The Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost
September 21, 2025
Luke 16:1-13
As Disciples of Jesus—
We Manage Worldly Wealth Wisely
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Money. What’s the first thing that pops into your mind when you hear the word money? Since you are hearing that question here in church some of you may be thinking to yourself, “Oh, great. Here we go again. All the church wants is my money.” If you were listening closely to our Old Testament reading for today (Amos 8:4-7) the word money may lead you to think about all those people, that is, all those rich people who only care about themselves and not the little people who work so hard for so little money. And for some of you the word money may lead you to think of the oft quoted phrase, “Money is the root of all evil”— which as we heard this morning is not correct.. In our Epistle Lesson Paul reminded us, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” (1 Timothy 6:6-10, 17-19). In and of itself money is morally neutral. The “love” of money and how one uses money— now that is a different story.
Money. It should not surprise us at all that the Lord our God, the God who owns all things— including “our” money, the God who graciously allows us to “manage,” to be a “steward” of a certain amount of His wealth while we are here on this earth— it should not surprise us at all that the Lord our God has a great deal to say about money on the pages of His holy Word. Since the sinful nature of sinful mankind (and yes, that includes our sinful nature) automatically “loves” money and since the sinful nature of sinful mankind (and yes, that includes our sinful nature) automatically wants us to use “our” money for our own benefit and our own enjoyment, Scripture contains more than a few warnings and more than a few condemnations when it comes to worldly wealth. Our text for today, however, is not one of them.
In an effort to help us see how this portion of Scripture enables us to have a positive perspective on money, let’s study these words of our Savior under this theme: As Disciples of Jesus— We Manage Worldly Wealth Wisely. There are two things we want to do today. First let’s look at the example that Jesus gives to us. Then let’s listen to the applications that Jesus makes for us.
Since we all know how important context is when we are studying a portion of Scripture, let’s take a moment to look at the broader context in which we find these words of our Lord. The verses immediately preceding our text contain Jesus’ Parable of the Lost Son— or as many of us know it, the Parable of the Prodigal Son. The verse which immediately follows our text contains these words, “The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus” (Luke 16:14). In between these two very money oriented sections of Scripture Luke writes these words, “Jesus told his disciples….” As disciples of Jesus our Lord wants us to manage worldly wealth wisely. And to help us understand what that means Jesus gives us an example. Scan through the opening portion of our text, verses one through eight. The example that Jesus sets before us is actually quite easy to understand— that is, until we hear these words, “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of the world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.”
Why does Jesus have the master “commend” the “dishonest manager”? The key to understanding our Lord correctly is found in His own words “…because he acted shrewdly.” The adverb that Jesus uses here (“shrewdly”) and the adjective that Jesus uses when He says, “…the people of this world are more shrewd…” belong to the very same family of Greek words. In its verb form this Greek word means, “To think, to judge, to give one’s mind to, to set one’s mind on.” As an adjective this Greek word is used to describe the “wise” man who built his house on the rock— knowing that when the winds blew and the rains came down his house would be safe and secure. (See Matthew 7:24ff). It is used to describe the “wise” servant who faithfully goes about his work while his master is away— knowing that his master could come home at any time. (See Matthew 24:45ff) And it is used to describe the five “wise” virgins who brought extra oil with them— just in case the bridegroom did not come back for a long time. (See Matthew 25:1ff) This helps us to see that Jesus does not have the master commend his manager for “wasting his possessions.” Jesus does not have the master commend his manager for being a thief and a scoundrel. No, my friends, Jesus has the master commend his manager for using his mind and planning ahead.
Think about it. This man knew that the gig was up. He knew that his job was gone. He knew that his body was too weak “to dig,” that is, to do manual labor. He knew that his ego was too strong “to beg,” that is, to stand on a street corner with a sign that read, “Will mismanage for food.” So what does he do? He thinks things out! He recognizes his problem. He sets a goal. He formulates a plan to reach his goal. And then he immediately and decisively puts that plan into action! That is why Jesus has the master “commend” his “dishonest” manger. From a worldly point of view this man acted “shrewdly.” From a worldly point of view this man acted “wisely.”
That also helps us to understand why Jesus says, “…the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.” Generally speaking worldly-minded unbelievers just seem to “know” how to do business. They “know” how to act decisively, how to take advantage of a situation, how to deal in matters that benefit them. Yes, when it comes to business matters the “people of this world” “know” how to put their money to the best possible use for their own personal advantage.
So how does all of this apply to us as disciples of Jesus? The Lord gives us two applications here in our text. First Jesus says, “I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.”
These words could be rather confusing— unless we keep them in context. Remember that the manager was “commended” for recognizing the situation, focusing on a goal, formulating a plan to reach that goal and then putting that plan into action. What does that have to do with us? Look at it this way: We are disciples of Jesus living in a sinful world surrounded by unbelievers. That is the situation in which we find ourselves. Our goal is exactly the same as God’s goal. As Paul tells us in 1 Timothy chapter two, “This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be save and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (verses 3 & 4). Once we recognize our situation and once we have focused on our goal then we need to formulate a plan to reach that goal and put that plan into action. I submit to you this morning that Jesus hands us that plan when He says to us, “…use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.” What does this mean, we ask? Let’s start on a personal level.
Using worldly wealth to gain friends may include joining a civic organization in our community. Using our God-given gifts, talents and abilities to help others is a wonderful way to apply Jesus’ words, “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). Using worldly wealth to gain friends for yourself may include going out of your way to be friendly to that neighbor who never goes to church or that co-worker who gives no indication that they know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. As a friendship develops with that person you can invite them over to your house for dinner and eventually you can invite them here to God’s house. Our goal, however, is not to simply make a new friend. Our goal is not to simply make an unbeliever’s life here on this earth a little easier or a little more comfortable. Our mind needs to be “set” on finding ways to share Jesus with them. We need to be focused on their eternity— always mindful of the Lord’s words, “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul” (Mark 8:36).
Broadening that circle out a little bit, Jesus’ words “…use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves” also applies to supporting the work of our congregation. We would all do well to think of our budget as our congregation’s “Ministry Plan.” Seeing our budget as our congregation’s plan for carrying out the ministry that God has given to us puts a far more Scriptural perspective on what we place into the offering plate. We’re not “funding a budget.” We are helping our congregation provide us with a pastor who serves us with God’s holy Word and God’s holy Sacraments. We’re not “funding a budget.” We are helping to maintain this beautiful worship facility that God has given to us so that members enjoy gathering together here in God’s house and non-members can see the honor and the respect, the love and the thankfulness that we have for our God. Yes, my friends, the offering that we place on the altar of our Savior-God is our way of supporting the ministry God has given to us to do. It is our way of using the worldly wealth that God has entrusted to us to gain friends— for both time and eternity.
And, of course, we need to widen that circle enough to include the work of our Synod, don’t we. Jesus’ command, “…use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves” includes training future generations of pastors and teachers. It includes sending missionaries into places where we can’t go. While we might never meet these new “friends” in Christ while we are here on this earth, we will indeed meet them as they welcome us in the “eternal dwellings” of our heavenly Father’s home. Yes, using worldly wealth to gain friends for ourselves includes the pure joy of knowing that through the offerings that we place on God’s altar we are serving not only the friends in Christ that we see here in church, but we are also serving the friends in Christ we will never see until we meet them in heaven.
The second application that Jesus gives to us here in our text is found in verses ten through thirteen. While it is a very easy application to understand, Jesus summarizes it for us when He says, “No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” As disciples of Jesus we understand that this is an either/or application and not a both/and application to the way that we conduct our lives, to the way that we prioritize our lives. Just as we cannot walk in two different directions at the very same time so also we cannot serve both God and money. To put it another way, either God is our Master or money is our Master— and these two masters are polar opposites of each other. Serving God guarantees us forgiveness of sins, eternal life and salvation. Serving Money brings us discontent, paranoia and when we die— eternal failure.
Money. In and of itself money is morally neutral. How we view money and how we use money— now that’s another story. Since the Lord our God owns all things— including “our” money— and since the Lord our God graciously gives us a certain amount of His wealth to “manage,” to be a “steward” of while we are here on this earth, it should not surprise us at all that money is a frequent topic on the pages of God’s holy Word. While Scripture does indeed include many warnings when it comes to the subject of money, here in our text our Savior gives us a very positive way to remember that as His disciples we are to manage worldly wealth wisely. My prayer is that we will first take to heart and then apply to our lives the words that Jesus speaks to us this morning, “I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.”
To God be the glory!
Amen