Make Friends by Unrighteous Wealth?

God Wants Shrewd Children Who Make Eternal Friends

The parable of the shrewd manager in Luke 16:1-14 is one confusing story, especially this section:

The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings. (Luke 16:8-9)

Unrighteous Wealth?

Before we move on, we ought to define Unrighteous Wealth. Unrighteous wealth as used in Luke 16:9 means deceitful riches (riches/possessions by which people are deceived). This definition fits well the context of our passage. Verses 9, 11, and 12 qualify unrighteous wealth as riches that will fail (“when it fails”) and that are not true riches. Therefore, unrighteous wealth in this parable refers to earthly possessions. Earthly possessions are temporary and will never fill the God-shaped hole in our hearts. Instead of being deceived into thinking they can fulfill us, Jesus calls us to use them to make eternal friends. This leads to the next question.

Is Jesus Commending Shrewdness?

Yes, Jesus is commending shrewdness but not worldly shrewdness, not unrighteousness. We know that “God… tempts no one” (James 1:13) and that Jesus “committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth” (1 Peter 2:22). Let’s look more closely at the monologue in Luke 16:3-4:

And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’

The shrewdness that is commended here is not the manager’s dishonesty but his strategic mindset in securing the best outcome for his life. This man is using his current resources to make friends that ‘may receive [him] into their houses’ since he won’t be able to provide for himself after he loses his job. ‘For the sons of this world’, Jesus adds, ‘are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light’. If this man was so diligent and strategic about temporary things, how much more should the Children of God be diligent and strategic about eternal things? God wants his Children to be wise and thoughtful about using their earthly possessions and resources to make eternal friends.

Who are those “friends” in the “eternal dwellings”?

As you may have gathered from the context, the eternal dwellings refer to the new Heaven and Earth where God’s Children will dwell with Him forever in perfect love and fellowship (2 Peter 3:13; Hebrews 11:16; Revelation 21:1-4; John 14:2). The ‘friends’ that will be with us there are of course other children of God, people who will come to faith in Jesus Christ as we spread the good news of the Kingdom of God to the ends of the world (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 1:8; 1 John 1:3). We get to spend eternity with them basking in the Glory of God.

Jesus taught this parable after teaching in Luke 15 that God (and Heaven) rejoice greatly over one sinner who repents. As God’s children, we should also be so eager and joyful over making eternal friends that we would use whatever earthly possessions we have to that end. I am not going to lie. I feel very convicted right now. I pray that God will help me to be more shrewd with my resources in making eternal friends.