Originally posted: 09/25/2019
“Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you?” (16:11).
You may have heard, as I have, that besides the Kingdom of God, Jesus spoke more about money than any other topic. Several Bible scholars assert that Jesus spoke more about money than about heaven and hell, combined. Obviously, money is an important issue to God.
Luke 16 has much to say about money and wealth in regards to the rich, or at least the rich here on earth. But in the midst of His deliberation regarding wealth, Jesus turns His attention to True Riches.
“He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much. 11 Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you? 12 And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? 13 No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth,” (16:10-13).
Consider His True Riches
- He entrusts His True Riches to the faithful.
- “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much. 11 Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you?” (16:10-11).
- The pursuit and consuming love of worldly wealth will overcome the desire for His True Riches.
- “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth,” (16:13).
- The love of money over His True Riches is detestable to God
- Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and were scoffing at Him. 15 And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God,” (16:14-15).
- His True Riches result in eternal comfort
- “But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony,’” (16:25).
How do we respond to His True Riches?
His True Riches are not found in the wealth of the world, but Jesus does instruct the sons of light to use the world’s wealth to care for those in need and thereby gain opportunity to share the gospel.
When death comes, as it will to all, material provisions fail in their ability to offer any assistance or comfort. When His True Riches have been received by faith, death is merely a welcome mat into eternity with Him.
“And his master praised the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of light. 9 And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they will receive you into the eternal dwellings,” (16:8-9).
May we be found faithful with our worldly possessions, choosing to serve God with all we have, that we would bring many to Christ and glory to God.
As we set our hearts on His True Riches we are enabled to see things for what they truly are.
Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. 17 For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, 18 while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal, (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).
May we daily seek Him by faith, to see things as they truly are, convinced nothing in this world can compare with the eternal comfort and treasure of His True Riches.
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; 21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also,” (Matthew 6:19-21).