Meeting guide · command 26

Make Friends by Unrighteous Wealth

Use temporary wealth with foresight and generosity in light of eternal relationships and accountability.

Read

Read the complete passage aloud.

Primary passage

Luke 16:1–9

1 He also said to his disciples, “There was a certain rich man who had a manager. An accusation was made to him that this man was wasting his possessions. 2 He called him, and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Give an accounting of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ 3 “The manager said within himself, ‘What will I do, seeing that my lord is taking away the management position from me? I don’t have strength to dig. I am ashamed to beg. 4 I know what I will do, so that when I am removed from management, they may receive me into their houses.’ 5 Calling each one of his lord’s debtors to him, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe to my lord?’ 6 He said, ‘A hundred batos of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ 7 Then he said to another, ‘How much do you owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred cors of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ 8 “His lord commended the dishonest manager because he had done wisely, for the children of this world are, in their own generation, wiser than the children of the light. 9 I tell you, make for yourselves friends by means of unrighteous mammon, so that when you fail, they may receive you into the eternal tents.

World English Bible

Jesus tells a provocative story about a dishonest manager whose decisive foresight is commended, then redirects hearers to lasting good.

Discuss

Listen carefully to what Jesus says.

  1. What does Jesus command?
  2. What does this passage reveal about Him?
  3. Where do we resist this command?
  4. What is difficult or unclear?
  5. What aspect of the manager’s foresight is Jesus highlighting, and how can we imitate urgency without imitating dishonesty?

Practice

Choose one specific act of obedience.

Use a specific portion of your resources this week to strengthen a relationship, relieve a burden, or create lasting good without expecting repayment.

Return

Come back and discuss what happened.

What resource did you redirect toward another person, and what did that reveal about your priorities?

Close together

Pray. Then prepare to teach.

Pray

Jesus, make us wise and faithful with temporary resources. Keep us from serving money and teach us to use it for enduring good.

Teach

State clearly that Jesus does not praise fraud; He uses the manager’s decisive foresight to challenge passive or self-serving stewardship.