose property that is? Happy is the one who owns that estate? Happy is the one who owns that flock, that servant, that household? Take away falsehood if you want to hear truth. "Happy are the people whose God is the LORD."

Not the one who has that estate is happy, but the one whose God is the LORD. To declare most clearly the happiness of possessions, you say your estate has made you happy. Why? Because you live by it. When praising your estate, you say, "It provides my food; I live by it." Consider what truly sustains you. The one by whom you truly live is the one to whom you say, "With You is the fountain of life" (Psalm 36:9). "Happy are the people whose God is the LORD."

O Lord my God, O Lord our God, make us happy through You, that we may come to You. We don't wish to find happiness in gold, silver, land, or these earthly, extremely empty, and transitory goods of this perishable life. Let not "our mouths speak lies." Make us happy through You, since we'll never lose You. Once we have You, we'll neither lose You nor be lost ourselves. Make us happy through You, for "Happy are the people whose God is the LORD."

God won't be offended if we say of Him, "He is our inheritance." For we read that "the LORD is my inheritance" (Psalm 16:5). What a wonderful thing, brothers and sisters! We are both His inheritance, and He is ours, since we both cultivate His service and He cultivates us. There's no dishonor to Him that He cultivates us. If we cultivate Him as our God, He cultivates us as His field.

To confirm that He cultivates us, hear Him whom He has sent to us: "I am the vine, you are the branches. My Father is the vinedresser" (John 15:1, 5). So He cultivates us. But if we bear fruit, He prepares His storehouse for us. If, however, under the care of such skilled hands, we remain barren and produce thorns instead of good fruit—I'm reluctant to say what follows. Let's end on a joyful note. "Let us turn to the Lord," etc.